AMELIORATION DE LA PRODUCTION DU MAIS (Zea mays L.) EN COTE DIVOIRE PAR LUTILISATION DEXTRAITS DE PLANTES CONTRE LES CHAMPIGNONS PATHOGENES EN MILIEU NATUREL

Corn is the second largest food crop in Cote dIvoire by tonnage after rice with an annual production of around 600,000 tonnes (FAO, 2014). This commodity is widely cultivated for its starchy grains. It is also used as a fodder plant in certain localities. However, its cultivated plant is faced with the problem of fungal diseases observed in recent years in the large growing areas of the country. This study was carried out to identify pathogenic fungal genera of corn leaves and control these fungi with aqueous extracts of plant leaves. Thus, corn leaves in culture were inoculated with sporal concentrations of Curvularia sp., Fusarium sp., and Helmintosporium sp. The pathogenicity test showed that the fungus Helmintosporium sp was the most pathogenic followed by the genus Curvularium. This study also showed that plant extracts inhibit the development of the three fungal genera studied and improve plant growth and corn production in the field. Azadirachta indica and Ricinus communis extracts significantly reduced foliar symptoms and increased corn production. As for the Nicotiana Tabacum reduced the symptoms but did not promote a significant increase in corn production.