EFFICACY OF LACTOBACILLUS ACIDOPHILUS AND ALCOHOLIC EXTRACT OF MALLOW AND ALOE VERA IN REDUCING ASPERGILLUS NIGER GROWTH AND PATHOGENICITY ON EGGPLANT FRUITS
Abstract This study was conducted to test the effect of the interaction of acidophilus Lactobacillus and baking leaves extract and alcoholic aloe vera in reducing the growth of Aspergillus niger, the prone to rot of eggplant fruits after harvest. The results of the Lactobacillus acidophilus test on eight pathogenic isolates from A.niger showed that the efficacy of bacteria in inhibiting the growth of pathogenic fungi varied according to the fungal isolate. The bacteria had the highest efficiency against A.n8 isolation, which resulted in a percentage of inhibition of 66.67%, while the lowest inhibition rate (42.22%) was recorded in A.n5 isolation compared to the control treatment. The results also showed that either the alcohol extract for baker and aloe vera and for all concentrations under test (20%, 10%, 5%, 1%) resulted in a complete inhibition of the pathogenic growth of the pathogen. The treatment of the interaction of control bacteria and baker and aloe vera extract with a concentration of 5% resulted in complete inhibition of the fungus on the PDA medium after 10 days of incubation, while the lowest percentage of inhibition of the fungus (82.22%) resulted from the treatment of overlapping bacteria and aloe vera extract. Upon testing the above factors in reducing fungal rot on the wounded eggplant fruits and treatment with pathogenic mushrooms, the results showed that the treatment of bacterial interference, baker extract and aloe vera 5% led to the protection and healing of the wounds that were caused and which prevented any symptoms of infection from the fungus and kept the fruits in their healthy appearance and acceptable color even after 10 days of storage in laboratory conditions.