Management of fungal diseases on crop plants has been towards developing safe and sustainable approaches that pose less danger to man and the environment. The study examined the foliar application of silver nitrate in screenhouse for the management of the Fusarium wilt of tomato. A completely randomized design was used for the experiment and replicated three times. The experiment consisted of a tomato variety (Roma round) and silver nitrate (AgNO3) at 10 ppm, 50 ppm, and 100 ppm. Untreated control (0 ppm) pots served as negative control while Carbendazim (2500 ppm) served as a positive control. Results revealed that tomato plants treated with silver nitrate at 100 ppm at 8th WAT had a severity index of 3.00, which was significantly lower than the 4.33 and 6.00 disease severity recorded for plants treated with 50, 10 and 0 ppm concentrations of silver nitrate, respectively. The highest harvested fruit yield (35.90 tons/ha) was recorded for plants treated with Carbendazim, followed by 32.59 tons/ha recorded for plants treated with 100 ppm silver nitrate, which were not significantly different from each other. However, both values were significantly different from 20.47, 0.40, and 0.31 tons/ha fruit yield recorded for plants treated with 50, 10, and 0 ppm silver nitrate concentrations, respectively. The results showed that silver nitrate at 100 ppm concentration can reduce Fusarium wilt infection on tomato which would consequently translate to fruit yield increase.

African yam bean (AYB; Sphenostylis stenocarpa) is an underutilized legume indigenous to Africa with great potential to enhance food security and offer nutritional and medicinal opportunities. However, low grain yield caused by fungal diseases, including pod blight and leaf tip dieback, deters farmers from large-scale cultivation. To determine the prevalence of fungal diseases affecting leaves, pods and flowers of AYB, a survey was conducted in 2018 and 2019 in major AYB-growing areas in Nigeria. Leaf tip dieback, flower bud rot and pod blight were the most common symptoms. Morphological and molecular assays were conducted to identify the causal agents of the observed diseases. In all the samples examined, fungi from eight genera were isolated from diseased leaves, buds and pods. Koch's postulates were fulfilled only for fungi belonging to the Colletotrichum genus. Fungi from the other seven genera did not produce disease symptoms in healthy AYB tissues. Several Colletotrichum isolates were characterized by sequencing the rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, calmodulin and ApMAT loci. A combined phylogenetic analysis revealed four Colletotrichum species: C. siamense, C. theobromicola and C. fructicola, which were recovered from diseased leaves, and C. truncatum, recovered from diseased pods and buds. Our results are useful to gear efforts to develop integrated management strategies to control diseases affecting AYB in Nigeria and elsewhere. Availability of such strategies may stimulate greater AYB cultivation, which can contribute to diet diversification, something repeatedly advocated by a range of stakeholders to increase food security and prosperity of smallholder farmers.

SAAF Fungicide is a systemic and contact fungicide that is used to prevent leaf spot, blast disease, rust disease, and other types of fungi pests in all kinds of crops, especially on vegetable plant. Hence, the objective of this paper as to compare the effects of Potassium Iodate and SAAF-fungicide on the control of Fusarium Wilt (Fusarium oxysporum) and the Yield of Pepper (Capsicum spp L.) using appropriate standard methods. Agronomic data such as number of leaves, plant height and flowers was collected. Disease incidence and severity as well as yield were measured and analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Among all the treatment, Gulpinar F1 with KIO3 has the highest height and number of leaves across the experiment while negative control has the least height and number of leaves. De cayenne with SAAF has the highest yield of pepper harvested followed by Gulpinar F1 with KIO3, the negative control has the highest disease infection and severity, there are very mild infection on the treated plots. The two treatments have positive effect on the growth, disease control and yield of pepper. The highest pepper yield was achieved from SAAF treated sample.

