Impact of some essential plant oils on viability of stored cowpea and maize seeds for food security

Essential oils from three aromatic spice plants were applied on cowpea and maize seeds in storage and viability on germination was investigated. Cowpea and maize seeds were subjected to treatment using essential oils from (Monodora myristica, Eugenia aromatic and Piper guineese) at concentrations of 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 ml/kg of seeds. These were stored at a temperature of 27±2°C and 65 -70% r.h. in the laboratory. The viability test was conducted on the treated seeds at three and six months of storage, using Petri-dishes each containing 10 of randomly selected cowpea and maize seeds in three replicates, at the different levels of oil concentrations. The seeds were placed on moistened cotton wools and covered. Seeds germination occurred mainly within three to five days after commencement of experiment. The data obtained were subjected to two - way analysis of variance, at (p< 5%) using Ducan's multiple range test. It was observed that among the three essential oils applied, seeds treated with Piper guineese oil ranked highest in germinations at a concentration of 5 ml/kg for both seeds, with cowpea seeds having 88.7 and 83.0% and maize seeds with 69.3 and 45.3% at three and six months respectively.