INTRODUCTION:

Morinda citrifolia, L. popularly known as Indian Noni or Indian mulberryis an ever green small tree bearing flowers and fruits throughout the year. It belongs to family Rubiaceae. It is grown in tropical regions of the world. Morton (1999) reported that the fruits of this tree have a history of use in the pharmacopoeias of Pacific Islands and South East Asia. It is nature's abundance bundled in one fruit. It is the biggest pharmaceutical unit in the universe because it has more than 150 nutraceuticals, several vitamins, minerals, micro and macro nutrients that help the body in various ways from cellular level to organ level. Noni is one of the important traditional folk medicinal plants that has been used for over 2000 years in Polynesia.

It has been reported to have a broad range of therapeutic and nutritional value. The ancestors of Polynesians are believed to have brought many plants with them, as they migrated from Southeast Asia about 2000 years ago (Tabrahand Eveleth, 1966; Gerlach, 1996). Of the 12 most common plants they brought, Noni was the second most popular plant used in herbal remedies to treat various common diseases and to maintain overall good health (Krauss, 1993; Gerlach, 1996).Tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India, Polynesians and Tahitians in Pacific have used the ripe and unripe fruit as food and medicine. All the plant parts are used in the treatment of various diseases and disorders. The fruit is important because of its wide range of therapeutic potentials such as anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-tumor, anti-helminthes, analgesic, hypertensive, anti-inflammatory and immune enhancing effects. Use of Noni fruit juice from unripe or ripe fruit is a more recent innovation and is recently accepted in the European Union as a novel food. The roots are being used to synthesize red dye while the leaves, bark, and fruits are used to produce facial creams, soaps, toothpaste, lotions, tea powder and various other products. Abbott (1992) reported that Noni has been used as drink, food, medicine and dye. In the past decade the global popularity of Noni has increased dramatically (Dixon et. al., 1999 and Clatchey, 2002). There are many Noni based products like health products, home care products, ,food products, health support products, fruit drinks, cosmetics like body care, oral line, face line, hand line, feet line etc., (Vigneshwari and Peter, 2007).

The crop production of noni is being continuously challenged by an array of opportunistic pathogens. The important diseases, pests and nematodes of noni caused by insects, bacterial and fungal pathogens causes heavy loss to the farming community. The various literatures pertaining to this study are reviewed hereunder.

Common Names in India:

Tamil- Nuna, Manjanathi, Manjanuna, Telugu-Bandamaddi, Maddicettu, Mogali, Molugu ,Malayalam-Kakaipalam, Kattapitalavam, Mannanatti, Kanada-Haladipavete, Tagatemara, Hindi- Ach, Awl, Sanskrit-Ach, Paphanah, Achchhuka, Marathi- Aseti, Nagkura, Mundari, Salidaru.

Local names for Morinda citrifolia L:

It is known in different names locally as Cheese Fruit, Forbidden Fruit, Headache Tree, Hog Apple, Mona, Mora de la India, Nino, Nona, Nono, Nonu, Nuna, Pain Bush, Pain Killer Tree, Pinuela, Wild Pine, etc. in various parts of the world. It is also called as Indian Mulberry (Mathivanan et. al.,2005).

Distribution of Morinda:

The species is generally found from sea level to 400 m above MSL, although it adapts better to coastal regions (Lu berck and Hannes, 2001). Noni is an evergreen tree and is often found growing along lava flows. Bulk of the cropis wild and adapts to hardy environment and soil conditions. It can be found naturally in disturbed forests, alien grass lands, open areas near the shorelines, pastures, coconut plantations, littoral forests, fallow areas and in wastelands (Cambie and Ash, 1994). The genus Morinda is distributed worldwide with 80 species reported so far, predominantly in tropical countries. It occurs in Africa, Australia, Barbados, Cambodia, Caribbean, Cayman Islands, Cuba Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Fiji, Florida, French West Indies, Guadeloupe, Guam, Haiti, Hawaii, India, Jamaica, Java, Laos, Malaysia, Marquesas Islands, Southeast Asia, St. Croix, Surinam, Tahiti, Thailand and Vietnam. In India it is widely grown under natural conditions in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is seen throughout the coastal region along fences and road sides due to its wider adaptability to hardy environment. In the main land of India it is found along the coastal areas of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and many other places. Survey of Morinda in south India indicated that 12 different species or varieties of Morinda are distributed throughout Tamil Nadu and Kerala. However, the species M. tinctoria is present abundantly in most partsof Tamil Nadu and in some parts of Kerala. M. citrifolia L. is not recorded in the study area of Tamil Nadu whereas it is profusely distributed in most parts of the Kerala especially coastal region and also in the Mangalore areaof Karnataka. Recently an unidentified Morinda species with large and leathery leaves was reported in the Dhandakaranya forest area of Malkanagiri district in Orissa (Singh et. al., 2007).

