Identification and Control of Seed Born Fungal Parhogens of Maize Seed (Zea mays) Using Plant Extracts

Seed-borne fungal pathogenic infections of maize (Zea mays L. ) were studied using seed samples collected from four States in North-east Nigeria. The deep-freeze blotter method was used to detect fungal pathogens on the seeds. Five fungal pathogens associated with the rot identified based on their colonial and morphological characteristics and their severity of occurance were Aspergillus ustus (83.3 %), Fusarium solani (75 %), Aspergillus flavus (83.3 %), Rhizopus stolonifer (66.7 %) and Botrytis cinerea (100 %). Aqueous extracts of Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass), Vernomia amygdalina (bitter leaf) and Azadirachta indica (neem) seeds were tested for their inhibitory activity against seed-borne fungal pathogens in the infected seeds using 20 %, 40 % and 60 % (w/v) concentrations which suppressed their mycelial growth. Statistically, the result showed it was significant with analysis of variance (P= 0.0001). The effect of concentration was proportional to inhibition as the highest inhibition is at 80 %. Neem seed extract exhibited the best control, reducing infection of F. solani.