The experiments were conducted to investigate the resistance levels among forty‑five lowland rice accessions at the Teaching and Research Farm, Federal College of Agriculture, Ishiagu (Latitude 5°56″N and Longitude 7°41″E) Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Forty‑five rice accessions were screened for their resistance to the blast disease in row planting during the 2017 and 2019 cropping seasons using Randomised Complete Block Design (RCBD) and were replicated thrice. The data on disease intensity and agronomic performance were subjected to Analysis of Variance and the significant means were separated with the Tukey HSD test at p < 0.05. Assessment of blast disease showed that the incidence, severity, and resistance levels varied significantly among rice tested. Accession NG / SA / JAN / 023 had the highest disease incidence (59.06 %) while accessions NG / SA / DEC / 07 / 0300, TOG 5453, TOG 6804, FARO‑22 and FARO‑57 had no blast symptoms for the two cropping seasons. The disease severity ranged from 0.00 to 3.43 for the two cropping seasons. Five accessions (NG / SA / DEC / 07 / 0300, TOG‑5453, TOG‑6804, FARO‑22, and FARO‑57) were highly resistant, 10 were resistant, 14 moderately resistant, and 16 were moderately susceptible to the disease. In the 2017 cropping season, the result of the grain yield showed that accession Local Foreign and FARO 26 had the value of 46.77 g apiece while NG / SA / DEC / 07 / 0278 had the least (11.00 g). However, in the 2019 cropping season, the results of the grain yield showed that accession Local Foreign produced the highest yield (56.00 g), FARO 26 had 40.31 g grain yield while NG / SA / DEC / 07 / 0285 (22.0 g) had the lowest grain yield. The study concluded that using the blast‑resistant cultivars is the best option in managing blast disease, and the five highly resistant accessions could be planted out in other agroecological zones for further studies on managing rice blast disease in the field.

Wilt in tomato plants is often caused by Fusarium oxysporium f. sp. lycopersici. Chemicals, which are highly hazardous, are mostly used to control the disease. It is therefore, desirable to have alternative control mechanisms that are safe and affordable. Screenhouse and field experiments were conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Nigeria, to assess the impact of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) on Fusarium wilt and fruit yield of two tomato varieties (Beske and Kerewa). The treatments were applied at concentrations of 5, 10, and 15 ppm. The untreated plots served as control. Results showed that Kerewa treated with 15 ppm Cu-NPs recorded lower disease incidence in the screenhouse (2.1%) and on the field (22.2%). Furthermore, in the screenhouse, Kerewa treated with 15 ppm Cu-NPs had lower disease severity (0.6) while on the field, both Beske and Kerewa treated with 15 ppm Cu-NPs had no disease incidence (0.0 and 0.0, respectively). Beske produced significantly higher fruit yields of 151.7 and 795.8 kg/ha in the screenhouse and field trials, respectively. The research findings indicated that the use of Cu-NPs at a rate of 15 ppm significantly decreased Fusarium wilt infection and increased tomato fruit yield.

Tomato wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici (Fol) is one of the limiting factors to tomato production in the whole world because of its negative effect on the fruit yield of tomato. The study investigated the application of Acibenzolar-S-Methyl (ASM), a plant activator that stimulates plants’ defence mechanisms, at different concentrations (0, 25, 35 and 45 mg/L) on two tomato genotypes (Delila and Kerewa) using drenching method. Factorial experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design and completely randomized design in both field and the screenhouse, respectively. Results showed that the application of ASM significantly reduced (p≤0.05) disease severity. At 9 weeks after transplanting Delila recorded severity scores of 3.00 and 3.33(screenhouse) and 0.33 (field) while Kerewa had severity scores of 1.33 and 1.50 (screenhouse) and 0.33 (field) when ASM was apllied at 35 and 45 mg/L concentrations, respectively. These values were significantly lower (p≤0.05) than those recorded in untreated plots. Delila yielded 151.23 and 151.73 kg/ha (screenhouse), and 754.70 and 795.8 kg/ha (field) while Kerewa yielded 109.60 and 124.03 kg/ha (screenhouse) and 601.10 and 279.8 kg/ha (field) when ASM was apllied at 35 and 45 mg/l concentrations, respectively. Yields in both screenhouse and the field were significantly higher (p≤0.05) than yields in the untreated control plots. The study concluded that application of ASM at 35 and 45 mg/L to tomato could enhance its resistance which would translate to fruit yield increase.

