Journal of Fruit and Ornamental Plant Research Vol. 19(2) 2011: 111-121 PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE ACTIVITY OF SOME ESSENTIAL OILS AGAINST Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Mizu Istianto and Deni Emilda* Indonesian Tropical Fruits Research Institute Jl. Raya Solok-Aripan Km 8 P.O. Box 5 Solok 27301 West Sumatera, INDONESIA *Corresponding author: e-mail: deni_emild@yahoo.co.id (Received August 2, 2011/Accepted October 28, 2011) ABSTRACT Wilt disease, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Cubense (Foc), is one of the most important diseases of bananas. An Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy is a promising concept for controlling this disease. This concept must be supported with all suitable control techniques that can be compatibly and effectively utilized. Essential oils, which have been long recognized as having good fungus-toxic com- pounds, are a recommend technology which may be used to complete previous con- trol techniques. The aim of this experiment was to evaluate the antifungal activity of essential oils extracted from Cymbopogon nardus, Eugenia aromatica, Pogostemon calbin, and Vitiveria zizanoides against Foc. The experiment was conducted in the January-April time period of 2010, in the laboratory of the Indonesian Tropical Fruit Research Institute, at room temperature. The result showed that the essential oils which had been tested were able to suppress Foc mycelial growth. Essential oil ex- tracted from E. aromatica provided the strongest suppression of Foc mycelial growth, mainly when used at a volume of 9 and 18 µl. This result indicated that essential oil of E. aromatica had good potency and may be developed as a control agent against wilt disease of banana. Keywords: essential oils, Eugenia aromatica, Cymbopogon nardus, Pogostemon cal- bin, Vitiveria zizanoides, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense, antifungal activity INTRODUCTION Banana is an important fruit source of vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrate. Plants can grow in various environ- mental conditions. They are found in almost all areas of Indonesia. Planting areas in Indonesia reach 74,751 hectares and total production is 4,384,384 tons (Anonymous, 2003). The majority of banana production areas are located on the island of Java (54%). Java