Antifungal Effect of Plant Leaf Extracts on Postharvest Decay and Shelf Life of Tomato Fruits in Storage

The present study was conducted to determine the Antifungal effect of plant leaf extracts on shelf life and postharvest decay of tomato fruits during storage in Makurdi. Preservation and storage of tomato fruits are important to the economy of individual homes and farmers considering the vital role tomatoes play in the health of people and food security. Tomato fruits of the Roma variety were dipped in conidia suspensions of the test fungi after which they were dipped in the aqueous extracts of each plant extract and stored at room temperature. The results revealed an increase in marketability, and postharvest decay in fruits respectively from 1.00 to 8.40, 0.00 to 5.67 while weight decreased from 44.3 to 20.27 across all treatments. Treated tomato fruits showed significantly lower postharvest decay (0.00 – 1.02) compared to the control. The present study revealed the presence of phytochemicals such as alkaloids, flavonoids, carbohydrates, glycosides, saponins, tannins and terpenoids in the aqueous leaf extracts of Moringa, Neem and bitter leaf. Phytochemicals are non–nutritive plant chemicals which occur naturally in plants that have protective or disease-preventive properties. Phytochemical analysis of leaf extracts of Moringa, Neem and bitter leaf screened for the presence of carbohydrates, glycosides and cardiac glycosides, saponins, steroids, triterpenes, tannins and flavonoids indicated present (+) respectively for each plant leaf extract while alkaloids indicated present (+) for bitter leaf extract and anthraquinones were absent (-) in each extract. Plant powders and their extracts can extend the shelf life and preserve the physicochemical quality of tomato fruits while they are being stored. They also have antifungal potential. This is a crucial stage in creating plant-based biopesticides, which will be the best remedy for upcoming plant disease control initiatives.