Potentials of two bio-pesticides in the control of some field insect pests of bambara groundnut in Ilorin

A field experiment was carried out to determine the predominate order of insects associated with Bambara groundnut and to compare the efficacy of aqueous leaf extracts of Jatropha (Jatropha curcas) and lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus), used as bio-pesticides in controlling some field insect pests of Bambara groundnut. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) using four treatments with four replications. The following parameters were recorded and used to evaluate the efficacy of the treatments; flower population, weight of pods (damaged and undamaged pods), number of pods (damaged and undamaged pods), number of holes on damaged pods and number of insects. The results of the experiment showed that insects of seven distinct Orders- Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Homoptera, Lepidoptera and Orthoptera attack Bambara groundnut with each affecting the plant at different stages of the plant’s development. The bio-pesticides significantly (P <0.05) reduced the effects of attack by insects when compared to the control. Lemon grass was the most effective of the bio-pesticides evaluated and can be used by resource poor farmers in the management of Bambara groundnut on the field.Keywords: Bambara groundnut, bio-pesticide, Cymbopogon citratus, Jatropha curca

Novel application of Trichilia Heudelotii planch: effectiveness of different polarity of organic solvents of leaf and stem bark extracts on the control of cowpea beetle

Callosobruchus maculatus (cowpea beetle) is a field-to-store pest causing over 90% losses of cowpea. The search for new plant-derived crop protectant that can be explored as alternative to synthetic pesticides is urgently needed. Thus, the phytochemical screening, as well as the bioactivity of different polarity of organic solvents of leaf and stembark extracts of Trichilia heudelotii (Meliaceae), was investigated against the field-to-store insect pest Callosobruchus maculatus in laboratory bioassay. The non-polar (hexane) and polar (ethanol) extracts [0.0 (control), 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 ml] of the leaf and stem bark were added to 100 g of cowpea. The following parameters of the cowpea weevil life cycle were analysed at the various concentrations: adult mortality, oviposition rate, number of larvae and pupae, and emergence of first filial progeny. The phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, saponins in both the non-polar and polar extracts. Furthermore, the various treatments used were significantly (p< 0.05) effective in controlling C. maculatus from 1 and also 30 days after treatment (DAT) for both the non-polar and polar extracts when compared to the control. However, the most effective treatment was observed with the polar (EtOH) stem bark extract at 1.5 ml, which caused more mortalities and fewer emergence of the insect. Our findings suggest that the non-polar and polar leaf and stem bark of T. heudelotii extracts could serve as a sustainable and potential alternative to synthetic chemicals in pest control

Isolation of Ascomycetous Fungi from a Tertiary Institution Campus Soil

Studies were carried out on the ascomycetous fungi present in six different but carefully selected sites on the University of Ilorin permanent site soil. Fungi isolation was done by the soil dilution method incubated at 27oC for 72 hours. The predominant Ascomycetous fungi isolated include among others; Aspergillus niger , Fusarium solani , Fusarium oxysporum , Penicillium italicum , Fusarium acuminatum , Fusarium culmorum , Candida albicans , Botrytis cinerea , Geotrichum candidum , Trichoderma viride , Verticillium lateritum , Curvularia palescens , Penicillium griseofulvum , Penicillium janthinellum , Penicillium chrysogenum , Aspergillus terreus , Aspergillus flavus , Aspergillus fumigatus , Aspergillus glaucus , Aspergillus clavatus , Cladosporium resinae , Alternaria alternate , Trichothecium roseum , Phialophora fastigiata , Aspergillus nidulans , Aspergillus wentii , Humicola grisea , Trichophyton rubrum , Helminthosporium cynodontis , Penicillium funiculosum , Penicillium purpurogenum , Saccharomyces cerevisiae , Trichoderma harzianum , Scopulariopsis candida .The physicochemical characteristics of soil samples was found to affect the distribution and population of fungi. The colony count in the study are ranged between 5.8 x 10″ per gram of soil to 1.63 x 10″ per gram of soil. The soil consists of high organic matter content