Pre and Post-Emergence Damping-Off of Chrysophyllum albidum G. Don and C. delevoyi Dewild in Port Harcourt

A nursery experiment on pre- and post-emergence damping off of Chrysophyllum species was conducted in the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management in the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria in 2010. The study assessed the fungi associated with seed and seedlings of Chrysophyllum albidum and C. delevoyi in the nursery. A sample of thirty seeds each were collected randomly from the seed lot for both species and germinated in trays using a completely randomized design with three replicates. The germinants were observed over a period of 28 days. Disease incidence, germination percentages and seedlings damaged were observed and data recorded respectively. The t-test was used to separate the means. Fusarium oxysponum, Aspergillus flavus and Trichoderma species were implicated as causal agents of damping off in the two species. The fungal pathogens strongly impacted on the mean percentage germination percentage of the species in the unsterilised/medium with 34% and 7.33% for C. albidum and C. delevoyi respectively. Similarly the mean seedling survivals for the species were 28% and 6% for C. albidum and C. delevoyi respectively. Chrysophyllum species are highly susceptible to fungal pathogens in the nursery.