Studies on pesticides based on coumarin. III. Synthesis and antifungal activity of substituted 4-methyl-coumarins and related compounds

A series of substituted 4-methylcoumarins was synthesised and the members tested for their toxicity towards mycelial growth of seven phytopathogenic fungi in culture. Rhizoctonia solani, Alternaria alternata and Fusarium solani exhibited maximum sensitivity to these compounds whereas Pythium aphanidermatum, Colletotrichum falcatum, Drechslera oryzae and Macrophomina phaseolina were relatively less sensitive. 6-Ethyl-3-n- propyl-7-hydroxy4-methylcoumarin ( I ) was relatively toxic towards all fungi except C. falcatum, P. aphanidermatum and M. phaseolina. The 6-n-butyl ( III ) and 6-(1, 1, 3, 3-tetramethylbutyl) ( VI ) derivatives were highly toxic to R. solani with EC₅₀, values of lμg ml^?1.