Halogenated coumarin derivatives as novel seed protectants

Development of new and improved antifungal compounds that are target-specific is backed by a strong Federal, public and commercial mandate. Many plant-derived chemicals have proven fungicidal properties, including the coumarins (1,2-Benzopyrone) found in a variety of plants such as clover, sweet woodruff and grasses. Preliminary research has shown the coumarins to be a highly active group of molecules with a wide range of antimicrobial activity against both fungi and bacteria. It is believed that these cyclic compounds behave as natural pesticidal defence molecules for plants and they represent a starting point for the exploration of new derivative compounds possessing a range of improved antifungal activity. Within this study, derivatives of coumarin that were modified with halogenated side groups were screened for their antifungal activity against a range of soil-borne plant pathogenic fungi. Fungi included in this in vitro screen included Macrophomina phaseolina (charcoal rot), Phytophthora spp. (damping off and seedling rot), Rhizoctonia spp. (damping off and root rot) and Pythium spp. (seedling blight), four phylogenetically diverse and economically important plant pathogens. Studies indicate that these halogenated coumarin derivatives work very effectively in vitro to inhibit fungal growth and some coumarin derivatives have higher antifungal activity and stability as compared to the original coumarin compound alone. The highly active coumarin derivatives are brominated, iodinated and chlorinated compounds and results suggest that besides being highly active, very small amounts can be used to achieve LD100 rates. In addition to the in vitro fungal inhibition assays, results of polymer seed coating compatibility and phytotoxicity testing using these compounds as seed treatments will also be reported. These results support additional research in this area of natural pesticide development.