Anthracnose is one of the most important diseases in strawberry crop, and the search for control alternatives has been frequent, especially in organic cultivation areas. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo efficiency of Eucaliptus citriodora and Azadirachta indica oil on the control of Colletotrichum acutatum in strawberry. In the in vitro experiment, mycelial growth inhibition was determined when the fungus was subjected to extracts at the following concentrations: 0; 0.25; 0.5; 1.0; and 1.5%. In the field, the disease control was evaluated through oil spraying at 0, 0.5 and 1.0% concentrations at intervals of seven, fifteen and thirty days, in plants inoculated with 10(6) conidia/mL suspension. Evaluations were weekly performed, and parameters such as occurrences and size of lesions in the peduncle and in the fruits, flower abortion, productivity, and natural disease occurrences were observed. In vitro, all treatments showed significant reduction in the mycelial growth relative to control. In the field, only neem oil had a significant effect decreasing flower abortion and the occurrences of sick fruits originated from inoculated flowers. However, natural disease occurrence was higher when 1.0% was weekly sprayed.
anthracnose; strawberry; essential oil; neem; eucalyptus