The principal factor responsible for losses during storage of potato tubers is as a result of infection by microorganisms, and one of the major bacteria-causing rots in sweet potato is Pectobacterium carotovora subsp. carotovora . Five aqueous extracts of garlic cloves, ginger rhizomes, bonnet pepper fruits, cow horn pepper fruits and onion bulbs were evaluated for their potentials against the pathogen at 25, 50 and 75% concentrations. Sterile distilled water and streptomycin sulfate (0.2%) were used as negative and positive control, respectively. At 15th day after inoculation, onion, cowhorn pepper fruit and bonnet pepper fruit extracts both at 75% had minimum percent severity of 10.00% each, reduced percent rotten tissue and pathogen penetration. Thus, the application of onion bulb, cowhorn and bonnet pepper extracts at 75% concentration could be used to reduce losses due to soft rot.

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) production in Nigeria is limited mainly due to weed and insect infestations. The effects of insecticide spray regime and weed control on the productivity of cowpea were evaluated in the early and late seasons of 2020. Two insecticide sprays produced increased growth and yield in the late cropping season. However, in the early cropping season, optimum growth and yield of cowpea were obtained with four insecticide sprays. Regardless of the cropping season, preemergence (PRE) application of metolachlor or propaben plus manual weeding (MW) provided 71-80% reduction in weed density and biomass and resulted in cowpea growth and yields similar to the weed-free control. In the late season, two MWs resulted in cowpea growth and yield similar to the weed-free control. However, in the early season treatment, two MWs resulted in 51% lower yield than the weed-free control. The results showed that four insecticide sprays in the early cropping season or two insecticidal sprays in the late cropping season integrated with metolachlor or propaben application plus MW improved the productivity of cowpea.

Cowpea bacterial blight (Xanthomonas axonopodis pv vignicola) is a devastating disease of cowpea in Nigeria. Accurate identification is the first step for an effective management option. Thus, X. axonopodis pv. vignicola isolated from cowpea (Vigna unguinculata (L.) Walp) grown in different Agro-ecological zones in Nigeria were characterized using morphological characteristics, biochemical and antibiotic sensitivity tests. Pot experiments were conducted on two susceptible lines of cowpea (IT90k – 76) and (IT84s – 2246 – 4) in the screen house. In vivo infectivity studies were carried out to determine the effect of each of theX. axonopodis pv. vignicola isolate groups on the cowpea. All isolates from each of the agroecological zones were classified into Group 1 (light yellow) and Group 2 (brownish yellow) based on their morphological presentation on nutrient agar medium. Results from four of the biochemical test showed differences between the two morphologically different groups. Group 2 isolates showed a large zone of inhibition to a Lincomycin hydrochloride while isolates from Group 1 were not affected by the action of the same antibiotic. Blight symptom was only observed when the two types of isolates were combined and inoculated simultaneously. This study showed that there are two morpho-types of X. axonopodis pv. vignicola and their synergetic infectivity results in blight symptoms expression in cowpea.

Cercospora leaf spot disease (CLSD) is a serious constraint to the production of cowpea worldwide, especially in the tropics. This study was conducted to identify the causative agent of CLSD on cowpea accessions. Infected cowpea leaf samples were collected from established cowpea experimental field at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Ibadan. The leaves were placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and sub-cultured to obtain pure fungi isolates. Nucleic acid extraction from the pure culture was carried out at the molecular laboratory of National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out to amplify fungi nucleic acid using ITS1 and ITS4 universal primers. The amplicon obtained were subjected to Basic Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) to determine the sequence homology. These sequences were compared with known sequences on the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database. The sequences analysed had similarity with Cercospora canescens (MK029364.1 and MW756382.1) deposited on the NCBI database. This study confirms that C. canescens is the causal pathogen of CLSD found on the infected cowpea leaves.

Tomato ( Solanum lycopoersicum L.) is often threatened by wilt disease caused by Fusarium oxysporium f.sp lycopersici . Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) has been reported to promote plant growth and reduce disease severity. This experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of TiO 2 application on incidence and severity of Fusarium wilt as well as yield indices of three susceptible tomato accessions. A 3 × 5 factorial experiment fitted into Completely Randomized Design and Randomized Complete Block Design in both the screenhouse and the field, respectively. All experiments were set up with three replications. The treatments consisted of three tomato accessions (CPTTO/19/191, CPTTO/19/193 and CPTTO/19/195) and TiO 2 with four concentrations (0.3, 0.7, 1.0 and 1.3 ml/l) was applied using soil drenching. Plots without TiO 2 application served as the control. In both screenhouse and the field experiments, application of 1.3 ml/l TiO 2 significantly reduced the incidence and severity of Fusarium wilt with better yield of tomato fruit in the three accessions than the control plots and pots. The study concluded that application of TiO 2 at 1.3 ml/l reduced incidence and severity of Fusaruim wilt of tomato and increased the yield of tomato.

