Awareness Status of Plant-parasitic Nematodes Occurrence and Damage among Farmers in Benue State, Nigeria

Aim: Benue state is reportedly one of the most agrarian-inclined states in Nigeria. With almost all economic crops cultivated largely in rural communities within the state, the activities of pests and diseases continue to devastate most fields. Among these pests are plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs). Hence the study was conducted to accentuate the prevalence and degree of PPN occurrence in Benue state for the first time. Methodology: Using well-structured questionnaires 120 farmers were interviewed in six Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Benue State covering 12 districts to divulge the level of PPN awareness among rural farmers and in addition, the extent of PPN damage on their fields. Laboratory-based microscopy study was used to identify common PPN genera on farmers’ fields. Results: Among the results obtained, it was shown that of the number of respondents interviewed throughout the twelve districts, only 10% of farmers in 7 LGAs have heard of PPN as soil-borne damage-causing organism. In Tsambe, Mbatian, Mbaityu, Ukpekpe and Ibilla LGAs only 20% of the farmers have heard of nematode. Microscopy studies showed that average extent of nematode damage on plant roots and presence was 4.1 out of a scale of 1.0 to 5.0. A total of 7 families comprising 10 genera of plant-parasitic nematodes were recovered from composite root and soil samples collected from surveyed areas. Conclusion: The level of awareness on plant-parasitic nematode occurrence and damage in Benue State is very low even though devastations on economic crops grown within the State is high. There is an urgent need to increase information dissemination among farmers within the studied state on PPNs with attendant campaigns on their management

Antibacterial Activities of Medicated and Antiseptic Soaps on Staphylococcus Aureus and Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Isolated from Wound Infection

Soaps and other cleaning chemicals have been widely utilized for various cleaning purposes for a long time. As the skin is the first line of defense, most bacteria like Pseudomonas aureginosa and Staphylococcus aureus reside and are the primary cause of skin infections.The aim of this study was to determine the antibacterial effects of medicated soap (tetmosol) and antiseptic soap (premier cool) against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from wound samples. The antibacterial activity of medicated and antiseptic soapswas investigated against test organisms (Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) using agar well and disk diffusion methods. After serial dilution, different concentrations of the various soap samples in the range of 200 mg/ml to 62.5 mg/ml were prepared (using sterile distilled water). The result of this study showed that the antiseptic soap “Premier cool” was found to be most effective against all the bacteria strains tested. The antiseptic soap had the highest zone of inhibition (19.00 ± 1.42 mm) against Staphylococcus aureus and 15.00 ± 0.34 mm against Pseudomonas aeruginosa at the highest dilution used (200mg/ml). The medicated soap “Tetmosol” exhibited a minimal antibacterial activity against the isolates with a zone of inhibitions of 16.00 ± 0.48 mm 14.00 ± 1.41 mm for Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively. The result of the minimum inhibitory concentration showed that antiseptic soap (Premier cool) had better MIC and MBC of 12.5 mg/ml and 25 mg/ml, respectively, on Staphylococcus aureus. For Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the MIC and MBC were 50 mg/ml, respectively. Medicated soap (Tetmosol) had a higher MIC of 25 mg/ml and MBC of 50 mg/ml for Staphylococcus aureus. For Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the MIC and MBC were 50 mg/ml and 100 mg/ml. The present work has shown that Staphylococcus aureusand Pseudomonas aeruginosa were susceptible to assayed medicated (Tetmosol) and antiseptic (Premier cool) soaps. This study proved that all the soaps samples had antibacterial activity against all the tested bacterial strains. Still, Premier cool soap is the most effective soap against all the given bacteria and should be the first choice for daily use. It is recommended that further studies should be done on antimicrobial resistance, both phenotypic and genotypic, concerning prolonged use of medicated and antiseptic soaps.</jats:p