Abstract

Efficacy of Cucumis myriocarpus fruit crude extracts on suppression of Meloidogyne incognita is well documented in Indigenous Cucumis technologies. Currently, test fruits are collected from the wild, and this unreliable source cannot meet the quantities required for producing a commercial bio-pesticides. Thus, objective of this work was to evaluate effect of temperature-exposure of C. myriocarpus seeds on seedling emergence. Treatments comprising 5, 25, 35, 45 and 55°C, arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD), with 10 replications. Seedling emergence responded linearly to temperature ranges, which suggested additional work to determine maximum temperature for denaturing inhibitory germination chemicals on seeds of wild cucumber.

Key words: Bio-pesticides, indigenous cucumis technologies, seed dormancy, seedling emergence, temperature pre-treatment.