Effect of intra row spacing on the incidence and severity of pearl millet downy mildew and grain yield

The effect of seven intra row spacing (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 cm) on the incidence and severity of downy mildew of pearl millet and yield components of a local pearl millet variety (Zango) were studied under field conditions in 2002 and 2003 at Samaru, Nigeria. Intra row spacing did not have significant effect on the incidence and severity of the disease but significantly increased plant height, panicle length and weight, 1000-grain weight and grain yield

Host range studies of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. strigae meant for the biological control of Striga hermonthica on maize and sorghum

Fusarium oxysporumf.sp.strigaewas reported to be effective in the control ofStrig-a hermonthica(Del.). The most effective (pathogenic toStriga) isolates werePSM197 and FOXY2 obtained from Nigeria and Ghana, respectively. To make appli-cation easier, the organisms were encapsulated in a pesta as carriers. In order todetermine the applicability of these bio-control agents, there is the need to evaluateits host range on cultivated crops. Therefore, 26 economically important crops inNigeria were used in a screen house host range study using the two isolates as agranular formulation (pesta) applied in the planting holes before sowing/planting.Data on plant vigour, plant height, plant fresh and dry weight were taken andanalysed using analysis of variance and means were separated using least signifi-cance difference. The result showed that 10 crops out of the 26 used in the studystatistically differed with respect to plant height; eight crops statistically differed fromthe other crops in terms of plant vigour whilefive crops and seven crops differedstatistically from the others in terms of fresh and dry weight, respectively. Some ofthe crops also showed symptoms of infection and this lead to further analysis in thelaboratory