In Vitro Evaluation of Homeopathic Remedies Against Colletotrichum musae of Banana

Abstract

Banana (Musa paradisiaca) is one of the most economically and socially significant plants in tropical and subtropical regions across the world. However, its production is severely affected by Colletotrichum musae, the pathogen responsible for anthracnose disease in banana. This study focused on evaluating the in vitro effectiveness of various homeopathic remedies against C. musae. The experiment was performed in Plant Pathology Laboratory of Agrotechnology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna. Seventeen homeopathic medicines (Arsenicum album, Calcaria sulp, Selenium, Cina, Nux vomica, Silicea, Arnica montana, Calcarea carbonicum, Carbo vegetabilis, Ferrum metallicum, Natrum muriaticum, Phosphorus, Sulphur, Sepia officinale, Belladonna, Kali iodatum, and Thuja occidentalis) at three potencies (6CH, 30CH, 200CH) were tested for their effects on the sporulation and mycelial growth of C. musae. A Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was employed, using untreated controls as references. Among the treatments, the least radial mycelial growth (38.02 mm) was recorded in plates treated with Arsenicum album at 6CH potency, followed by Selenium at 6CH (40.03 mm) and Arsenicum album at 30CH (41.44 mm). The highest inhibition of mycelial growth (49.66%) was also observed with Arsenicum album at 6CH, followed by Selenium at 6CH (46.52%) and Arsenicum album at 30CH (44.65%), while Silicea at 200CH exhibited the lowest inhibition (30.23%) and the highest mycelial growth (52.62 mm). Spore production was most significantly suppressed by Thuja occidentalis at 30CH (66.68%), followed by Sepia officinale at 6CH (63.13%) and Sulphur at 200CH (62.99%) as well as the lowest inhibition was recorded with Arnica montana at 30CH (30.41%). Overall, the result of this study suggest that homeopathic medicines could be an effective and sustainable approach to managing C. musae inbanana plants.