Plant Description:

Morindacitrifoliais a bush or small tree, 3-10 m tall, with abundant wideelliptical leaves (5-17 cm length, 10-40 cm width). The small tubular whiteflowers are grouped together and inserted on the peduncle (Fig 1). The petiolesleave ring-like marks on the stalks and the corolla is greenish white (Morton,1992; Elkins, 1998; Dixon et. al., 1999; Ross, 2001; Cardon, 2003). TheNoni fruit (3-10 cm length, 3-6 cm width) is oval and fleshy with anembossed appearance. It is slightly wrinkly, semi-translucent, and ranges in colour from green to yellow, to almost white at the time of picking. It iscovered with small reddish-brown buds containing the seeds. The ripe fruitexhales a strong butyric acid-like rancid smell (Morton, 1992; Dixon et. al.,1999). The pulp is juicy and bitter, light dull yellow or whitish, gelatinouswhen the fruit is ripe; numerous hard triangular reddish-brown pits arefound, each containing four seeds (3-5 mm) (Dittmar, 1993). The fruit cangrow in size up to 12 cm or more and has a lumpy surface covered bypolygonal-shaped section (Fig 1). The seeds, which are triangular shaped and reddishbrown, have an air sac attached at one end, which makes the seeds buoyant.The mature Noni fruit has a foul taste and odour. Noni is identifiable by itsstraight trunk, large, bright green and elliptical leaves, white tubular flowersand its distinctive, ovoid, "grenade-like" yellow fruit

Chemical Composition of Noni:

About 160 phytochemical compounds have been already identified in the noni plant, and the major micronutrients are phenolic compounds, organic acids and alkaloids (Wang and Su, 2001). Of the phenolic compounds, themost important reported are anthraquinones (damnacanthal, morindone, morindin, etc.), and also aucubin, asperuloside, and scopoletin (Wang andSu, 2001). The main organic acids are caproic and caprylic acids (Dittmar,1993), while the principal reported alkaloid is xeronine (Heinicke, 1985).However, chemical composition differs largely according to the part of theplant. The complete physico-chemical composition of the fruit has not yetbeen reported and only partial information is available on noni juice. The fruit contains 90% of water and the main components of the drymatter appear to be soluble solids, dietary fibers and proteins. The fruit protein content is surprisingly high, representing 11.3% of the juice dry matter, and the main amino acids are aspartic acid, glutamic acid and isoleucine. Minerals account for 8.4% of the dry matter, and are mainly potassium, sulfur, calcium and phosphorus; traces of selenium have been reported in the juice (Chunhieng, 2003).Vitamins have been reported in the fruit, mainly ascorbic acid (24-158 mg/100 g dry matter) (Morton, 1992; Shovic and Whistler, 2001), and provitamin A (Dixon et al., 1999).

