The effects of Triplochiton scleroxylon aqueous extracts on initial growth of some vegetable crops in Ghana

Abstract

The effect of Triplochiton scleroxylon (wawa) aqueousextracts were tested on the seeds of tomato (Lycopersicumesculentum), pepper (Capsicum annuum ) and garden egg  (Solanummelongena ) in the pathology laboratory of the Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG). Aqueous extracts of T. scleroxylon leaves (L) and roots (R) were prepared at different concentrations of 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8% and applied to the seeds. The effects of these treatments were assessed in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 4 replications. The findings showed that all the vegetable crops were affected by the different concentrations of the leaf and roots aqueous extracts (P<0.05). Tukey-Kramer multiple comparison indicated that the inhibitory effect was positively correlated with concentration of the extracts. The higher extract concentrations (6%-8%) had stronger inhibitory effect whereas; in some cases the lower concentration (2%-4%) showed stimulatory effect during germination. The radicles were more susceptible to the effect of the extracts than the plumules. The germination of L.esculentum was highly inhibited in growth by 51.4% in both the leaf and root extracts. Similarly, C.annuum recorded the highest inhibitory effect on radicle length by 72.5% in the leaf extract whilst, the highest inhibitory effects in plumule was 44%. The overall results point to an allelopathic inhibitory effect of T. scleroxylon on the three vegetable crops.