Influence of eco-friendly control strategies on the germination of mycotoxin secreted Fusarium verticillioides infested maize

Fusarium verticillioides is a major seed borne fungal pathogen of maize causing rots and seedling blight, and secretion of toxigenic compounds in grains. This study aimed at reducing the seedling blight and mycotoxin contamination level of maize caused by F. verticillioides with environmentally friendly antagonistic microorganisms. One gram of ground mycelia of each of the species of Trichoderma, B. subtilis and P. fluorescens was suspended in 100, 200, 300 and 400ml of distilled water to determine the inoculum concentrations. Maize seeds were treated with inoculum and planted at least 2 seeds per pot in replicates of 3 pots. Two grams of ground mycelial mat of the pathogen was added (at planting) per ten (10) kilogram of sterile soil. Germination percentage of these seeds was taken on the 14, 21, and 28 days after planting. Observations were on incidence and severity of the disease, from germination period till harvest. T. pseudokoningii at its C3 gave the best germination percentage, and P. fluorescens inoculum at C2 was the best for the control of the pathogen, which is comparatively effective as Benomyl against F. verticillioides. The use of ecofriendly control alternative like T. pseudokoningii and P. fluorescens should be used to in place Benomyl; it has no residual effect on the environment.Keywords: maize, mycotoxin, biocontrol agents, Fusarium sp

Management of seed-borne fungi in cowpea using leaf extracts and sodium bicarbonate

The study investigated the in-vitro antifungal activities of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and leaf extracts of Vernonia amydgalina (bitter leaf) and Azadirachta indica (neem) on fungal species isolated from two cowpea cultivars; IFE BROWN and Drum (a local cultivar). Concentrations of 1.95 mg/ml and 1.43 mg/ml were used for A. indica while 1.45 mg/ml and 1.15 mg/ml were used for V. amydgalina. Sodium bicarbonate was evaluated on all the isolates at 2.0 mg/ml and 3.0 mg/ml. The inhibitory effects of these antifungal agents were compared with benlate (a synthetic fungicide) on Potato Dextrose Agar. Benlate totally inhibited all the fungal isolates. Candida species isolated from the two cowpea cultivars were greatly inhibited by the antifungal agents while Trichoderma species isolated from IFE BROWN was the least inhibited. The inhibitory effects of NaHCO3 and A. indica on Candida spp. were not significantly different and values ranged from 74.5% to 84%. The two concentrations of A. indica had better inhibitory effect on Pythium spp. than NaHCO3. Vernonia amydgalina at 1.45 mg/ml inhibited A. niger and Candida spp. by 83.75% and 87.5% respectively while NaHCO3 at 2.0 mg/ml inhibited Rhizopus stolonifer isolated from Drum by 75%. The study concludes that the two plant extracts and sodium bicarbonate had broad spectrum activities on fungal species and are therefore recommended as alternatives to toxic and synthetic fungicides.Keywords: Cowpea, eco-friendly, fungicide, inhibitio

Inhibitory potentials of five botanicals on associated fungi in relation to germination and morphological characters of Cucumis sativus Linn

The in vitro assay of the leaf extracts of selected botanicals was carried out to assess the inhibitory potentials of the extracts on fungal growth, seed germination, seedling growth characters and frequency of seed-borne fungi. selected plants include: Azadirachta. indica, Moringa oleifera, Vernonia amygdalina, Tithonia diversifolia and Carica papaya. Fungal isolates characterized from Cucumis sativus were Fusarium oxysporum, Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, Trichoderma viride and Nigrospora sphaerica. Azadirachta indica had the highest percentage inhibitory effect at p ≤ 0.01 on F. oxysporum (82.21%), while Moringa oleifera had the highest inhibition of 68.72% on T. viride, but not significantly different from T. diversifolia. Seeds treated with C. papaya extract produced the highest seedling length, germination and seedling vigour, while control was least. Concentration of 10% produced significant highest seedling (17.72cm), root length (11.59cm), percentage germination (82.67%) and seedling vigour (1469.08). Seedling length is positive and strongly correlated with shoot length, root length and seedlingvigour with r = 0.87, 0.67 and 0.89 respectively. Seedling vigour is positive and strongly associated with seedling length (0.89), shoot length (0.72) and root length (0.67). Keywords: botanical extracts, Cucumis sativus, fungi, growth respons

Nutrient digestibility and blood parameters ofWest African dwarf sheep fed sugarcane top silage

Nutritive value of low quality crop residues is improved with addition of protein–rich byproducts (poultry litter) or chemical compounds (urea) and can serve as feed resource to ruminant during the dry season. This study investigated the nutrient digestibility and blood parameters of West African dwarf (WAD) sheep fed sugarcane top silage. Sugarcane tops were ensiled alone (control) or with 2% urea (USCT silage), 45% boiler litter (BLSCT silage) and 1% urea plus 22.5% broiler litter (UBLSCT) for 42 days. Each silage treatment contains 2% molasses. Twenty-four female West African dwarf sheep of 6-8 months of age, weighing 14.58±1.16kg were randomly assigned to the four silage treatments of six animals each in a completely randomised design for 84 days. Chemical composition of the silages was determined. Performance characteristics, apparent nutrient digestibility and blood parameters of the WAD sheep were evaluated. All data were subjected to one way Analysis of Variance. Results showed that animals fed BLSCT had significantly highest (P<0.05) total dry matter intake (64.26g/kgW0.75) and daily weight gain (46.03 g/day) followed by those on UBLSCT and USCT while animals fed control diet recorded the least with highest feed conversion ratio (20.62). Digestibility of all nutrients was highest (P<0.05) in sheep fed BLSCT (71.43%,71.16%, 75.66%, 64.35% and 56.82%for dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, NDF and ADF digestibility respectively) and lowest (55.71%, 57.31%, 59.98%, 39.47%and 46.92% for dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, NDF and ADF digestibility respectively ) in those on control diet. Similarly, sheep fed BLSCT recorded significant highest (P<0.05) packed cell volume (32.17%), haemoglobin (10.82g/dL) and red blood cell (13.43 x10 /L). The serum glucose, total protein, albumin, globulin and blood urea concentration were similar (P>0.05) but higher in animals fed BLSCT (3.94mmol/L, 71.80 g/L, 37.00 g/L, 34.80 g/L and 130.55mg/L, respectively)USCT (3.83mmol/L, 71.50 g/L, 35.0 g/L, 36.50 g/L and 140.65 mg/L respectively) and UBLSCT (3.75 mmol/L, 71.20 g/L, 34.50g/L, 36.70 g/L and 120.90 mg/L, respectively) compared to control. The study concluded that SCT treated with urea or broiler litter or their combination (UBLSCT) ensiled for 42 days could be fed to ruminant during long dry season without any detrimental effect on the health of the animals