Citrus Extract Found Potent in the Control of Seed-Borne Fungal Pathogens of Pearl Millet—A Recommendation for Farmers’ Seed Saving Systems

Seed saving is crucial to ensure seed and food security, especially in developing countries. In Ghana, about 90% of pearl millet farmers utilise farmer-saved seed for production. Such seeds usually have a low germination rate, and may carry important seed-borne pathogens. In this study, the quality...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Horticulturae 2023-09, Vol.9 (10), p.1075
Main Authors: Anafo, Matthew Akalagtota, Sugri, Issah, Asungre, Peter Anabire, Ankamah-Yeboah, Theresa, Eleblu, John Saviour Yaw, Danquah, Eric Yirenkyi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural production
Citrus
citrus extract
Citrus fruits
Control
Developing countries
Diseases and pests
Environmental aspects
farmer-saved seed
Farmers
Food security
Fruits
Fungi
Fungi, Phytopathogenic
Germination
LDCs
Materia medica, Vegetable
Millet
Moisture content
Neem
Pathogens
Pearl millet
Pennisetum glaucum
Plant extracts
Protection and preservation
Quality assessment
Sampling techniques
Seed germination
seed quality
seed systems
Seed treatments
Seed-borne fungi
Seeds
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Seed saving is crucial to ensure seed and food security, especially in developing countries. In Ghana, about 90% of pearl millet farmers utilise farmer-saved seed for production. Such seeds usually have a low germination rate, and may carry important seed-borne pathogens. In this study, the quality of farmer-saved seeds and the potential of botanicals to control seed-borne fungi were examined. A structured questionnaire was administered to 120 farmers from Garu, Bongo and Kassana-Nankana districts in Ghana. During the survey, 60 samples of farmer-saved seed were obtained for seed quality evaluation. Aqueous extracts of neem (Azadirachta indica) and citrus (Citrus sinensis) were prepared as seed treatments compared with a control. Fourteen (14) fungal species were associated with the seed samples, but the four dominant ones were Curvularia spp. (62%), Talaromyces spp. (53%), Aspergillus spp. (52%) and Exserohilum spp. (42%). The application of citrus extract inhibited fungal incidence (15–31.7%) compared to neem extract (33.3–93.3%) and the control (96.7–98.3%). The application of citrus extract resulted in a higher (74.7–82.8%) field germination rate compared to neem extract (62.3–73.2%) and the control (65.5–69.2%). The citrus extract was the most efficient treatment in reducing the incidence of fungi and enhancing the seed germination and vigour of pearl millet.
ISSN:2311-7524
2311-7524
DOI:10.3390/horticulturae9101075