DISEASED CASSAVA

Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is one of the major staple food crops in Africa, overtime the constraints caused by Plant ravaging pathogen such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and other abiotic factors has led to decline in the yield of cassava produced per annum. In this study the effect of incubation period on the antifungal activities of zinc oxide and magnesium chloride nanoparticles against pathogens isolated from diseases cassava plants (Manihot esculenta) were determined. Zinc oxide (ZnO) and magnesium chloride (Mgcl) nanoparticles were synthesized using Moringa oleifera leaf extract and characterization of the nanoparticles was done using UV-Vis spectrometer; the peak of the absorbance was recorded at 350nm. Zinc Oxide nanoparticles showed a high anti-fungal potency on the test organism at shorter incubation period (24-72 hours). From this study it was observed that as incubation period increases the anti-fungal properties decreases