In vitro and In vivo Control of Fungal Cobweb Disease of Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq), Using Organic Materials

Aim: Assessment of In vitro and In vivo Control of Fungal Cobweb Disease of Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq), using organic materials.

Study Design: This study was designed to control the disease by using plant materials as organic control agent; both In vitro and in vivo.

Methodology: In Pleurotus ostreatus. In the In vitro test; food poison method was used while the in vivo test was undertaken by inoculation of fully colonized substrate bags of Pleurotus ostreatus infected with cobweb disease with crude extracts of Piper guineense and lime juice as treatment stock.

Results: The results indicated P. guineense inhibition of the growth of the pathogen at 22mm while lime juice did not show any impact on the growth of the pathogen. Additionally, P. guineense inhibited the growth of the pathogen in fully colonized but infected substrates bags of P. ostreatus invivo; such that the treated samples grew and developed the fruiting bodies of the mushroom, 3 days after treatment; whereas the one treated with lime juice developed the cobweb disease.

Conclusion: The study showed that effectiveness of P. guineense extract on the pathogen was possibly due to the bioactive chemicals such as phenols, tannins, flavonoid etc which concentration in the plant material occurred in surplus. These may have interfered with the molecular targets of the pathogen and caused it to loose cellular integrity and leakage of cell content. Alternatively, the study revealed that lime juice was ineffective; possibly because of the solvent used for it's preparation which could not enhance the release of the essential bioactive chemicals in lime juice for anti fungals. Consequently, this study recommends the use of P. guineense to mushroom farmers against fungal cobweb disease of oyster mushrooms.