Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Technoscience Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non- commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited International Journal of Scientific Research in Science and Technology Print ISSN: 2395-6011 | Online ISSN: 2395-602X (www.ijsrst.com) doi : https://doi.org/10.32628/IJSRST207514 148 Fungitoxic effect of ethanolic and aqueous leaf extracts of Azadirachta indica A. Juss, Ocimum gratissimum and Benlate in the control of Post harvest Fungal diseases of Solanum melongena Linn (Egg plant). CHIEJINA, NNEKA V., GAMBARI, UTHMAN OLATUNJI BOLA Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nigeria Corresponding Author : E-mail: u.gambari@gmail.com Article Info Volume 7, Issue 5 Page Number: 148-157 Publication Issue : September-October-2020 Article History Accepted : 20 Sep 2020 Published : 27 Sep 2020 ABSTRACT Fungitoxic properties of ethanolic and aqueous leaf extracts of Azadirachta indica, Ocimum gratissimum and benlate were used in vitro for the control of post-harvest fungal diseases of Solanum melongena, caused by Aspergillus niger, Rhizoctonia solani and Mucor ramosissimus. Pathogenicity test confirmed them as the causal organisms of the fruit rots. The three pathogens were treated with both ethanol and aqueous leaf extracts of the two plants at concentrations ranging from 25 to 100% and benlate at concentrations between 2.5 and 10.0%. Various concentrations were added to prepared Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) media. The pathogens were inoculated separately into the PDA media and were incubated for eight days. Fungitoxic effects of these extracts on the mycelial growth of the pathogens were significant at P≤0.05 for all treatments. The pathogens were completely inhibited at 100% concentration of both extracts and at 10% concentration of benlate. With respect to ethanolic extract; O.gratissimum was more efficient than A. indica but not with aqueous extract. Keywords : Fungitoxic,Azadirachita indica, Ocimum gratissimum,Benlate, Pathogens I. INTRODUCTION Garden egg (Solanum melongena Linn) of the family Solanaceae (Obeng-Ofori et al., 2007) is a kind of fruit that is very important for man; as food, supplying some major nutrients, and as a source of bioactive ingredients militating against some diseases like diabetes mellitus and liver problems. It is also used for many other purposes among which are to achieve weight control within a short period, eliminate unnecessary salts in maintaining proper functioning of the heart, reduce the sugar content level in diabetics because of its low calorie and high fibre contents and reduce blood cholesterol (Aliyu, 2006). However, the damage caused by pests and microbes often constitute a great impediment to biomass productivity of this plant. It is for example susceptible to fungal diseases caused by Phytophthora nicotianea, var. parasitica and if the fruit touches the ground, Corticium rolfsii will cause an infection (Obeng-Ofori et al., 2007). Some pathogens that infect egg plant fruits at various stages of development and particularly after harvest include the genera such as