Survey of Flora Affected by Mistletoe Species and Identification of Chlorophyll Pigments in Sokoto State University, Sokoto, Nigeria

Adamu Abdullahi,Ibrahim Ibafidon Madinat,Jabo Abdullahi Dalhatu,Murtala Sani Yakubu,Musa Tanko Muhammad

doi:10.37284/eajenr.2.1.132

Abstract

A survey was conducted to assess the flora affected by mistletoe species and the identification of chlorophyll pigments in Sokoto State University. The study was aimed at surveying the flora affected by mistletoe species and identifies their chlorophyll pigments within the Sokoto State University campus. The study site was divided into three sampling areas, based on the studied species and infestation of trees by mistletoes. The species of mistletoe, Tapinanthus globiferus, was common to all the three types of trees (Azadirachta indica, Psidium guajava, and Acacia nilotica). A. nilotica had the highest rate of infestation by mistletoe (T. globiferus) with the percentage of 85.7% in area A, 91.7% in area B, and 82.3% in area C. The estimation of pigment content of chlorophyll in mistletoe leaves showed that all the mistletoe found on the three different types of trees had the same pigment content of chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, and carotene.

Highlights

The common name of most obligate hemiparasitic is Mistletoe, a plant which the order Santalales
The results for the investigation show that the mistletoe affecting different types of trees within Sokoto State University is of the same species
The results indicate that the entire three tree species used in this study (A. indica, A. nilotica, and P. guajava) were affected by the same species of mistletoe (Tapinanthus globiferus)

Summary

Introduction

The common name of most obligate hemiparasitic is Mistletoe, a plant which the order Santalales. They use haustorium for attachment to their host tree or shrub, which they use to extract water and other nutrients from their host tree. Their parasitic lifestyle has led to some dramatic changes in their metabolism (Mathiasen, Nickrent, Shaw &Watson, 2002). The biggest family is Loranthaceae, with 75 genera and up to 900 species (Judd et al, 1999), with six major genera found in Nigeria: Tapinanthus, Agelanthus, Loranthus, Globimetula, and Phragmanthera. Mistletoe can grow widely on a variety of trees; they inhibit growth and can cause damage to them to some extent with a large scale infestation (Oluwole, Osungunna & Abimbola, 2013)

Objectives

Results

Conclusion