Full Length Research Paper

Comparative nematotoxicity and fungitoxicity of crude and partitioned ethanolic leaf extracts of three plant species

S. T. Anjorin¹* and E. A. Salako²

¹Department of Crop Production, Federal University of Technology, Minna,Nigeria.

²Faculty of Agriculture, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: oyindamola35@yahoo.com.

Accepted 2 July, 2008

The nematotoxicity and fungitoxicity of crude and partitioned ethanolic leaf extracts of Azadirachta indica, Blumea perotitiana and Lippia multiflora were compared in vitro involving Meloidogyne root-knot nematode and Rhizoctonia root-rot fungus. The experiment which involved a Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with three replicates indicated that the nematode mortality and radial growth of the mycelia of Rhizoctonia solani applied with ethanolic crude extracts of each of the tested plant leaves was relatively less than their respective partitioned extract. Since the purification process of natural plant products especially in developing countries is slow and cumbersome and might render pesticidal products to be ineffective, a well-prepared effective crude plant extract will be easier for the resource-poor farmers to afford and renew.

Key words: Nematotoxicity, fungitoxicity, crude extracts, partitioned extracts, plant species.