Author(s)

Arouna Meshuneke¹, Cécile Annie Ewané^1,2*, Robinson Nembot Tatsegouock¹, Thaddée Boudjeko^1,2

¹Laboratory of Phytoprotection and Plant Valorization, Biotechnology Centre, University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
²Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Plantain is an important crop that serves as a staple food and contributes significantly to income generation for millions of people in tropical and sub-Saharan Africa. Its cultivation faces the main constraint of seedlings unavailability in quantity and quality, essential for the creation of new plantations. The advent and popularization of the plantlets from stem bits (PIF) in the 2000s raised hopes for solving this problem. However, after about ten years, the PIF has shown some problems limiting its adoption and should be improved for more efficiency. The amendment of PIF substrate production with Tithonia diversifolia could be an alternative to seedlings’ unavailability. This study aims to evaluate the potential stimulative effect of T. diversifolia mulch on plantain PIF seedlings growth and protection against black Sigatoka disease (BSD)caused by Mycosphaerella fijiensis. The parameters of vegetative growth stages and biomarkers accumulation were assessed in sterilized substrate and non-sterilized substrate conditions. T. diversifolia mulch treatment increases the germination rate, the number of shoots, the height and the diameter of shoots, the leaf area as well as the seedlings roots, but it also protects the seedlings against BSD up to about 81% compared to the control seedlings. It also enhances the accumulation of biomarkers such as proteins, polyphenols content and defense-related enzymes (peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and glucanase). T. diversifolia mulch seems to act in PIF seedlings production as a vital stimulator. It can therefore be taken as a tool for a more sustainable and resilient agriculture, and for poverty alleviation of poor small holder farmers.

Plantain, PIF Seedlings, Mulch, Tithonia diversifolia, Mycosphaerella fijiensis, Vital Stimulator

Meshuneke, A. , Ewané, C. , Tatsegouock, R. and Boudjeko, T. (2020) Tithonia diversifolia Mulch Stimulates the Growth of Plantain PIF Seedlings and Induces a Less Susceptibility to Mycosphaerella fijiensis in the Nursery. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 11, 672-692. doi: 10.4236/ajps.2020.115050.