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A study was carried out to determine the efficacy of three plant materials; pawpaw (Carica papaya) seed powder, kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) leaf powder, soursop (Annona muricata) leaf powder as well as clay and Permethrin dust against... more
A study was carried out to determine the efficacy of three plant materials; pawpaw (Carica papaya) seed powder, kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) leaf powder, soursop (Annona muricata) leaf powder as well as clay and Permethrin dust against Sitophilus zeamais (Mots.) under laboratory conditions. The experiment was laid out in 5×4 factorial with 5 replicates in Completely Randomized Design in the laboratory. Maize grains weighing 50 g were treated with the plant powders, clay and the synthetic Permethrin at the rate of 0.00 g, 1.5 g, 3.5 g and 5.0 g by weight and then infested with 10 adult weevils in each vial for assessments of adult mortality, F1 emergence and damage. The comparative effectiveness of each of the treatments were assessed by counting weevils’ mortality at 14 days, 28 days, 42 days and 56 days post treatment and progeny emergence at 28 days, 42 days and 56 days post-treatment. The results were subjected to statistical analysis after transforming the data using mean percen...
The efficacy of plant-derived insecticides was compared with a synthetic insecticide, Lambda-cyhalothrin over two cropping seasons (2015 and 2016) against Leucinodes orbonalis, the eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB) infesting eggplant,... more
The efficacy of plant-derived insecticides was compared with a synthetic insecticide, Lambda-cyhalothrin over two cropping seasons (2015 and 2016) against Leucinodes orbonalis, the eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB) infesting eggplant, Solanum gilo. The plant materials included oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) bunch ash, soursop (Annona muricata) seeds, and goat weed (Ageratum conyzoides) leaves. These plant materials were formulated into aqueous extracts of 150 g/L (w/v), while Lambda-cyhalothrin was applied at the rate of 5 mL/L (v/v). The experimental design was a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). There were 5 treatments with 3 replications applied on 2 cultivars of eggplants (Afufa Ukwu and Ngwa Large). Percentage fruit damage varied significantly (P< 0.05) with various treatments. The lowest mean percentage fruit damage was observed in the plot treated with Lambda-cyhalothrin (20.38%), followed by goat weed (29.03%), soursop (40.69%), palm bunch ash (43.30%) and the co...
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The most important losses in agricultural production which involve the greatest costs on the farm economy occur postharvest. It is estimated that worldwide between 10 and 40% losses of agricultural produce occur postharvest. Losses are... more
The most important losses in agricultural production which involve the greatest costs on the farm economy occur postharvest. It is estimated that worldwide between 10 and 40% losses of agricultural produce occur postharvest. Losses are more severe in developing than developed nations of the world. Several species of fungi and in some cases bacteria participate in postharvest deterioration and rots of tubers and agroproduce. These include species of Aspergillus, Fusarium, Colletotrichum, Macrophomina, Penicillium and Rhizopus amongst several others. In a bid to control these storage diseases several control techniques including physical, biological, and chemical and in recent times plant-based pesticides are employed. Chemical control has been identified as the most popular and most effective means of controlling plant diseases. However, it is being de-emphasized due largely to mammalian toxicity occasioned by chemical residues in crops. This in addition to many other demerits on eco...
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Sweet potatoes are important food staples in tropical sub-Saharan Africa. Orange flesh sweet potato (OFSP) varieties are especially important for combating vitamin A deficiencies and nutrition-induced blindness. Fungal leaf spots are one... more
Sweet potatoes are important food staples in tropical sub-Saharan Africa. Orange flesh sweet potato (OFSP) varieties are especially important for combating vitamin A deficiencies and nutrition-induced blindness. Fungal leaf spots are one of the many challenges constraining its production in Umudike, Southeast, Nigeria. The aims of this experiment were to isolate the causal fungi of leaf spots of OFSP and to attempt their control using aqueous extracts of banana peels, plantain peels and plantain leaf in vitro. Mycotic agents isolated from infected plant were Verticillium longisporum, Rhizoctonia solani, Penicillium chrysogenum and Aspergillus niger. Pathogenicity test conducted on the organisms revealed that the first three pecies were actively pathogenic, with infected sweet potato showing irregular brown spots/blights surrounded by chlorotic hallo around leaf veins and margins of the laminae; while A. niger showed weak infection of the plant. In the laboratory, four concentration...
Weevil (Sitophilus zeamais Motsch.) is a vital arthropod pest of maize (Zea mays L.) grains and flours in traditional storage systems. The pest bore holes into stored grains reducing their nutrient contents germination potentials and... more
Weevil (Sitophilus zeamais Motsch.) is a vital arthropod pest of maize (Zea mays L.) grains and flours in traditional storage systems. The pest bore holes into stored grains reducing their nutrient contents germination potentials and contaminating produce with frass. Its control using synthetic insecticides such as permethrin is being downplayed due to eco-mammalian toxicity from pesticide residues. Therefore, this study evaluates the toxicities of some indigenous plants Ageratum conyzoides L., Cymbopogon nardus L., clay and permethrin, under laboratory conditions to the insect pest. Maize grains weighing 50 g were treated with the plant powders and the synthetic insecticide at five different levels 0.00; 1.25; 2.50; 3.75 and 5.00 g. Subsequently, 10 adult weevils in each vial were used to infest the 50 g maize grains. Each plant powder and permethrin's effectiveness was assessed by recording weevil mortality at 5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days post-treatment. The damage indices recorde...
