Anthracnose is the major disease seen post-harvest in the fruit of the guava, and with an aim to reducing the use of agrochemicals, there has been investment in alternative methods of controlling this disease. This study had as its objective to evaluate the yield and chemical characterisation of the hydrolate and leaf and seed extracts of the mastic tree (Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi) for different distillation times. The work also includes evaluating the in vitro inhibitory potential to the fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. The hydrolate and the extract were obtained by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger apparatus, and the photochemical profile was determined by means of gas chromatography. Trials with the fungus were carried out by the addition of the by-products to a PDA culture medium in Petri dishes, with 6 concentrations of aqueous extract (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30%) and 4 of hydrolate (10, 15, 20 and 25%), placed in a chamber at 25ºC. The results demonstrated that the leaves of S. terebinthifolius provide a greater volume of hydrolate when compared to that from the seeds, but the yield of aqueous extract was similar for the two plant structures under study. The period of hydrodistillation had no influence on the production of by-products. The chromatographic analyses did not detect compounds in the hydrolate of the mastic tree. For the in vitro trials of fungus inhibition, at all the concentrations under test neither the aqueous extract nor the hydrolate demonstrated antifungal potential for C. gloeosporioides, the causal agent of anthracnose in the guava.
Aroeira-do-sertão; Anthracnose; Disease control
