Pathogenic fungi and Bio-control agents: Competitive bio-assay research

Fungi of the genus Trichoderma have a track record of being antagonist to quite of a number of agricultural important pathogens. Trichoderma have some unique characteristics that make it scientifically proven and suitable bio-control agents against varieties of pathogenic organism infecting economic food crops. Trichoderma has the advantage of being environment friendly and not hazardous to the health of human beings, livestock, soil and environment. Competitive bio-assay experiment was carried out in the laboratory on the effects of Trichoderma species (T. atroviride P1 isolates, T. harzianum T22 isolates, T. viride) on some crop pathogens (Phytophthora cinnanerium, Botrytis cinaria and Rhizoctonia solani). Pure culture of Trichoderma and pathogenic fungi were replicated four times and arranged in a complete block design. The result of the experiment shows that Trichoderma species are strong competitor of P. cinnanerium, B. cinaria and R.solani. Within 72 hours, the Trichoderma species were able to grow and completely overlap the P. cinnanerium, B. cinaria and R. solani. This strong competitiveness indicated that Trichoderma species would effectively inhibit the growth of P. cinnanerium, B. cinaria and R. solani on the infected crop; thus the application of Trichoderma species in the control of P. cinnanerium, B. cinaria and R. solani infected crops

Preliminary study on climate seasonal and spatial variations on the abundance and diversity of fungi species in natural plantation ecosystems of Ile-Ife, South West, Nigeria

The biodiversity assessment of fungi and the knowledge of the forces that controls the distribution of fungi and their community are becoming more important in the light of climate change and variability. Fungi provide the global foundation for plant as mutualists, decomposers and pathogens. This study deals with the primary screening, characterization and seasonal variations of mycoflora, isolated from medicinal, oil palm and plantain plantations of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, from February to June. Fungi colonies and different fungal species were screened and identified across different months and weather variability. Data on the weather variations were collected. Soil samples (0 to 30 cm depth) were collected at different locations within the rhizosphere in each plantation, and the physico-chemical properties and fungi microbial load were determined using standard techniques. The result of soil physico-chemical properties showed that the soil type was humus and acidic in nature. A total of 8 fungi genera and 33 species were recorded in the studied plantations. Temperature of the studied areas ranged between 22.5 to 31.06°C, while the relative humidity of the studied sites ranged from 54.6 to 100%. The rainfall data obtained in this study ranged between 0.381 to 0.584 m. The highest microbial load was (8 × 105 CFU/g) and was observed under medicinal plantation in the month of June. The results obtained showed that weather variability’s have direct effect on different fungal species sporulation and CFU formation.Key words: Climate, fungi, soil, microbial load, natural plantation

Nematicidal plants with potential to control plant-parasitic nematodes of some economic food crops

An inventory was made of plant parasitic nematode species, the crops they infest and plants that could be used to control the various nematodes. Effective nematicidal plants and their chemical constituents were also highlighted. It was observed that many plant materials had been used in the control of plant parasitic nematodes worldwide. Concentrations of plant materials, forms of application, the effective nematicidal plant parts and the chemical constituents in plants varied tremendously. From the information available it appears that the wide use of nematicidal plants in the control of plant parasitic nematodes could be easily adopted by growers worldwide

Accessing the World Market for Organic Food and Beverages from Nigeria

A study in 2005-2006 assessed the opportunities for and constraints to Nigeria accessing the international organic market. The study comprised semi-structured interviews with agricultural produce exporters and government officials in Nigeria, and with representatives of certification agencies in the UK, and focus group discussions with farmers’ groups in Ogun State, Nigeria. Fresh and canned pineapple and mango, ginger, and herbs and spices were ranked as having very high potential for Nigeria in the international market. Fruit juice concentrates, palm oil, cashew nuts, honey and cotton were among those products classified as high potential. Constraints identified included lack of awareness of organic farming techniques, high certification costs, lack of institutional support, enabling policies, infrastructure, and marketing facilities, limited access to capital and inability to capture economies of scale