FUSARIUM oxysponim causes wilt disease of tomato crop. Fungal management using fungicides results in several problems in the enviroment. Plant metabolites represent an alternative method since they have minute impact on the enviroment. The present investigation is an attempt to develop eco-friendly management of F. oxrporum using aqueous leaf extract of Ammi majus and Ammi visnaga (Family: Apiaceae). Treating the fungus with aqueous leaf extract from the two species of Ammi plants resulted in the inhibition of the fungal growth. Ammi leaf extracts inhibited the activities of metabolic enzymes including glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD, EC: 1.1.1.49), glutamine synthetase (GS, EC: 6.3.1.2) and nitrate reductase (NR, EC: 1.7.99.4) but increased L-phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL, EC: 4.3.1.5) activities of Earysporum. Both of the total amino acids and the total soluble protein contents of F. arysponim were reduced under the same treatment. The leaf extracts inhibited the activities of the enzymes which are involved in pathogenicity including pectinase (EC 3.2.1.15), protease (EC: 3.4.21.14), cellulase (EC: 3.2.1.4) and xylanase (EC: 3.2.1.8). IC50 values for the four enzymes were 93.32, 69.03, 71.27 and 74.93mg/ml, respectively. However, IC50 values were 134.22, 106.31, 90.65 and 100.26mgml(-1) for the four enzymes in the same order under treatment with A. visnaga leaf extract. The total phenols and total tlavonoids in leaf extracts from the two Ammi species were determined and they were higher in A. majus than those of A.visnaga. This study suggests efficiency of Ammi leaf extracts in suppression of Fusarium axysporum pathogenicity.
