Fusarium wilt is considered one of most important disease of crops and especially vegetables in fields and greenhouses. The disease is characterized by wilting of plants, yellowing of leaves and reduced to even total loss of crop yield. In Tanzania, Fusarium wilt has been reported in many crops, however, Foxysporum f.sp lycopersici specifically attacks tomato plants and causes systemic disease of the root and stem.
Fusarium wilt is commonly controlled by integrating the use of chemical fungicides and selection of resistant host cultivars. However, increased use of chemical fungicides has a negative impact on the environment and human health due to chemical residues. Cultivar selection, on the other hand, is a complicated and costly procedure for small farmers to perform. Biological control has increasingly become an acceptable, non hazardous strategy to reduce crop pathogens by antibiosis, competition, parasitism, cell wall degrading enzymes and induced resistance. Among widely used fungicidal agents include the bacteria of which the Bacillus spp appear most potent . This study aims to demonstrate the inhibitory effect of local isolates of the Bacillus against F. oxysporum wilt of tomatoes in vitro, and in experimental field conditions in Morogoro region.
12 Months August 2019
Dr. Ladslaus Mnyone
Prof. Robert S. Machang’u
Prof. Amon Maerere
Dr. Baraka Mwinuka
Mr. Jackson Nashon
Amount Tsh 40,000,000