My name is Olumayowa Olowe. I hold a Ph.D in Plant Pathology from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. I am presently a Lecturer at the University of Rwanda, Rwanda where I teach and conduct research. I am a Nuffic and Agrifose Awardee and I have fourteen publications, six conference papers and one book chapter to my credit. I have attended academic training within and outside the country which includes 'Translating Science into Policy and Practice, arranged by the AgriFoSe2030 Programme' and Plant genetics resources and seeds arranged by the Wageningen University. My research focuses on developing an eco-friendly disease management approach to solving pests and diseases that are threats to agricultural products to attain food security and sustainability. Phone: 2348027179202 Address: University of Ibadan
Trichoderma spp. are among the front-line microorganisms commonly employed in novel biotechnology... more Trichoderma spp. are among the front-line microorganisms commonly employed in novel biotechnology applications. They have been well-proven as biopesticides, biofertilizers, and biostimulants for managing plants against biotic and abiotic stresses. They are instrumental in managing plant diseases of economic importance, such as tomato root rot. However, this group of fungi has not been well-exploited en-mass in developing countries, while the use of bioagents in-lieu of chemical pesticides is still not a common practice in many African countries. Africa contributes 11.8% to global tomato production. Unfortunately, more than half of the actual product is lost due to diseases. The root rot of tomatoes predominantly caused by soil-borne fungal pathogens are among significant problems of tomato cultivation in Africa. Here, we review the constraints of tomato root rot in Africa and the roles of Trichoderma in repositioning the crop for optimum productivity. We gave a comprehensive overview of the economic importance, root rot epidemiology, and how to circumvent it through gene pool to resistant tomato and employ Trichoderma's biological control potentials. Furthermore, this review gives an overview of the mechanisms of action of Trichoderma, gaps in the advocacy, adoption, commercialization, and regulation of Trichoderma as biocontrol agents of tomato rot diseases in Africa.
Telfairia occidentalis is highly heterozygous with continuous out-crossing, therefore conservatio... more Telfairia occidentalis is highly heterozygous with continuous out-crossing, therefore conservation of its genetic resources will require the culture of explants from vegetative tissue rather than seeds, in order to maintain improved or superior genotypes. Experiments were carried out to establish a procedure for the sterilization of shoot tip explants from field grown seedlings and to induce organogenesis using different treatment combinations of phytohormones. Shoot tip explants obtained from 4 to 5 weeks old seedlings were surface sterilized using 3 concentrations of sodium hypochlorites (NaOCl) (0.5%, 0.75% and 1%) with 3 exposure time (10minutes, 15minutes and 20minutes), percentage clean cultures were recorded after 4, 8 and 14 days. The lowest frequency of clean culture (0.33) was obtained when shoot tip explants were treated with 0.5% of NaOCl for 20minutes. Sterilization was most effective when shoot tip explants were treated with 1% NaOCl for 15minutes and 20minutes. Ninety...
Maize (Zea mays L.) is a major cereal crop which serves as food to both man and livestock especia... more Maize (Zea mays L.) is a major cereal crop which serves as food to both man and livestock especially in the tropical and subtropical region of Africa. Reduction in the quantity and quality of maize production in Nigeria has been attributed to some seed borne pathogens, of which strains of Fusarium verticillioides causing ear rot infections are included. Hence, this study investigated the resistance of six maize genotypes to strains of F. verticillioides isolated from infected maize cobs obtained from rainforest (Ibadan) and derived savanna (Iloora) agro ecological zones of Southwest Nigeria. The screenhouse experiment was laid out in complete randomized design. The pathogenic strains of F. verticillioides isolated from 5 locations were inoculated at the silking stage (six weeks after planting) of maize cultivar. Data collected on the growth, yield and ear rot disease assessments were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SAS 9.1 statistical software. AMA TZBR YCF was the m...
Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) is an important leguminous tree crop in the African Savannahs useful to ... more Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) is an important leguminous tree crop in the African Savannahs useful to the natives where it is found, for domestic use. Previous diversity studies on this tree crop had been majorly on morphological and biochemical analysis. In order to capture the maximum diversity not obtained by previous research, the study aimed at evaluating the genetic diversity of accessions of this crop in the different agroecological zones in Nigeria using RAPD markers. A total of 81 scorable bands with an average of 8.1 bands per primer were amplified among the accessions studied. Intrazonal genetic diversity analysis showed a percentage polymorphism with a range of 11.11% to 65.43% among the agroecological zones studied. Although, gene diversity was highest within Humid forest agroecological zone, a low genetic distance and high genetic similarity between the agroecological zones were observed. Cluster analysis indicated six main groups of which four groups had single accessions while the two groups clustered the remaining accessions, indicating a narrowed genetic base from the 23 accessions studied
Bioremediation (the use of living organism, part or their products) has been reported to be an en... more Bioremediation (the use of living organism, part or their products) has been reported to be an environmental friendly and cheap remediation method which is applicable in large and small scale but, the major problem facing this mechanism is the establishment of a particular biological entity in a heavily polluted soil. The soil supplementation/amendment during bioremediation was suggested to alleviate such difficulty, compost supplements role in bioremediation is majorly 'biostimulatory' a term used to explain the addition of nutrients for effective and active biological activities. Compost supplements have been a commonly used practice in agricultural practices for ages for enhancement of soil fertility and productivity but it is now known that this practice also enriches the microbial population in soil which promotes soil remediation as they act upon the organic waste to release its nutrients. This practice as well have been reported to enhance biological degradation, mineralization or extraction of a pollutant for clean-up/remediation of a polluted soil. Today, bioremediation mechanism which combines action of two or more organisms have been gaining more interests, application of soil amendments in such setting may serve as fuel to run the system feeding both entities the nutrients, creates environment conducive for their survival and enhances tolerance as well as responses. In this chapter, we gave accounts of biostimulatory and bioaugmentation mechanisms brought about by soil amendment using composts, we considered different examples and their impacts on soil bioremediation mechanisms.
This study investigated the characterisation of Fusarium verticillioides strains using Amplified ... more This study investigated the characterisation of Fusarium verticillioides strains using Amplified Fragments Length Polymorphism (AFLP) EcoR1-G/ Mse1-C primer combination. This was done to determine the amount of genetic variability present in F. verticillioides population. The objective of this study is to carry out molecular characterization of F. verticillioides strains from infected ear of maize. Six isolates were obtained in maize ear from 10 locations in three agro-ecological zones of Southwest Nigeria. Polymorphic bands detected were 164 from one base extension of EcoR1 and Mse1 primers in the selective amplification. Primer combination EC + MC produced the highest polymorphic bands of 58, while primer combination ET + MC had the highest percentage polymorphism (100%). Genetic similarity (67%) was observed among strains from Ibadan (IBD) (34, 36), Igbooho (IGH) (39), Ado-Ekiti (EKT) (46, 47), Saki (SAK) (52) and Igboora (IGB) (57, 58, 59 and 60). Strains 19 and 20 from Ilesha (ILH) had the highest pairwise similarity coefficient at 97% grouped in cluster II. The dendrogram delineated F. verticillioides strains into four major cluster groups with 77% similarity and other subgroups within. Fusarium verticillioides strains could therefore be heterogeneous, and thus amplified fragment length poly-morphism is an ideal tool for distinguishing the pathogenic variants of Fusarium verticillioides.
Trichoderma spp. are among the front-line microorganisms commonly employed in novel biotechnology... more Trichoderma spp. are among the front-line microorganisms commonly employed in novel biotechnology applications. They have been well-proven as biopesticides, biofertilizers, and biostimulants for managing plants against biotic and abiotic stresses. They are instrumental in managing plant diseases of economic importance, such as tomato root rot. However, this group of fungi has not been well-exploited en-mass in developing countries, while the use of bioagents in-lieu of chemical pesticides is still not a common practice in many African countries. Africa contributes 11.8% to global tomato production. Unfortunately, more than half of the actual product is lost due to diseases. The root rot of tomatoes predominantly caused by soil-borne fungal pathogens are among significant problems of tomato cultivation in Africa. Here, we review the constraints of tomato root rot in Africa and the roles of Trichoderma in repositioning the crop for optimum productivity. We gave a comprehensive overview of the economic importance, root rot epidemiology, and how to circumvent it through gene pool to resistant tomato and employ Trichoderma's biological control potentials. Furthermore, this review gives an overview of the mechanisms of action of Trichoderma, gaps in the advocacy, adoption, commercialization, and regulation of Trichoderma as biocontrol agents of tomato rot diseases in Africa.
Telfairia occidentalis is highly heterozygous with continuous out-crossing, therefore conservatio... more Telfairia occidentalis is highly heterozygous with continuous out-crossing, therefore conservation of its genetic resources will require the culture of explants from vegetative tissue rather than seeds, in order to maintain improved or superior genotypes. Experiments were carried out to establish a procedure for the sterilization of shoot tip explants from field grown seedlings and to induce organogenesis using different treatment combinations of phytohormones. Shoot tip explants obtained from 4 to 5 weeks old seedlings were surface sterilized using 3 concentrations of sodium hypochlorites (NaOCl) (0.5%, 0.75% and 1%) with 3 exposure time (10minutes, 15minutes and 20minutes), percentage clean cultures were recorded after 4, 8 and 14 days. The lowest frequency of clean culture (0.33) was obtained when shoot tip explants were treated with 0.5% of NaOCl for 20minutes. Sterilization was most effective when shoot tip explants were treated with 1% NaOCl for 15minutes and 20minutes. Ninety...
