Antifungal Effects and Chemical Composition of Several Essential Oil on postharvest disease of gray mold strawberries Botrytis cinerea

Due to an increasing risk of chemical contamination upon the application of synthetic fungicides to postharvest fruits, essential oils and plant extracts are gaining increasing attentions. In this research, antimicrobial potential of four essential oil; Mentha piperita. LCuminum cyminum,Foeniculum vulgare Mill, Eucalyptus camaldulensis Lwith different concentrations of 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 μl / ml against Botrytis cinere were investigated in two methods; liquid and vapour phase. Essential oil was extracted by Celvenger apparatus and afterwards analyzed by GC/MS. The dominant components of cumin were cumin aldehyde (18.77%), o-cymene (11.64%) and ℽ-terpinene(33.23%). In liquid phase method, cumin essential oil showed the highest inhibitory, which at the concentration of 10 μl / ml caused 100% inhibitory of fungal growth. The main oil compounds of peppermint were L-menthone (47.06%), isomentone (12.88%), L-(-)-menthol, (6.28%), and pulegone (11.21%). In vapour phase method, peppermint had the highest inhibitory at 2 μl / ml with 100% inhibition. In all essential oils, with the increasing concentrations of essential oil in both direct and vapour phase applications, the inhibitory percent increased significantly compared to the control. Overall, the antifungal activity of the essential oils depends on the type of plant, concentration and the method of application.