Pawpaw (Carica papaya L.) is a fruit crop of economic importance in Kenya, where small scale farmers are the major producers. One factor limiting pawpaw production is anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporoides, whose management on farm still remains a major challenge. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of plant extracts and extracting agents for controlling anthracnose disease on pawpaw fruits. In vitro spore germination and in-vivo tests were done using extracts from five plants; Aloe chiliensis, Azadiracta indica, Carissa edulis, Fuerstia africana and Solanum incanum; and extracting agents methanol, chloroform and ethanol against the fungus. A logistic regression model was used to estimate the botanicals’ dose response treatment ranges. The efficacy of the crude extracts was greatest when methanol was used for extraction. The highest inhibition was recorded in pawpaw fruits treated with leaf extracts of F. africana. There were significant differences in effects among treatments by methanolic extracts of the five plants on conidial spore germination percentage. Aloe chilensis (Aloe) showed a higher spore germination of 35.7%; while Azadirachta indica (Neem) resulted in the lowest spore germination of 1.2%. There were significant differences in days to healing of C. papaya fruits infected with anthracnose. Pawpaw infected fruits healed fastest (3.5 days) when treated with the methanolic leaf extracts of F. africana; while A. chiliensis ethanolic leaf extracts resulted in the longest healing time of over 7 days. Although these botanical fungicides present high potentials or controlling anthracnose pathogens of pawpaw fruits, their suitability for application within the socio-economic framework of Kenyan small-scale producers still remains a matter for further investigation.
Submission of an original paper with copyright agreement and authorship responsibility.I (corresponding author) certify that I have participated sufficiently in the conception and design of this work and the analysis of the data (wherever applicable), as well as the writing of the manuscript, to take public responsibility for it. I believe the manuscript represents valid work. I have reviewed the final version of the manuscript and approve it for publication. Neither has the manuscript nor one with substantially similar content under my authorship been published nor is being considered for publication elsewhere, except as described in an attachment. Furthermore I attest that I shall produce the data upon which the manuscript is based for examination by the editors or their assignees, if requested.Thanking you.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.