EFFECT OF HELIOPSIS LONGIPES EXTRACT IN TOLERANCE RESPONSE OF TOMATO PLANTS INOCULATED WITH FUSARIUM OXYSPORUM F. SP. LYCOPERSICI

The root of Heliopsis longipes is rich in alkamide molecules, specifically affinin, which could act as an elicitor in plants. The objective of this work was to determine the concentration of key metabolites in the induction of resistance in tomato seedlings sprayed with H. longipes extract and inoculated with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (FOL). The experiment was performed with tomato plants (5 to 6 true leaves) of the cultivar ‘Rio Grande’ potted in a mixture of peatmoss:perlite (70:30). A concentrated ethanol extract of H. longipes with a 300 ppm concentration of affinin was applied to tomato foliage. Plants were inoculated with FOL by immersing the roots in spore solution four days after being treated with the extract. Twenty days after inoculation, the severity of disease symptoms was reduced by 70% on plants sprayed with the H. longipes extract. Plants sprayed with H. longipes extract displayed an increase of 4.04 times in PAL, 2.36 times in β-1,3-glucanase and 2.07 times in chitinase the greatest enzymatic activity was observed after 12 h of application of the extract.