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The potential to control leaf rust (Puccinia triticina; pathotype UVPt9) in vivo in susceptible (Thatcher) and resistant (Thatcher/Lr15) near-isogenic wheat (Triticum aestivum) lines by foliar applications of crude plant leaf extracts from Tulbaghia violacea and Agapanthus africanus, as well as a commercially available natural product, ComCat®, and a Lupinus albus seed suspension (SS) was investigated. In vitro activities of the PR-proteins, β-1,3-glucanase, chitinase and peroxidase were quantified in these two wheat lines under both non-infected and infected conditions. Although foliar application of the different plant extracts accelerated the activities of all three enzymes in resistant infected wheat plants, it was only the A. africanus extract that increased the in vitro activities of the three apoplastic pathogenesis-related proteins significantly in both susceptible and resistant wheat cultivars, whether uninfected or infected. The latter resulted in the reduction of pustule and necrotic lesion formation in the susceptible and resistant wheat lines, respectively. Foliar treatment of wheat seedlings with either ComCat® or SS had no effect on pustule and necrotic lesion formation. The A. africanus crude extract also had a significant in vitro inhibitory effect on both leaf rust spore germination and subsequent germ tube development.

Crude extracts of various Agapanthus africanus plant parts were screened in vitro against eight economically important plant pathogenic fungi. Radial mycelial growth was inhibited significantly ( P Pythium ultimum , and to a lesser extent Fusarium oxysporum and Alternaria alternata , showed a degree of tolerance. Subsequently, these crude extracts were tested in vivo in the greenhouse against Mycosphaerella pinodes , the cause of black spot or Ascochyta blight in peas. Fourth internode leaves were removed from 4-week-old pea plants, placed on moist filter paper in Petri dishes and inoculated with a M. pinodes spore suspension 30 min before and after treatment with the extracts. The control of Ascochyta blight by different concentrations of the crude extracts was measured in terms of lesion size over a 6-d period at 20 °C in a growth cabinet. All crude extracts significantly reduced lesion development caused by M. pinodes when leaves were inoculated with spores both before and after treatment with the extracts. Neither of the extracts showed any phytotoxic reaction on the leaves, even at the highest concentration applied. A combined aerial part crude extract of A. africanus was additionally evaluated against sorghum covered ( Sporisorium sorghi ) and loose ( Sporisorium cruentum ) kernel smuts under field conditions over two seasons. The extract and a standard fungicide, Thiram that served as a positive control, were applied as seed treatments 1 h after artificially inoculating separate sets of sorghum seed with smut spores. Inoculated, but untreated seeds served as a negative control. The extract reduced the incidence of both loose and covered kernel smuts significantly ( P A. africanus possesses sufficient in vivo antifungal activity to warrant a further investigation.

Extracts from 26 plant species representing 16 families, collected in the Free State Province of South Africa, were tested in vitro for their potential to inhibit the growth of eight plant pathogenic fungi and five plant pathogenic bacteria. None of the crude extracts showed any mycelial growth inhibition of the eight test fungi. All of the extracts inhibited the growth of one or more of the five plant pathogenic test bacteria, but to varying degrees. Crude extracts from Acacia karroo and Elephantorrhiza elephantina inhibited the growth of four bacteria, while that of Euclea crispa, Acacia erioloba, Senna italica and Buddleja saligna inhibited the growth of all five plant pathogenic bacteria. Of these, the crude extract of Euclea crispa was clearly superior to the rest as it compared more favourably to that of a commercial bactericide, Dimethyl Dodecyl Ammonium Chloride (DDAC). Subsequently, the Euclea crispa crude extract was fractionated by means of liquid-liquid extraction using four organic solvents, hexane, diethyl ether, chloroform and ethyl acetate, in order of increasing polarity. This was done in an attempt to assess the antimicrobial potential of the more concentrated fractions. Once again, none of the semi-purified fractions showed any antifungal activity. However, antibacterial activity was located in the more polar ethyl acetate fraction indicating that the substances involved were very similar in polarity and/or structure. From this it seems justified to further purify the ethyl acetate fraction of the Euclea crispa extract and attempt to identify the active substance(s) involved.