Effect of Some Essential Oils And Plant Extracts on Microbial Contamination of Date Palm Phoenix Dactylifera L. Propagated by Tissue Culture

(Mohamed Hamza Abbas and Ahmed Rashid Abdul Samad star and Aqeel Abboud Sahim Caliph)

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Abstract

Study was conducted at the laboratories of Date Palm Research Centre, Basra University to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of some Essential oils and some plant extracts against the most common contaminant of date palm tissue cultures for Ashkar and Nerssy cvs. The Essential oils and plant extracts were: black seed, carnation and basil. The results revealed that the isolation of different fungal contaminants namely Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger and Penicillium sp, along with the bacteria: Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus the most common contaminants associated with date palm tissue cultures. The highest levels of inhibition against the microbes growth, especially fungal contamination in the solid medium of PDA were observed at both 20% and 200 ppm treatments of Essential oils and plant extracts. These treatments decreased the percent of microbial contamination and the percent of browning tissues lowered than levels compared to the control in both cultivars. The extract of black seed at concentration 300 ppm added to growth medium decreased the total time required for somatic embryogenesis, and increase the percent of embryos germination compared with carnation and basil extracts. Key Words: Date Palm, Essential Oils, Microbial Contamination, Micropropagation, Plant Extracts.
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