Antifungal Activity of Fruit Extracts of Azadirachta indica on Germination, Infection, Rotten Seeds

Objective: Measure the effect of Azadirachta indica fruit extract on the output of seed-borne fungi and seeds of various rice varieties.

Study Design: The antifungal impact on rice seeds was assessed using neem fruits harvested in the town of Pala in Chad. In Bongor, Chad, samples of eight rice varieties (TOX, CH3, CH8, WITA9 D6, D4, D3 and D1) were collected to evaluate their output against aqueous neem fruit extract.

Location and Duration of the Study: This study was performed from June to October 2018 at the Phytopathology and Agricultural Zoology Research Unit of the Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences of the University of Dschang, Cameroon.

Methodology: At concentrations of T25 (25 mg/ml), T50 (50 mg/ml) and T75 (75 mg/ml), rice seeds were dipped in Azadirachta indica extract for 1 hour before being incubated in petri dishes containing blotting paper. As a negative and positive monitor, distilled water (T0) and mancozeb 80 WP (TMn1 mg/ml) were used respectively.

Performance: The results showed that the germination rate of Azadirachta indica extract-treated rice seeds was better (97.14%) than the negative control rate (82.53 percent ). The rate of infection of rice seedlings, the number of rotten seeds and the number of irregular seedlings were significantly lower (P = .05) for the treatment with Azadirachta indica than for the negative control treatment (T0).

Conclusions: The bio-fungicidal ability of neem (Azadirachta indica) fruit extract is a bio-stimulator of rice seed germination. This Azadirachta indica fruit extract can be used to enhance the cultivation of rice.

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