The inhibitory action of plant extracts on the mycelial growth of Ascosphaera apis, the causative agent of chalkbrood disease in Honey bee

Patcharin Krutmuang; Julius Rajula; Sarayut Pittarate; Chanchai Chatima; Malee Thungrabeab; Supamit Mekchay; Sengottayan Senthil-Nathan

doi:10.1016/j.toxrep.2022.03.036

The inhibitory action of plant extracts on the mycelial growth of Ascosphaera apis, the causative agent of chalkbrood disease in Honey bee

Toxicol Rep. 2022 Mar 29:9:713-719. doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2022.03.036. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Patcharin Krutmuang^{1

2}, Julius Rajula¹, Sarayut Pittarate¹, Chanchai Chatima³, Malee Thungrabeab⁴, Supamit Mekchay^{2

5}, Sengottayan Senthil-Nathan⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Thailand.
² Innovative Agriculture Research Center, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Thailand.
³ Plant Protection, Royal Project Foundation, Muang, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
⁴ Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, Thailand.
⁵ Department of Animal and Aquatic Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai Thailand.
⁶ Division of Biopesticides and Environmental Toxicology, Sri Paramakalyani Centre for Excellence in Environmental Sciences, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Alwarkurichi 627 412, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India.

Abstract

Ascosphaera apis is a fungal pathogen, which causes chalkbrood disease in bees and is threatening beekeeping worldwide. The demand for organic honey for export has lately heightened hence the biological control is the option. This study aimed at the in vitro evaluation of the potency of plant extracts against chalkbrood disease for the possibility of being employed as a biological control strategy. The results showed that the combination of plant extracts from cinnamon with spearmint, cinnamon with lemongrass, cinnamon with geranium, and cinnamon with palmarosa at a concentration of 25% and 12.5% inhibited mycelial growth of A. apis by 100%. This demonstrated the potentiality of combining different plant extracts in controlling this disease. In addition, oregano caused inhibition of up to 100% singly. Conclusively, cinnamon in combination with several extracts has a great potential in curbing this disease while oregano offers an amazing remedy and hence the best formulations should be generated for the beekeeper to utilize.

Keywords: Ascosphaera apis; Cinnamon; Honey bee; Oregano; Plant extracts.