Effects of powdery formulations of essential oils against Magnaporthe oryzae B.C Couch, Rice blast pathogen and on the germination capacity of rice seed in Burkina Faso

Introdution: Fungi transmitted by Oryza sativa L rice seed cause considerable production losses. The aim of our work was to evaluate the effect of essential oil formulations against Magnaporthe oryzae and on the germination capacity of rice seeds. Contaminated rice seeds for antifungal tests and uncontaminated rice seeds for viability tests were coated in powdery formulations of essential oils of Lippia multiflora, Cymbopogon schoenanthus and Ocimum americanum in pure form and four of their combinations at a dose of 10g/kg of seed. A fungicidal control and a neutral control were used. For the antifungal test, the results showed that among the formulations, the essential oil of L. multiflora recorded the highest percentage of germinated grains (96%) and the lowest percentage of damaged grains (4%). After 45 days of storage, the results showed that the combination of L. multiflora and C. schoenanthus oils recorded the highest germination and viability percentages of 91.87% and 97.85% respectively. These essential oil formulations can be further improved and used in the conservation of seeds in stock.