Seed borne pathogens are microorganisms that can prevent seed germination and cause serious threats to seedling development in the field. The research was conducted on the effects of damping off fungus on seed germination of Amaranth (Amaranthus hybridus) collected from some Agricultural farmland in Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State, North central Nigeria. The isolation of fungal species from Amaranthus hybridus seeds of the infected plants having symptoms of damping off disease using agar plate method and was identified using the morphological characteristics features from mycological atlas. Isolation from the infected seeds revealed that Rhizoctonia solani were associated with the plants. Seed weight (mg) and seed germination (%) were determined using the international rules for seed testing and the physiological seed quality indices were determined; these are germination index (GI), germination rate index (GRI) and seedling vigor index were arranged in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) all in triplicates. The result indicated that seeds from uninfected plants recorded seed weight (8.97mg) as compared with the infected seeds (5.21mg), there was significantly higher germination (98.67%) observed in uninfected seeds compared with seeds of Amaranthus plants that were infected (32.13%) with damping off fungus. Germination index was observed to be higher in seeds of uninfected plants (9.34) and lower in seeds of infected plants (4.34). The significant effects observed of the fungus on both seed and seedlings are highly virulence on the infected plants. The research revealed that a very good association between Rhizoctonia solani causing damping off disease and seed germination failure of Amaranthus hybridus plants. In the cultivation of Amaranthus hybridus, seed weight, and physiological seed quality attributes should be considered for an effective damping off disease suppression.

Cowpea damage caused by pest infestation is a major challenge to farmers and traders in Nigeria which request urgent response. This research is aimed primarily to evaluate the proximate composition and degree of infestation effect on cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) nutrients. The samples of cowpea were randomly collected in the Lapai market, refrigerated for a week to stop insect action and were separated into two categories, non-infestation (sample without exit hole) and infestation (samples with one, two and three exit holes), Samples were subjected to proximate composition and statistical analyses for variation in nutrient. Results show a rise in protein and moisture content in the sample without infestation. But shows a decrease in Carbohydrate, Fat, Fibre and Ash content in non-infested samples. For the infested sample, infestation leads to significant deterioration of nutrients of food products developed from cowpeas. The current result shows that pest infestations reduced nutritional benefits as a protein source in livestock and human diets.

Damping-off disease is caused by several soil-borne fungi such as Pythium ultimum and Rhizoctonia solani, which infect seedlings and cause them to ‘damp off’ or collapse and decay. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biocontrol potential of Gliocladium virens against damping off inducing pathogens in Amaranthus hybridus. Infected leaves of Amaranthus hybridus were collected from some selected farmlands in Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State, Nigeria. The fungal species were isolated from the plants with damping-off symptoms using the agar pour plate method. The isolation of fungal species from goat dung and chicken droppings was conducted using the serial dilution agar plate method. Isolates were identified using morphological characteristics features from the mycological atlas. Pythium ultimum and Rhizoctonia solani were associated with the plants and upon testing the pathogenicity of these isolated fungi on the plants, the severity of the disease was 85 to 100%. The fungus Gliocladium virens was identified from the two composted manures. Amaranthus hybridus seeds treated with Gliocladium virens produced plants that have significantly increased plant height (45.67cm) than untreated seeds (27.10cm). Higher stem girth was observed when the seeds were treated with Gliocladium virens (8.21cm). This was significantly different from the stem girth in plants from untreated seeds (4.12cm). Number of leaves produced per plant was significantly increased in plants from treated seeds (23.54) and decrease in plants from untreated seeds (13.17). From the result of this study, it could be concluded that, Gliocladium virens when seed coated, is a potential biological agent in controlling damping-off diseases and this will help the general public towards eradicating vegetable diseases.