Comparative study of antifungal effect of green and chemically synthesised silver nanoparticles in combination with carbendazim,mancozeb, and thiram

This study reports synthesis and characterisation of silver nanoparticles and their effect on antifungal efficacy of common agricultural fungicides. Silver nanoparticles were synthesised using biological and chemical reduction methods employing Elettaria cardamomum leaf extract and sodium citrate, respectively. Nanoparticles were then characterised using UV–Visible spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy, and dynamic light scattering (DLS). While XRD assigned particles size of 31.86 nm for green and 41.91 nm for chemical silver nanoparticles with the help of the Debye–Scherrer formula, DLS specified monodisperse nature of both suspensions. Nanoparticles were tested individually and in combination with fungicides (carbendazim, mancozeb, and thiram) against fungal phytopathogens. Silver nanoparticles exhibited good antifungal activity and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was observed in the range of 8–64 µg/ml. Also, they positively influenced the efficacy of fungicides. The mean MIC value (mean ± SD) for combination of all three fungicides with green AgNPs was 1.37 ± 0.6 µg/ml and for chemical AgNPs was 1.73 ± 1.0 µg/ml. Hence, it could be concluded that green AgNPs performed better than chemical AgNPs. Synergy was observed between green AgNPs and fungicides against Fusarium oxysporum. In conclusion, this study reports synthesis of monodisperse silver nanoparticles which serve as efficient antifungal agents and also enhance the fungicidal action of reported agricultural fungicides in combination studies.Inspec keywords: X‐ray diffraction, reduction (chemical), visible spectra, ultraviolet spectra, microorganisms, particle size, nanomedicine, nanofabrication, nanoparticles, agrochemicals, antibacterial activity, transmission electron microscopy, silver, light scattering, scanning electron microscopyOther keywords: antifungal effect, green silver nanoparticles, chemically synthesised silver nanoparticles, carbendazim, mancozeb, thiram, antifungal efficacy, common agricultural fungicides, biological reduction methods, chemical reduction methods, transmission electron microscopy, XRD assigned particles size, chemical silver nanoparticles, green AgNPs, chemical AgNPs, monodisperse silver nanoparticles, antifungal activity, agricultural fungicides, Elettaria cardamomum leaf extract, sodium citrate, UV‐visible spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, dynamic light scattering, size 31.86 nm, size 41.91 nm