TITLE:
Effect of Animal Manure on the Incidence and Severity of Leaf Spot Disease of Fluted Pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis) in Dschang, West Region of Cameroon
AUTHORS:
Mbong Grace Annih, Nelomen Che Benedicte Tatiana, Tonjock Rosemary Kinge, Anoumaa Mariette, Andrew Kpu Kebei
KEYWORDS:
Vegetable, Organic Fertilizer, Incidence, Severity, Pathogenicity
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.11 No.7,
July
20,
2020
ABSTRACT: Fluted Pumpkin known as Telfairia occidentalis is an important vegetable crop in
the tropics, cultivated for its leaf vegetable and edible seeds. It is a plant
with a wide range of virtues but nevertheless; it is threatened by large scale
fungal attacks. In order to manage the problem of food security and meet up
with the production of this crop, this study was carried out to assess the
effect of animal manure on the incidence and severity of leaf spot disease of Fluted
Pumpkin and to determine the pathogenicity test of white leaf spot in Dschang.
This research was done in the Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences
experimental farms at the University of Dschang from November 2017 to May 2018.
The field layout was Randomized Complete Block Design with three treatments
(poultry manure, piggery manure and control) and three replications. Each
replicate consisted of six plots, giving a total of eighteen plots per treatment.
In each treatment, fluted pumpkin was spaced at 1 m × 1 m apart. Application of
organic manure was done at 3 weeks after emergence and data collection were
carried out weekly from 42 DAP. Pathogenicity test was conducted after the
establishment of lesions on the leaves. Data were analyzed using descriptive
and ANOVA. It was observed that piggery manure treatment had the highest
disease incidence (DI = 86.89) compared to the control (DI = 85.42) and poultry
manure (DI = 65.74). The pathogenicity test revealed that Phoma sorghina was the causal agent for leaf spot disease in fluted
pumpkin with a frequency of 18. Disease incidence and severity was reduced in
poultry manure, followed by the control with piggery manure having more
disease. Therefore, poultry manure had a better management option of leaf spot
disease on fluted pumpkins compared to the other treatments.