The efficacy of aqueous leaf extracts of moringa and bitter leaf in the control of <i>Meloidogyne</i> spp infecting carrot

Abstract

The efficacy of aqueous leaf extracts of Moringa oleifera in the control of Meloidogyne spp infecting carrot was investigated. Two varieties of carrot (Touchon and Nantes) infected with 2000 juveniles of RKN, three concentrations (150 mg/ml, 100 mg/ml and 50 mg/ml) each of Moringa and Bitter leaf extracts, Furadan (7.7 mg/ml) and the untreated sample were the treatments. Each treatment combination was replicated 5 times. Growth and yield data were collected at harvest. Phytochemistry of the extracts of test plants were determined. Data collected were subjected to two-way analysis of variance. Growth and yield of infected but treated carrot were higher than their infected but untreated counterparts. Carrots treated with M. oleifera at 150 mg/ml had the highest performance in plant height (41.48 cm), fresh tuber weight (89.67 g) among others while the untreated carrots had the least performance. Statistical analysis revealed that the various treatments significantly increased plant height and fresh tuber weight (p< 0.05) as compared to the untreated control. Phytochemistry showed presence of flavonoids, saponins, alkaloid among others. The study revealed nematicidal efficacy of the aqueous leaf extracts of the test plants; therefore, they can be viable alternatives to synthetic nematicides in nematode management.