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Borneo International Journal eISSN 2636-9826
Articles
Submitted: 2026-10-22
Published: 2026-10-22

Evaluation Of Freshwater Lobster (Cherax Quadricarinatus) Shells As A Green Bio-Fungicide Against Fusarium Sp

Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology UiTM Sabah Branch
Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology UiTM Sabah Branch
Faculty of Accountancy UiTM Sabah Branch
Faculty of Business and Management UiTM Sabah Branch
Faculty of Business and Management UiTM Sabah Branch
Fusarium spp., Freshwater lobster, Chitosan, Sustainable, Green bio-fungicide

Abstract

Fusarium species are very destructive soil-borne fungi that cause vascular wilt in several economically valuable crops. Nowadays, to overcome these outbreaks, the agricultural industry largely uses aggressive synthetic fungicides. In addition, the expanding aquaculture industry produces a lot of discarded crustacean shells. The aim of this research was to address both problems by extracting chitosan from the shells of freshwater lobsters (Cherax quadricarinatus) and exploring its efficacy as a bio-fungicide against the Fusarium sp. Freshwater lobster shells were subjected to conventional procedures for chemical extraction through demineralisation, deproteinization, and deacetylation. Following that, the purity of chitosan was determined through solubility analysis and acid-base titration. To evaluate the antifungal activities of chitosan, the Poisoned Food and Well Diffusion assays were performed, using different concentrations of chitosan (0.5% - 2.0%). These antifungal effects were measured by comparing them to the negative control (sterile distilled water) and the positive control (commercial fungicide Mancozeb). The results of the extraction process were highly satisfactory since high-purity chitosan with 96.6% Degree of Deacetylation (DD) was obtained, indicating high concentration of free amino groups. In Poisoned Food assay, the 2.0% chitosan solution had an extremely inhibition effect on fungal growth. Fungal proliferation was restricted up to 16.00 ± 1.73 mm, a 75% inhibition compared to 63.00 ± 2.65 mm of the control without any treatment. Statistically, the 2.0% concentration of natural product showed similar effectiveness as the chemical control. Meanwhile in Well Diffusion assay even though large molecule size limited the diffusion capacity of chitosan the research proved the practicality of freshwater lobster shells as environmentally friendly sources for obtaining potent antifungal agents.

Keywords: Fusarium spp., Freshwater lobster, Chitosan, Sustainable, Green bio-fungicide

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How to Cite

Joseph, H., John, C. I., Abdul Kahar @Eting, S., Christoper, C. S., & Mohammed, R. @ U. (2026). Evaluation Of Freshwater Lobster (Cherax Quadricarinatus) Shells As A Green Bio-Fungicide Against Fusarium Sp. Borneo International Journal EISSN 2636-9826, 9(3), 33–38. Retrieved from https://majmuah.com/journal/index.php/bij/article/view/1209