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Preservation of seeds against fungi using wood-ash of some
tropical forest trees in Nigeria
Temitope O. Oguntade* and Adedotun A. Adekunle
Department of
Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of
Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria.
*Corresponding
author. E-mail: temmitade@yahoo.com. Tel: +2348023449102
Accepted 22 December, 2009 |
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Fresh visually
healthy seeds of Zea mays (maize), Cucumeropsis
mannii (melon) and Phaseolus vulgaris (bean) were
stored under three conditions, wood ash of some tropical
forest trees in Nigeria namely; Khaya grandifoliola,
Nauclea diderrichii, Piptadeniastrum africanum, Mangifera
indica, Mansonia altissima, Triplochiton scleroxylon, Ceiba
pentandra, Terminalias superba, Terminalia ivorensis).
Seeds treated with benlate, an orthodox fungicide and seeds
without any treatment to serve as the control of the
experiment. These were set-up at two different locations on
the campus (the laboratory and the botanic garden) for six
months. The seeds stored with ashes of Nauclea
diderrichii and Piptadeniastrum africanum were the most
effective, stopping fungal growth and eliminating weevils
compared to those seeds stored with benlate which is only
effective against fungal growth. P. vulgaris (bean)
seeds are the best stored of the three seeds probably due to
the low moisture content of the seed. Four pathogenic fungi
were isolated from the seeds (maize, melon and bean) at both
locations and these include; Aspergillus niger,
Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus and
Rhizopus racemosa. Preliminary phytochemical screening
revealed that some of these ashes contained a number of
active compounds which enable them (ashes extracts) to
inhibit the growth of the pathogenic fungi.
Key words:
Seeds, storage fungi and wood-ash. |