This study examined the probable effects of graded doses of Cannabis sativa (C. sativa) extract on the gene expressions of monoamine oxidase B and serotonin receptor 2C (HTR2C) in an attempt to correlate the duration of use with neurodegeneration tendencies in chronic marijuana users. Male Wistar rats weighing between 90 g ± 100 g were treated with graded doses of petroleum ether extract of C. sativa (12.5, 25 and 50 mg/kg body weight) orally. The exposure was monitored at 4, 8, and 12 weeks for each of the doses employed, after which the brain was removed. The gene expressions were determined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Cannabis considerably (p < 0.05) reduced the relative expression of MAOB at 4 weeks. At 8 weeks, cannabis upregulated the relative expression of the MAOB gene by 60%. Following 12 weeks of exposure to the 50mg/kg body weight dose of C. sativa, 80% increase in the expression of MAOB was observed compared to the control group. C. sativa (50 mg/kg body weight) extract at 8 weeks resulted in about 47.7% decrease in the expression of the gene, however, prolonged exposure (12 weeks) to the extract significantly (p < 0.05) increased the relative expression of HTR2C. Cannabis-induced dysregulation of the MAOB genes may be one mechanism linking chronic use of cannabis to cognitive decline and improved likelihood of developing neurological diseases. Alterations observed in HTR2C gene expression as a result of exposure to high doses of C. sativa extract may partly account for the depression and aggressive tendencies observed in chronic users.

Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 is one of the most economically valuable insects which plays significant role in human medicine, nutrition and crop pollination. The morphometric variations of honeybee from different locations of the southern guinea and northern guinea savannah ecological zone of Nigeria were studied. Fifteen morphological traits were measured for variation on six hundred (600) worker honeybee samples purposively collected from ten different locations within the ecological zone. Data collected were subjected to one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), SNK test (α=0.05) and Pearson correlation between morphometric characters were determined. At the same time a dendrogram of morphological proximity based on the fifteen morphological features was constructed. Results showed that morphometry variation (p<0.05) existed within the honeybee population in the guinea savannah agro-ecological zone of Nigeria, high morphological similarities were observed in the tibia length of the hind leg and the thorax length. The honeybee samples were classified into two distinct morphoclusters (A and B). Honeybee samples within morphocluster A were closely related in terms of the examined morphometric features and geographic distance (CV=1.65). In contrast, within cluster B, honeybee samples were closely related despite the vast geographical distance (CV=3.30, p<0.05). The body length was significantly positively correlated with the leg size, while hind wing length was positively associated with the proboscis, abdominal, thoracic, body length and hooks. Morphometric variations found in A. mellifera of guinea agro-ecological zone could significantly impact conservation and future bee breeding programmes of Nigeria.

The tomato fruit worm Helicoverpa armigera is a key polyphagous agricultural pest with a worldwide distribution. Apart from tomatoes, H. armigera also infests cotton, maize, chickpea and pigeon-pea. Its larvae affect almost all the aerial parts of tomato plants from the vegetative stage to the fruit maturation stage. Due to its high mobility, it causes a huge damage on crops and, as such, early detection of H. armigera from different agro-ecosystems is crucial for implementing control measures. Herein, we used a molecular marker approach to identify Helicoverpa spp. collected from twelve different locations in Ogun State. The H. armigera larvae used for the molecular identification were collected on tomato fruits from the 12 different locations from three agro-ecological zones in Ogun State. Genomic DNA of Helicoverpa was extracted and its purity was checked using Nanodrop spectrophotometer. Cytochrome Oxidase-I (CO-I) region of the DNA was subjected to Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) amplification. The PCR amplification of the CO-I gene after gel electrophoresis of PCR products of H. armigera showed a similar banding pattern at 700 base pairs which confirmed the insect as H. armigera. Keywords: Helicoverpa armigera, Deoxyribonucleic acid, Cytochrome Oxidase-I, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Electrophoresis.

