INFECTION RELATED CHANGES IN NUTRITIONAL CONTENTS OF FLUTED PUMPKIN (Telfairia occidentalis) INFECTED BY Diplocossum spicatum AND CONTROL USING PLANT EXTRACTS

Tailairia occidentalis is an important vegetable crop in the south-eastern part of Nigeria. It is consumed in various ways by the different communities. Most farmers grow it for sales hence; it is a high income earner. In the 2007 and 2008 cropping seasons, a high incidence of leaf spot disease was observed. A Pathological study based on Completely Randomized Block Design (CRBD) was carried out and the result implicated Diplocossum spicatum, as the fungal pathogen causing leaf spot disease of the crop in Cross River State, Nigeria. Infection was mainly through spores and symptoms normally develop in the early rains in April,. Infection by this fungus significantly reduced the carbohydrate and vitamins contents in the host plant. However, there was increase in the protein (+ 4.64%) and moisture (+ 6.16%) contents of the infected leaf samples (P< 0.05). For fat content, there was only a negligible decrease in the infected samples. Fungal sporulation was effectively controlled with aqueous extract of Sacocephalus latifolium (0.8 x 101) and ethanolic extract of Danielli olivera (0) all, at 30% concentration. Spore germination was as well reduced to 0% by ethanolic extract of Danielli olivera.