The Impact Crude Plant Extracts: As Potential Biofertilizers and Treatment against Tomato Plant Infection

Abstract

Tomato cultivation in Nigeria and around the world is seriously threatened by disease infection. Soilless cultivation and gene engineering are modern innovations used worldwide to ensure production of quality disease-free vegetables; yet annual crop loss still persists. In 2011, a commercial vegetable farm in Apao¹tao¹, Ibadan, Nigeria was totally ravaged by a fleet of disease infection. 36 infected tomato samples were annihilated from 6 cultivars for laboratory analysis. Crude plant extracts were employed as treatments. The test plants were arranged in 4 × 3 × 2 × 3 × 3 (experimental plots) and 4 × 3 × 3 (control plot) layouts. The tomato plants were basically infected by fungal diseases. The disease symptoms were totally eradicated by the applied botanicals (100% healthy tomato plants). There was an appreciable increase in plant heights of the treated tomato plants (30.9 cm, 30.2 cm, 27.5 cm and 26.5 cm respectively) compared to those in the control plots (24.1 cm, 22.3 cm, 23.3 cm and 18.6 cm, respectively). The results obtained so far showed that plant extracts was an effective alternative for the systemic and hazardous chemicals used in tomato plant disease management.