Abstract

Vegetable production is an important economic activity in Cameroon. Due to poor health status of the seeds, the yield is decreasing. Sources, preservation, and quality status of some locally cultivated vegetable seeds was investigated. Seeds were obtained from local farmers, agro-shops, and local markets in four villages of Bamessing, Bamali, Bamunka and Bambalang. The seed sources and preservation methods were recorded on the field using questionnaire and verbal interview; and the quality status of the seeds was determined in the laboratory. Fungal and bacterial identification were done using Potato Dextrose Agar and Nutrient Agar, respectively. Blotter and germination methods were done to ascertain the viability of the seeds. 48% of the respondents indicated they obtained seeds from local farmers, 37% from local market and 15% from agro shops. Ocimum gratissimum was highly used by farmers in all villages to preserve seeds. The fungi species identified included Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillium digitatum and Rhizopus nigricans and the bacteria identified included both short, long rods bacilli with some coccobacilli. The blotter method gave 87.78 and 56.67% germination in Brassica rapa and Solanum nigrum, respectively with B. rapa being the first to germinate with the least number of days.

Key words: Bacteria, fungi, locally cultivated vegetables seeds, sources, quality.