Shelf-life of five horticultural produce were studied. These include three leafy vegetables: Telfairia occidentalis, Celosia argentea and Amaranthus cruentus and two fruit vegetables: Lycopersicum esculentum and Abelmuschus esculentus. The layout plan of the experiment was a 3x2 factorial in a completely randomized design and each treatment replicated three times. The two factors examined were moisture barrier at three levels namely: thick lining, thin lining and non-lining. The other factor included initial moisture content of the produce, namely, turgid and partially wilted. Partial wilting of the produce was achieved by exposing freshly harvested materials at ambient temperature to dry for 45 min. During this period, about 20% of the moisture content was lost. Eighteen (18) vegetable baskets which work on the principle of evaporative cooling system were used. Each type of produce was stored at a time inside the vegetable basket. Some quantity of each produce were kept on the laboratory benches to serve as controls. Data recorded includes length of storage of produce, severity of disease infection, visual quality, disease incidence, ambient temperature and relative humidity of the storage baskets. The result indicates that there was a significantly higher relative humidity (P< 0.05) in the lined baskets than in the non-lined baskets. Consequently, the shelf-life of produce in lined basket was prolonged. Turgid produce had better quality retention and stored much longer than partially wilted produce. Generally, the evaporative coolant baskets provided an average temperature of 3°C lower than the ambient condition. The shelf-life of leaf vegetables T. occidentalis, C. argentea and A. cruentus was extended appreciably for 78 days compared to the controls.
This study was carried out to investigate the effect of plant extracts, African pepper fruit (Dennettia tripetala) and Ginger (Zingiber officinale) on seed borne fungal pathogens of Watermelon (Citrullus lanatas) seeds. Watermelon seeds were extracted for seed health test using blotter paper method. The antifungal effects of ethanol and acetone extracts of the two plant extracts and synthetic fungicide were studied under in-vitro experiment against the seed borne fungal pathogen of Watermelon at 0%, 50% and 75%. It was a 3x3 factorial experiment at 5% Probability level laid out in a Completely Randomized Design experiment with three replications Ninety percent germination was obtained in the germination and seed health test of Watermelon seeds. Seed borne fungal pathogen (Aspergillus spp. and Fusarium spp.) were identified. The potential of these organisms for pathogenicity were tested using Kock's postulate. The result of the pathogenicity test showed that Fusarium spp. was pathogenic. All plant extracts and Benlate inhibited the fungus (Fusarium moniliforme) in culture. The inhibition was also greater as concentration increased from 50% to 75%. It was also observed that ethanol extraction solvent did better than acetone. Generally, Dennettia tripetala extract performed better than Zingiber officinale. It could therefore be recommended that the two plant extracts used in this investigation which were very effective in the control of Fusarium moniliforme of watermelon could be an alternative to the synthetic fungicide. It could also be suggested that further studies be carried out to isolate, identify, characterize and standardize the bioactive components of these phytochemicals in a bid to commercializing their production.
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