Two trials were conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta in 2014 and 2015 to determine the effects of organic and inorganic fertilizers on the growth and yield of two tomato varieties. Compost at 20 and 30 t/ha and N: P: K 20:10:10 compound fertilizer at 300 and 400 kg/ha were applied. Two tomato Varieties: AVTO 9803 (hybrid) and Ghana 41 were used. In 2014, the experiment was laid out in a split plot arrangement with fertilizer type as the main plot and variety as sub plot. In 2015, it was a split-split plot of fertilizer type as main plot, fertilizer rate as the subplot and variety as the sub-sub plot in three replicates. Data were taken on growth parameters of plant height, number of leaves and branches per plant as well as yield parameters of number and weight of total and marketable fruits per plant; yield of total and marketable fruits per hectare. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance and means separated using standard error. Fertilizer type had no significant effect on the growth and fruit yields of the two tomato varieties. Interaction between the fertilizer type and variety was not significant for growth parameters but for the fruit yield. Ghana 41 variety grew taller and had more leaves and branches per plant, higher total and marketable fruit yields per plant with both fertilizer type and higher total (16.3 t/ha) and marketable (13.2 t/ha) fruit yields per hectarewith compost than AVTO9803(12.7 t/ha and 10.3 t/ha, respectively) in both trials. Application of 20t/ha compost and/or 300kg/ha N: P: K 20:10:10 compound fertilizer is recommended for the production of Ghana 41 and 300kg/ha N:P:K 20:10:10 compound fertilizer for the variety AVTO9803. Keywords: Lycopersicon esculentum, Variety, Compost, Inorganic fertilizer, Fruit yield.

Yield stability of twelve selected tomato genotypes was estimated in this study using the Additive Main Effect and Multiplicative Interaction (AMMI) and Genotype main effect and Genotype x Environment Interaction (GGE) biplot analyses. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the yield of selected tomato genotypes over successive years and under varying climatic conditions and to identify tomato genotypes with high stability and adaptability for yield across the test environments. The genotypes were evaluated at National Horticultural Research Institute, Ibadan, Nigeria during the wet and dry seasons of the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 creating a four year-season environments. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. A plot size of 2.5 m x 0.6 m was used. Data were collected on plant height, number of leaves per plant, number of branches per plant, number of fruits per plant, fruit weight per plant and unit fruit weight. Analysis of variance showed that there was significant difference for environments, genotypes and genotype by environment interaction, an indication of variation in the performance of the genotypes across environments. Significant AMMI and GGE biplot analyses indicated that the genotypes evaluated were not consistent in performance across seasons and years. Based on stability statistics, stable tomato genotypes with high yield can be bred for in future breeding programmes. The NHSL23 ranked highest in yield and is considered as the best candidate for production across environments. The most stable genotype was NHSL21 while NHSL26 was the most adaptable genotype across the four environments.

Bacterial wilt, caused by Ralstonia solanacearum, is a major and constant constraint in the production of tomatoes worldwide. A two-season field experiments, laid out in two separate orchards in a randomized complete block design and a split-split plot arrangement with three replications, was conducted to evaluate the integrated effect of grafting, thymol and acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM) in the management of tomato bacterial wilt disease in a naturally infested soil. Beske and UC82-B tomato cultivars, susceptible to the pathogen, were grafted on a resistant tomato rootstock (Tomachiva) while thymol (0.7% w/v) was applied as a pre-plant soil fumigant. Grafted and non-grafted tomato received ASM as foliar spray after transplanting. Sole or combined application of the enhancers (thymol and ASM) had significant reduction of bacterial wilt incidence in both seasons, from the second to eight weeks after transplanting. At eighth week after transplanting, the effect of combined application of thymol and ASM translated to 100% and 90.3% disease reduction in early and late planting seasons, respectively. Grafted tomato, thymol and ASM combination produced an average yield of 74.3 and 86.9 ton/ha in early and 65.3 and 58.1 ton/ha in late planting seasons respectively. The findings indicated that integrated use of grafting, thymol (0.7% w/v) and ASM (30 µg/ml) could be of great benefit in the control of bacterial wilt of tomato.