Phenolic compounds have been found to be the major group of functional micronutrients in noni juice: damnacanthal, scopoletin, morindone, alizarin, aucubin, nordamnacanthal, rubiadin, rubiadin-1-methyl ether and other anthraquinone glycosides have been identified in Noni (Morton, 1992; Dittmar, 1993; Dixon et al., 1999; Wang and Su, 2001). Damnacanthal is an anthraquinone that has been characterized recently andhas some important functional properties (mainly anti-carcinogenic)(Solomon, 1999). Scopoletin is a coumarin that was isolated in 1993 at the University of Hawaii and has been found to have analgesic properties as well as a significant ability to control serotonin levels in the body (Levand and Larson, 1979). Other researchers have shown that scopoletin may also have anti-microbial (Duncan et al., 1998) and anti-hypertensive effects (Solomon,1999). Different Hawaiian teams (Heinicke, 1985; Solomon, 1999) reported the presence of a novel component, proxeronine, in the noni, it would bethe precursor of xeronine, an alkaloid that is claimed to combine with human proteins, improving their functionality. These authors attribute most of all the beneficial effects of noni to xeronine. Nonetheless, neither the chemical characterization of this alkaloid has been published nor the method used to assess its content. About 51 volatile compounds have been identified in the ripe fruit (Sang et al., 2001), including organic acids (mainly octanoic andhexanoic acids), alcohols (3-methyl-3-buten-1-ol), esters (methyl octanoate, methyl decanoate), ketones (2-heptanone), and lactones [(E)-6-dodeceno-glactone] (Farine et al., 1996).

General Use of Morinda:

The roots, stems, bark, leaves, flowers, and fruits of the Noni, Morinda citrifolia, L. are all involved in various combinations in almost 40 known andrecorded herbal remedies (Bruggnecate, 1992). Additionally, the roots were used to produce a yellow or red dye for tapa (cloths) and fala (mats). Whilenoni fruit is most famous for its role in Polynesian, Melanesian, and Southeast Asian material medica, there are also numerous ethnobotanical reports of its use as food (Rock, 1913; Wilder, 1934; Brown, 1935; Yuncker, 1943;Turbott, 1949; Stone, 1970; Degener, 1973; Uhe, 1974; Seemann, 1977;Whistler, 1992; Krauss, 1993; Terra, 1996). Some reports have indicated its use was limited to times of famine (Krauss, 1993). This, however, is not correct. The fruit was reported to have been eaten often by Rarotongans, was a favorite ingredient in curries prepared by Burmese, and the Australian Aborigines were known to be very fond of the fruit. Captain James Cook ofthe British Navy noted in the late 1700's that the fruit was eaten in Tahiti. In1769, Sydney Parkinson, one of Captain James Cook's crew on the Endeavour, recorded that Tahitians ate noni fruit. This was likely the 1st written description of its use as a food. More than 2 centuries later, in 1943, the U.S. government recognized the fruit as edible (Merrill, 1943). There has thusbeen ample human experience with eating noni fruit to validate its safety for human consumption), while the fruit was eaten for health and food (Aragones et al., 1997).

Medicinal use of Morinda:

The Polynesians utilized the whole Noni plant for herbal remedies. The fruit juice is in high demand in alternative medicine for different kinds of illnesses such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, muscle aches and pains, menstrual difficulties, headaches, heart disease, AIDS, cancers, gastric ulcer, sprains, mental depression, senility, poor digestion, arteriosclerosis, blood vessel problems, and drug addiction. Scientific evidence of the benefits of the Noni fruit juice is limited but there is some anecdotal evidence for successful treatment of colds and influenza (Solomon, 1999). Allen and London (1873) published one of the earliest articles on the medicinal benefits of Noni in which they reported the ethnobotanical properties of Noni and the use of fruit. Abbott(1985), a former botanical chemist at the University of Hawaii, stated the use of Noni for diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, and many other illnesses (Abbott,1985; Dixon et al., 1999). Noni was a traditional remedy used to treat broken bones, deep cuts, bruises, sores and wounds (Bushnell et al., 1950). Morton(1992) gave numerous references for medicinal uses of Noni. In addition, Polynesians are reported to treat breast cancer and eye problems. The species of Morinda especially M. citrifolia has been reported to have abroad range of health benefits for cancer, infection, arthritis, asthma, hypertension, and pain (Whistler, 1992). The leaves, seeds, bark , fruits and roots of Noni have been used in various topical remedies in South Pacific Islands and South East Asia (Wang et. al., 2002, Fygh-Berman, 2003).It is reported to have antibacterial, anti fungal, analgesic, hypotensive, anti-inflammatory and immune enhancing effects (McClatchy, 2002; Wang et.al.,2002; Mathivanan et .al., 2005). Murugesh (2007) reported that Noni hasa broad range of therapeutic effects such as analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, immune enhancing, anticancer, antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antituberculous, antiprotozoal, antioxidant, anti stress and also sedative properties, Also Noni is effective in cough, nausea, colic, enlarged spleen, joint disorders such as gout and arthritis, senility, poor digestion, arthrosclerosis and drug addiction. These beneficial effects of Noni arestrongly documented and well authenticated by valid scientific literature evidences. Also Noni has a strong cancer preventive effect. The various therapeutic benefits of Noni are due to the enriched phytoconstituents. The high therapeutic profile and safety potential of Noni has made it a popular health enhancer and food supplement worldwide.

