Margaret Ikhiwili Oniha

By Olusola L. Oyesola, Oluwadurotimi S. Aworunse, Margaret I. Oniha, Onyemaechi H. Obiazikwor, Oluwakemi Bello, Olubunmi M. Atolagbe, Ayodele A. Sobowale, Jacob O. Popoola and Olawole O. Obembe

Solanum tuberosum (Potato) is one of the essential economic crops with the potential to reduce hunger due to its high yield per unit area of land compared with many economic crops. However, its yield losses due to pest and disease attacks could be as high as 100%, depending on its tolerance level and pest and disease. Over the years, several disease management strategies have been researched, ranging from synthetic pesticides to the formulation of biopesticides as disease control measures. Moreso, recent breakthroughs in genetic engineering have simplified plant disease management strategies by developing techniques for conferring resistance on plants. Potato is a vital food crop worldwide, and with the struggle to suppress world food insecurity, effective disease management strategies must be employed for high production of quality and quantity potato, enough to feed the ever-increasing world population. Therefore, attention must be given to how disease-free potatoes can be produced to meet the unending demand for food by the continually increasing world population.

Part of the book: Solanum tuberosum

By Margaret Ikhiwili Oniha, Eze Frank Ahuekwe and Sharon Oluwatobi Akinpelu

Natural resources especially medicinal plants possess the potentials to sustain all existence on earth. Cymbopogon, a globally cultivated herb, possesses high contents of diverse essential oils for medicinal and economic purposes including treatment of malaria and candidiasis. Notable species include Cymbopogon citratus and C. flexosus having citral as the main chemical compound. Numerous compounds of these species include limonene, citronella, geranyl acetic derivatives, elemol, among others. Phytochemical analysis of these essential oils is usually done by the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method sequel to obtaining them through solvent extraction, hydrodistillation, supercritical CO2 extraction, chromatography among others. Although the supercritical CO2 extraction method gives greater quality yields void of toxic wastes with preserved thermal stability compared with other methods, its high-working pressure generates issues of safety risks and costs. Quantitative determination is done using spectrophotometric, chromatographic, and Folin-Ciocalteu methods. In comparison with other chromatographic techniques employed, gas chromatography exhibits greater efficiency by quantifying and determining the presence of various components at low concentrations. This prominently economical plant with potent ethnobotanical benefits hinged on the essential oils phytochemicals is faced with diverse extraction challenges; thus, improvement in the extraction and quantification techniques is key to the harvest of pure yields of lemon grass essential oils.

Part of the book: Tropical Plant Species and Technological Interventions for Improvement