BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF POSTHARVEST DISEASES OF TOMATOES
Abstract
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) is one of the most important and widely consumed vegetable crops in Nigeria and globally. This study investigated the biological control of pathogens in different tomato species using selected plant extracts. Four tomato samples were analyzed to determine their microbial load and the antimicrobial activity of orange and plantain peel extracts, both singly and in combination. Data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA), and means were separated using the least significant difference at a 5% level of significance. The results showed that orange peel extract exhibited the highest antimicrobial activity against gram-negative bacteria such as Erwinia spp., Yersinia spp., and Pseudomonas spp., while plantain peel extract showed the least activity. Ciprofloxacillin, used as the control, displayed the strongest inhibition against both bacteria and fungi. Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference (p
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