EFFECTS OF BOTANICALS, SOIL AMENDMENTS AND POLYETHYLENE MULCH COLOUR ON ROOT-KNOT NEMATODE (Meloidogyne javanica Treub) INFECTION ON TOMATO ( Solanum lycopersicum Mill)

📄 Project Abstract

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill ) is a solanacious plant. The fruit is very rich in essential vitamins and mineral salts (Peet,2001). It generates income to its growers. It is tropical warm season crop, said to have originated in tropical Central and South America(COPR,1983), and it is grown all over Nigeria. The bulk of production is from the dry season cropping particularly under irrigation in the Northern states and near riverbanks in the southern states of Nigeria. According to COPR(1983),the total land area covered annually is over one million hectares with most of the production from the Northern Guinea Sudan Savannah. The area of land used for tomato production in tropical Africa is about 300,000 hectares with an estimated annual production of 2.3 million tonnes. Nigeria is the largest producer with 126,000 hectares and annual production of about 879,000 tonnes ( Van der Vassen et al.,2004). The average yields in local farms range from 5 to 10 t/ha, while 30 t/ha have been re...