PHYTOPARASITICA, cilt.32, sa.4, ss.409-412, 2004 (SCI-Expanded)
Significant antibacterial activity was observed in the essential oil (E.O.) of Rosa damascena Mill. and the Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) of the E.O. was determined as 1386.5 mug ml(-1) for Erwinia amylovora, the causal agent of fire blight disease. Ooze formation on immature pears and lesion formation in artificially inoculated shoots were completely (100%) prevented by the essential oil of R. damascena (1500 mug ml(-1)), essential oil of Thymbra spicata var. spicata (500 mug ml(-1)) and streptomycin (100 mug ml(-1)). Copper oxychloride plus maneb significantly reduced ooze formation and lesion formation, but the control was less than that obtained with the essential oils or streptomycin. The essential oil of R. damascena may be a useful natural bactericide for the control of the fire blight pathogen, E. amylovora.