FUNGITOXIC EFFECTS OF Azadirachta Indica (NEEM LEAF) AND Ocimum gratissimum (SCENT LEAF) IN THE TREATMENT OF SOLANUM TUBERSOME (SWEET POTATO) USING BENLATE AND WATER AS STANDARD CONTROL

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is one of the most popular tubers grown and consumed extensively throughout the tropical and sub-tropical region of the world. With a total of 23.87 million sweet potato ranks third among the tropical crop grown throughout the world. Owing to its unique fragrance, delicious taste and high nutritive value, sweet potato has a very high global demand. Sweet potato contains significant amount of vitamin A, fibre and soluble sugar. It is generally harvested at mature brown stage and softens during post-harvest handling operations like transportation, storage etc. This study was carried out to minimize the post-harvest losses and extend shelf-life of sweet potato by maintaining the physiochemical properties. Freshly harvested sweet potat was treated with different concentration of both neem leaf and scent leaf BENLATEic extracts. Untreated sweet potato was considered as control. Within five days, untreated sweet potato started showing sign of decay which suggested the presence of fungal pathogens, Aspergillus niger, Mucor ramosissimus and Rhizoctonia solani was confirmed as the casual organisms after isolation of the diseased sweet potato. The treated sweet potato showed significant differences in shelf-life in case of disease severity and comparison to control. The effectiveness of the treatment was meaningful which could be recommended for maintenance of post-harvest quality of sweet potato stored in ambient conditions.