Maize (Zea mays L.) is a major cereal crop which serves as food to both man and livestock especia... more Maize (Zea mays L.) is a major cereal crop which serves as food to both man and livestock especially in the tropical and subtropical region of Africa. Reduction in the quantity and quality of maize production in Nigeria has been attributed to some seed borne pathogens, of which strains of Fusarium verticillioides causing ear rot infections are included. Hence, this study investigated the resistance of six maize genotypes to strains of F. verticillioides isolated from infected maize cobs obtained from rainforest (Ibadan) and derived savanna (Iloora) agro ecological zones of Southwest Nigeria. The screenhouse experiment was laid out in complete randomized design. The pathogenic strains of F. verticillioides isolated from 5 locations were inoculated at the silking stage (six weeks after planting) of maize cultivar. Data collected on the growth, yield and ear rot disease assessments were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SAS 9.1 statistical software. AMA TZBR YCF was the m...
Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) is an important leguminous tree crop in the African Savannahs useful to ... more Parkia biglobosa (Jacq.) is an important leguminous tree crop in the African Savannahs useful to the natives where it is found, for domestic use. Previous diversity studies on this tree crop had been majorly on morphological and biochemical analysis. In order to capture the maximum diversity not obtained by previous research, the study aimed at evaluating the genetic diversity of accessions of this crop in the different agroecological zones in Nigeria using RAPD markers. A total of 81 scorable bands with an average of 8.1 bands per primer were amplified among the accessions studied. Intrazonal genetic diversity analysis showed a percentage polymorphism with a range of 11.11% to 65.43% among the agroecological zones studied. Although, gene diversity was highest within Humid forest agroecological zone, a low genetic distance and high genetic similarity between the agroecological zones were observed. Cluster analysis indicated six main groups of which four groups had single accessions while the two groups clustered the remaining accessions, indicating a narrowed genetic base from the 23 accessions studied
Bioremediation (the use of living organism, part or their products) has been reported to be an en... more Bioremediation (the use of living organism, part or their products) has been reported to be an environmental friendly and cheap remediation method which is applicable in large and small scale but, the major problem facing this mechanism is the establishment of a particular biological entity in a heavily polluted soil. The soil supplementation/amendment during bioremediation was suggested to alleviate such difficulty, compost supplements role in bioremediation is majorly 'biostimulatory' a term used to explain the addition of nutrients for effective and active biological activities. Compost supplements have been a commonly used practice in agricultural practices for ages for enhancement of soil fertility and productivity but it is now known that this practice also enriches the microbial population in soil which promotes soil remediation as they act upon the organic waste to release its nutrients. This practice as well have been reported to enhance biological degradation, mineralization or extraction of a pollutant for clean-up/remediation of a polluted soil. Today, bioremediation mechanism which combines action of two or more organisms have been gaining more interests, application of soil amendments in such setting may serve as fuel to run the system feeding both entities the nutrients, creates environment conducive for their survival and enhances tolerance as well as responses. In this chapter, we gave accounts of biostimulatory and bioaugmentation mechanisms brought about by soil amendment using composts, we considered different examples and their impacts on soil bioremediation mechanisms.
This study investigated the characterisation of Fusarium verticillioides strains using Amplified ... more This study investigated the characterisation of Fusarium verticillioides strains using Amplified Fragments Length Polymorphism (AFLP) EcoR1-G/ Mse1-C primer combination. This was done to determine the amount of genetic variability present in F. verticillioides population. The objective of this study is to carry out molecular characterization of F. verticillioides strains from infected ear of maize. Six isolates were obtained in maize ear from 10 locations in three agro-ecological zones of Southwest Nigeria. Polymorphic bands detected were 164 from one base extension of EcoR1 and Mse1 primers in the selective amplification. Primer combination EC + MC produced the highest polymorphic bands of 58, while primer combination ET + MC had the highest percentage polymorphism (100%). Genetic similarity (67%) was observed among strains from Ibadan (IBD) (34, 36), Igbooho (IGH) (39), Ado-Ekiti (EKT) (46, 47), Saki (SAK) (52) and Igboora (IGB) (57, 58, 59 and 60). Strains 19 and 20 from Ilesha (ILH) had the highest pairwise similarity coefficient at 97% grouped in cluster II. The dendrogram delineated F. verticillioides strains into four major cluster groups with 77% similarity and other subgroups within. Fusarium verticillioides strains could therefore be heterogeneous, and thus amplified fragment length poly-morphism is an ideal tool for distinguishing the pathogenic variants of Fusarium verticillioides.
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