JOURNAL OF TROPICAL LIFE SCIENCE 2021, Vol. 11, No. 3, 331 – 337 http://dx.doi.org/10.11594/jtls.11.03.10 How to cite: Masnilah R, Budi ION, Pradana AP, Alfarisy FK (2021) Secondary Metabolite Ceiba pentandra Gaertn. as Biological Con- trol to Canker Disease on Dragon Fruit. Journal of Tropical Life Science 11 (3): 331 – 337. doi: 10.11594/jtls.11.03.10. Research Article Secondary Metabolite Ceiba pentandra Gaertn. as Biological Control to Canker Disease on Dragon Fruit Rachmi Masnilah 1 *, Ival Oktavian Nurtia Budi 2 , Ankardiansyah Pandu Pradana 1 , Fariz Kustiawan Alfarisy 3 1 Department of Plant Protection, University of Jember, Jember 68121, Indonesia 2 Department of Agrotechnology, University of Jember, Jember 68121, Indonesia 3 Department of Agriculture Science, University of Jember, Jember 68121, Indonesia Article history: Submission February 2021 Revised April 2021 Accepted July 2021 ABSTRACT Canker diseases caused by Neoscytalidium dimidiatum are a serious threat for dragon fruit production. Comprehensive and environmentally friendly control ef- forts are needed to reduce yield losses due to this disease. Cottonwood (Ceiba pentandra) is one of the plants that contain complex phytochemicals that can con- trol phyto-pathogens. This study aimed to examine the potential of secondary me- tabolites produced from the leaves and bark of the C. pentandara as botanical fungicides. Parts of dragon fruit that are attacked by canker are isolated on Pota- toes Dextrose Agar media. Observation of conidia and fungal spores using a bin- ocular microscope with a magnification of 100×. The hyphal form of the N. di- midiatum is rectangular and clear. As botanical fungicides, the leaves and the bark of the C. pentandara are dried for 14 days. The extract solution then analyzed for its secondary metabolites. The results of the qualitative analysis showed that each leaf extract and bark (+) compound of flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, and saponins. The quantitative results of secondary metabolites detected 304.3 mg.kg -1 , Flavo- noids and Tannins of 1.6 mg.kg -1 . Secondary metabolites obtained were tested on the fungus N. dimidiatum with inhibitory parameters in vitro and in vivo. This study followed a factorial completely randomized design consisting of concentra- tion factors and types of extract parts. The data obtained were then analyzed by ANOVA and significant treatments were further tested by Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at α = 5%. The combination treatment with a concentration of 40 mg ml -1 is more effective in controlling canker in indicators of inhibitory, the ex- tent of the attack, and intensity of disease severity. Keywords: Canker, Inhibition, Neoscytalidium dimidiatum, Severity *Corresponding author: E-mail: rachmimasnilah@gmail.com Introduction Canker is one of the primary diseases of dragon fruit and is potentially endemic in almost all regions [1, 2]. A pathogenic fungus Ne- oscytalidium dimidiatum causes canker is derma- tomycosis and attacks the stem and fruit that cause serious yield loss in high intensity infection [3]. The symptoms caused by their infection are white patches that spread on the bark and the surface of dragon fruit. Pathogenic fungus N. dimidiatum not only attacks dragon fruit but can also infect Royal, Almond, Ficus, and Randu plants [4 - 7]. In Indonesia, control of this disease is still lim- ited to the use of synthetic pesticides. Whereas, the impact of using synthetic pesticides unwisely will cause resistance to pathogens. In addition, pesti- cide residues will be stored in the soil and fruit sur- face. It is well known that the active ingredients of pesticides are difficult to decompose and poten- tially cause land degradation [8]. Previous studies reported that synthetic pesticides can suppress the growth of N. dimidiatum mycelium [9]. Even when there was an endemic canker in West Suma- tra, it still used a mixture of synthetic pesticides