Influence of Fertilizer Application on the Growth Response of Celosia argentea infected with Two Viruses

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Date

2016

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Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Faculties of Life and Physical Science, University of Ilorin Nigeria

Abstract

A greenhouse study was conducted to evaluate the influence of fertilizer application on the growth response of Celosia argentea mechanically infected with Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and Okra mosaic virus (OKMV). Four seeds and later thinned to two stands of the vegetable were sown per 10- litre sized plastic buckets filled with sandy-loam soil steam-sterilized at 12 o C for 1 hour. Fertilizer application was at the rate of 3 g (N-P-K 15-15-15) applied to 10 Kg soil prior sowing. CMVand OKMV virus isolates were inoculated on the vegetable grown on the fertilized and non-fertilized soils at 14 days after planting.The results of the experiment revealed that disease severity was generally lower in the fertilized plants. Virus inoculation also indicated increasing pathogenicity of CMV (35.8 % - 68.4 %) and OKMV (24.1 % - 64.4 %). However, irrespective of the virus inoculum, the combined effect of fertilizer application andvirus inoculation resulted in lower disease severity [CMV (35.6 % - 61.0 %) and OKMV (32.2 % - 59.3 %)] as compared with the effect of the non – application of fertilizer andvirus inoculation [CMV (35.7 % - 77.9 %) and OKMV (35.9 % - 74.0 %)]. The effect of treatment on growth parameters also followed the same trend. The effect on shoot weight showed that fertilizer application at the rate of 3 g per 10 Kg soil produced a significantly higher shoot weight per plant (2.8 g) compared to non - fertilizer application (1. 8 g). The results obtained from this study are indicative of the potential use of soil-nutrient augmentation as management for C. argentea virus diseases. This procedure if properly adopted could increase production with an attendant reduction in hunger and poverty among vegetable farmers in Nigeria.

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Keywords

Celosia argentea, Fertilizer, Inoculation, Pathogenicity, Virus

Citation

4 Aliyu, T. H., Balogun, O. S., Gbegan, V. D., Ahmed, O & Eifediyi, K. E. (2016) Influence of Fertilizer Application on the Growth Response of Celosia argentea infected with Two Viruses. Nigerian Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences 29 (2): 2881 – 2890

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