Oral Paper

         Mycology & Phycology

IN VITRO EVALUATION OF SOIL AMENDMENTS ON GROWTH OF Fusarium oxysporum of pepper.

Presenting Author
Iyabode Kehinde
Description
Pepper is a widely grown food and spice crop in the world, in many households, pepper provides variety of needs, such as enhancing intake of dull diets, mild drugs and making stew and some local dishes. Although the types and quantities utilized vary in different areas. Pepper is faced with many challenges, one of which is fungal diseases especially Fusarium wilt. However, synthetic chemicals has been used for a long time to control this disease but they are highly detrimental both to the soil and consumers of the crop. The study therefore evaluated the effect of organic soil amendments (SA) on suppression of Fusarium wilt of pepper caused by Fusarium oxysporum. The experiment was carried out at the laboratory of Pure and Applied Botany, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB). Sawdust was collected from a sawmill in Abeokuta, while Spent Mushroom Compost (SMC) from Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan and biochar was produced in FUNAAB. Fungi were isolated and identified from SA using standard microbiological methods. The in-vitro anti-fungal activities of aqueous SA at different concentrations of 0.1 g/ml, 0.15 g/ml, 0.2 g/ml and 0.25 g/ml were conducted on F. oxysporum and percentage inhibition was calculated. The data were analyzed using one way ANOVA at  p < 0.05. The fungi isolates found in the SA were Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, Mucor sp. and Trichoderma sp. The in-vitro antifungal activities against F. oxysporum (percentage inhibition) ranged between 42.20 and 87.10 %. SMC had the highest percentage inhibition on F. oxysporum in-vitro.