Antifungal activity of some higher plant products against Rhizoctonia solani causing root-rot disease of chickpea

During screening of leaves of 20 taxa of angiospermic plants for their volatile toxicity against Rhizoctonia solani the volatile substances from Callistemone lanceolatus and Citrus medica completely inhibited the growth of Rhizoctonia solani. The essential oil of Citrus medica leaves exhibited strong toxicity against the pathogen tested showed non-phytotoxic nature to the host plant and superiority over commonly used synthetic fungicides thiram and captan .The findings indicated the possibility to use these essential oils as potential natural fungicides in management of root-rot pathogen.