Antifungal Activity of Fruit Extracts of Azadirachta indica on Germination, Infection, Rotten Seeds and Abnormal Rice Seedlings from Chad Republic

Aim: Test the effect of Azadirachta indica fruit extract on seed-borne fungi and seed performance of different rice varieties.

Study Design: Neem fruits harvested in the locality of Pala in Chad were used to assess the antifungal effect on rice seeds. Samples of eight rice varieties (TOX, CH3, CH8, WITA9 D6, D4, D3 and D1) were collected in Bongor, Chad to assess their performance against the aqueous extract of neem fruits.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out at the Research Unit of Phytopathology and Agricultural Zoology of the Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences of the University of Dschang/Cameroon from June to October 2018.

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

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

Conclusions: Neem (Azadirachta indica) fruit extract has a bio-fungicidal potential and a bio-stimulator of rice seed germination. This extract of Azadirachta indica fruit can be used to improve rice cultivation.