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Abstract. Enyiukwu DN, Nwaogu GA, Bassey IN. 2020. Association of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) (var. Ife Brown) with Colletotrichum destructivum O’Gara: A special reference to nutrients lost by the host. Cell Biol Dev 4: 41-46.... more
Abstract. Enyiukwu DN, Nwaogu GA, Bassey IN. 2020. Association of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) (var. Ife Brown) with Colletotrichum destructivum O’Gara: A special reference to nutrients lost by the host. Cell Biol Dev 4: 41-46. Cowpea or southern pea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) is an important grain and leafy vegetable in Africa. Anthracnose caused by C. destructivum represents a major biotic drawback to profitable production of cowpeas in the incontinent. The disease culminates in loss of grain yield, produce quality and nutritive values of the crop. This work assessed and quantified the nutrients lost from the aerial organs of cowpea (var. Ife Brown) challenged by anthracnose disease in the field and storage 4 weeks after inoculation (WAI), by classical and spectrometric analyses. The results showed that the disease affected the nutrient contents of all the aerial organs of the inoculated crop, decreasing the mean quantities of all proximate constituents and major mineral ...
Abstract. Enyiukwu DN, Chukwu LA, Bassey IN. 2020. Nutrient and anti-nutrient compositions of southern pea (Vigna unguiculata) and mung bean (Vigna radiata) seeds grown in humid Southeast Nigeria: A comparison. Trop Drylands 3: 41-45.... more
Abstract. Enyiukwu DN, Chukwu LA, Bassey IN. 2020. Nutrient and anti-nutrient compositions of southern pea (Vigna unguiculata) and mung bean (Vigna radiata) seeds grown in humid Southeast Nigeria: A comparison. Trop Drylands 3: 41-45. Pulses are important components of African cuisines. Cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) are commonly consumed in most parts of Nigeria, but mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) though new in the agro-landscape, is gradually gaining popularity. Its popularity is based on the speculation that it is of higher nutritional contents than cowpeas. This work evaluated the nutritional compositions of seeds of both pulse crops grown in humid southeast Nigeria using classical and spectrometric analysis. Results obtained from the study showed that the mean proximate compositions of mung bean (17.70%) did not statistically (P≥0.05) differ from (17.30%) recorded for cowpea seeds. However, irrespective of the high magnesium content (62.39 mg g-1) of mung bean, ...
Abstract. Enyiukwu DN, Amadioha AC, Ononuju CC. 2021. Histological aberrations and mode of damage of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) by Colletotrichum destructivum. Nusantara Bioscience 13: 16-23. Leaf and stem of healthy 2-week old cowpea... more
Abstract. Enyiukwu DN, Amadioha AC, Ononuju CC. 2021. Histological aberrations and mode of damage of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) by Colletotrichum destructivum. Nusantara Bioscience 13: 16-23. Leaf and stem of healthy 2-week old cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) seedlings were inoculated with spore suspension of the Colletotrichum destructivum O’Gara. Sections of the infection courts were prepared and examined under digital microscope. The results showed that the infection process began 12 hours after inoculation (hai) with the germination of spores of the fungus. Large multi-lobed primary hypha (somewhat spherical in shape) developed from the infection peg and remained inside a single epithelial cell for about 3 days. Towards the end of this time, the primary hyphae developed thin filamentous tentacles that punctured and branched into adjoining cells, initiating necrotrophic phase of the disease. During this period, typical anthracnose symptoms began to develop on the infected org...
Plant-based suspensions have recently been reported to possess seed priming effects for enhanced germination, seedling vigour and crop performance in the field. This study evaluated the use of two tropical medicinal plant species (... more
Plant-based suspensions have recently been reported to possess seed priming effects for enhanced germination, seedling vigour and crop performance in the field. This study evaluated the use of two tropical medicinal plant species ( Alchornea cordifolia and Piper guineense ) for their priming effects on cowpea seeds. The cowpea seeds (Var. Local) were soaked in 10% aqueous suspensions of the phytochemicals for 45 minutes, removed and air-dried for 1 h. Thereafter they were sown in micro-plots. The experiment was laid out in a complete randomized design (CRD) consisting of 3 treatments replicated 5 times. The whole experiment was repeated twice. Results obtained from the study indicated that both phytochemicals enhanced the parameters of mean seedling emergence and vigour of the cowpea plant. Piper guineense strongly improved the mean seedling emergence (48%) and vigour (4.99) but these parameters were not statistically superior to the mean values obtained from A. codifolia (49%) and...
Abstract. Enyiukwu DN, Amadioha AC, Ononuju CC. 2021. Evaluation of some pesticides of plant origin for control of anthracnose disease (Colletotrichum destructivum O’Gara) in cowpea. Asian J Agric 4: 4-11. Anthracnose is a common disease... more
Abstract. Enyiukwu DN, Amadioha AC, Ononuju CC. 2021. Evaluation of some pesticides of plant origin for control of anthracnose disease (Colletotrichum destructivum O’Gara) in cowpea. Asian J Agric 4: 4-11. Anthracnose is a common disease of cowpea in many bean growing areas of the world. This study evaluated the effects of Alchornea cordifolia, Tabernaemontana pachysiphon, and Lantana camara as low-input biopesticides for control of the disease. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) made up of 14 treatments with 4 replications. The results indicated that all the plant materials irrespective of carrier solvent and concentrations of application significantly (P≤0.05) minimized the incidence and severity of the disease as well as improved the yield and yield parameters of the treated crop than the control. Amongst all evaluated dosages of the plant materials, 50-100 % concentration of L. camara gave the best disease control and yield improvement of the ...