Integrated Management of Damping-Off and Root Rot in Pepper Nurseries in Kogi State, North Central Nigeria

Pepper seedling nurseries in Kogi State suffer high rates of damping-off and root rot caused by Pythium aphanidermatum, Rhizoctonia solani, and Fusarium oxysporum, which collectively reduce stand establishment efficiency and increase production costs. This study designed and evaluated an integrated nursery disease management programme incorporating substrate sterilisation, biological seed treatment, chemical fungicide incorporation, and nursery sanitation protocols across 30 commercial pepper nurseries in three local government areas of Kogi State. Nurseries were assigned to one of five management regimes in a structured trial design, and seedling emergence rates, damping-off incidence, root health scores, and transplantable seedling proportions were measured over two nursery cycles. The fully integrated programme combining steam-sterilised substrate, Trichoderma asperellum seed coating, and prophylactic metalaxyl-M drench achieved the highest transplantable seedling rate of 91 percent, compared to 54 percent in unmanaged nurseries. Substrate sterilisation alone accounted for the largest single improvement in seedling emergence, confirming the dominant role of soilborne inoculum in nursery disease outbreaks. Economic analysis indicated that the integrated programme added an input cost of 18,000 naira per nursery cycle while generating a 46 percent increase in marketable transplant production. The study recommends the integrated programme as a standard practice for commercial pepper nursery operations in Kogi State and provides a cost-benefit reference guide for adoption by extension services. Keywords: pepper nursery, damping-off, Pythium, Trichoderma, Kogi State.