ABSTRACT Antibiotic resistance has become one of the major problems facing humanity. The need for new antimicrobials has been increased dramatically. Plants are considered as a major sources of new antibiotics due to the presence of phytochemicals. In Nigeria and other developing countries medicine plant materials have been used to treat various diseases since ancient times. The goal of our research is to evaluate the phytochemical and antimicrobial efficiency of Ficus sycamorus leaf extracts...
ABSRACT Eight cellulolytic microfungi were isolated from wood-wastes obtained from Okobaba sawmills, Ebute-Metta, Lagos. The microfungi include two pathogenic fungi, Aspergillus Aavus and Aspergillus fumigatus, and three different strains of the black aspergilli, Aspergillus niger, (designated herein as A. niger 1, A. niger 2 and A. niger 3). The other isolates are Fusarium solani, Penicillium chrysogenum, and Trichoderma harzianum. The filamentous fungi, A. nigeri, P. chrysogenum and T. har...
ABSTRACT Waste generated by several agricultural activities has many alternative uses. Unfortunately, much of it is burnt in the open fields, resulting in environmental pollution. In view of the economic and ecological importance of agro wastes, microfungi were isolated from decaying agro wastes samples and screened for pectinolytic activity using a plate assay method containing pectin alone. The effects of carbon, nitrogenous sources and pH on pectinase production by the strains with maximum...
Abstract: Grain legumes are among the key economical crops widely grown in western and eastern Africa as important sources of food and animal fodder. However, the production of grain legumes in Kenya is seriously affected by a complex of insect pests particularly thrips. Yield losses of 20 to 100% have often been reported in some areas. The bean flower thrips (BFT), Megalurothrips sjostedti is considered to be the most important thrips pest of grain legumes. Chemical control is still the mai...
Abstract: Endophytes demonstrate great potential sources for new bio active compounds. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to assess biological activities including antioxidant and antimicrobial potentials of endophytic fungal extracts from coriander leaves and seeds. The samples were surface sterilized before used as endophytic fungal culture. The result of macroscopic and microscopic characterization of the fungal isolates demonstrated the presence of three genera of endophytic fun...
Infectious diseases remain to be a global health burden due to the development of antibiotic resistance by pathogenic microorganisms. Antibiotic resistance has led to increased number of deaths among children and adults. Medicinal plants have been used over the years in the treatment and remedy of various infections affecting human beings. The use of secondary metabolites from medicinal plants and fungal endophytes can be an alternative to disease management without the negative impact o...
Pest and diseases have a serious effect on food production. Global crop yields are reduced by 20 to 40% annually due to impact of pests and diseases.Indiscriminate use of insecticides to combat insect challenges, have increased the selection pressure leading to resistance in insects. In such a situation, alternate options of insect control are advocated. The use of microbial insecticidal compounds offer adequate levels of insect control and pose fewer hazards.Microbial insecticidal compou...
Cultivation of Jatropha curcas L. for production of biodiesel as an alternative source of energy is crucial for sustainable development in Nigeria. Pests and pathogens especially fungi have been reported to be a major constraint to commercial cultivation of J. curcas in Asia and some West African countries. However, this is yet to be fully investigated and documented in Nigeria. Fungal pathogens infecting J. curcas in southwestern Nigeria were therefore investigated. Two hundred plant s...
ABSTRACT Alpha amylase enzyme (EC 3.2..1. 1) (a-1, 4 glucan-glucanohydrolase) is widely distributed in nature such as plants, animals and microorganisms. Production of extracellu Jar alpha-amylase from fungi was isolated from rhizosphere of Moringa oleifera. Three (3) fungi isolates were selected after serial dilution of the soil samples, four optimization parameters was employed to determine the enzyme activity and they include effect of inoculum size, pH, nitrogen source and surfactant·on...
ABSTRACT Biological control of Ceratocystis paradoxa using Trichoderma spp. were conducted on oil palm spouted seeds. Eighteen spp. of fungi belonging to ten genera were identified as fungi associated with diseased sprouted seeds. Out of these genera, Aspergillus spp. occurred most frequently and in relative abundance at 25.9%, Trichoderma spp. (23.4%), Ceratocystis paradoxa (11.1%), Fusarium spp (9.9%), Penicillium spp. (8.7%), Rhizopus sp. (7.4%) and Curvularia sp. (4.9%) respectively. Pest...
Abstract: Potato Cyst Nematodes (PCN) (Globodera rostochiensis and G. pallida Woll.) are quarantine pests of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) worldwide capable of causing significant yield loss and difficult to manage with conventional methods. The study explored the diversity of antagonistic fungi associated with PCN obtained from soil samples collected in Nyandarua and Nakuru Counties in Kenya and their effect on PCN egg viability and hatching was also evaluated. Twelve fungal isolates from f...
Abstract: This study assessed the nontarget effect of entomopathogenic fungi on the Western honey bee Apis mellifera L. and the African stingless bee Meliponula ferruginea Cockrell (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Pathogenicity of five Metarhizium anisopliae (ICIPE 7, ICIPE 20, ICIPE 62, ICIPE 69, and ICIPE 78) (Metschnikoff) Sorokin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) and one of Beauveria bassiana (ICIPE 284) (Balsamo) Vuillemin (Hypocreales: Cordicipitaceae) isolates were evaluated on bees at 108 conidia...
Abstract: Endophytic fungal isolates Hypocrea lixii F3ST1 and Beauveria bassiana G1LU3 were evalu-ated for their potential to endophytically colonize and induce active compounds in Phaseolus vulgaris,as a defense mechanism against pea leafminer (Liriomyza huidobrensis) and fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda). Endophytic colonization was achieved through seed inoculation with the volatile emis- sions from P. vulgaris plants being analyzed using GC-MS. The crude extracts of P. vulgaris obtai...
ABSTRACT Fresh healthy carrot promote good health but harbour a wide range of contaminants. To assess the microbial quality of carrots sold in Ibadan, a total of fifteen samples were purchased from five vendors. Samples were analyzed to study the density of microorganisms by standard plate count. ...
ABSTRACT The use of chemical herbicide in the management of aquatic weeds does not only constitute environmental and health problem but its cost and its non-specific nature calls for the use of biological control agents. An investigation was conducted into the probable use of indigenous fungi as potential mycoherbicides for water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) control. Trips were made to Badagry Creeks, Mile 2 and Lagos Lagoon in Lagos State and Ogun river in Isheri, Ogun state to collect sa...