Biological Properties of Noni:

1. Antimicrobial activity:

The anti-microbial effect of noni may have been the first observed property: indeed, the fruit contains relatively large amounts of sugars that are not fermented when fruits are stored in closed containers at ambient temperature. This property is used to transport the fruit by boat from the scattered Pacific islands to processing plants without specific treatment. It has been reported that Noni inhibits the growth of certain bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus morgaii, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Helicobacter pylori, Salmonella and Shigella (Atkinson,1956). The same author claims that the anti-microbial effect observed maybe due to the presence of phenolic compounds such as acubin, L-asperuloside, alizarin, scopoletin and other anthraquinones. Another study showed that an acetonitrile extract of the dried fruit inhibited the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus pyrogene (Locher et al., 1995). It has also been found that ethanol and hexane extracts of noni have an ant tubercular effect since they inhibit by 89-95% the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Saludes et al., 2002).

The major components identified in the hexane extract were Ephytol, cycloartenol, stigmasterol, b-sitosterol, campesta-5, 7, 22-trien-3-b-ol, and the ketosteroids, stigmasta-4-en-3-one and stigmasta-4-22-dien-3-one. Furthermore, they showed that the anti-microbial effect is highly dependent on the stage of ripeness andon processing, being greater when the fruit is ripe, without drying. The antimicrobial activity was more pronounced with M. citrfolia than M. pubescens (Mathivanan and Surendran 2006).Several anthraquinone compounds in Noni roots are all proven antibacterialagents. These compounds have been shown to fight against infectious bacterialstrains such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus morgaii, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp. and Shigella sp. (Mohtar et al., 1998; Jayasinghe et al., 2002). These antibacterial elements within Noni are responsible for the treatment of skin infections, colds, fevers, and other bacterial- caused health problems (Atkinson, 1956, Ancolio et al.,2000). Bushnell reported on the antibacterial properties of some plants found in Hawaii, including Noni. He further reported that Noni was traditionallyused to treat broken bones, deep cuts, bruises, sores and wounds. Extractsfrom the ripe noni fruit exhibited antibacterial properties against P. aeruginosa,M. pyrogenes, E. coli, Salmonella typhosa, Salmonella montevideo, Salmonellaschottmuelleri, Shigellaparadys (Bushnel et al., 1950; Dittmar,1993).

Another species of Morinda namely M. tinctoria have excellent antimicrobial activity against various human and plant pathogenic bacteria, and fungi. Thechloroform fruit extract of M. tinctoria exhibited high antimicrobial activityagainst the human pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans. Further thesame extract also significantly inhibited the spore germination and mycelia growth of plant pathogenic fungi viz., R. solani, B. oryzae, F. oxysporum and C. lunata (Surendiran, 2004).

A compound isolated from Noni roots named 1-methoxy-2-formyl-3-hydroxyanthraquinone suppressed the cytopathic effect of HIV infected MT-4cells, without inhibiting cell growth (Umezawa, 1992). Noni has been found to kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A concentration of extracts from Noni leaves killed 89 of the bacteria in a test tube, almost as effective as a leading anti-TB drug, Rifampicin, which has an inhibition rate of 97% at the same concentration. Although there had been anecdotal reports on the native use of Noni in Polynesia as a medicine against tuberculosis, this is the first report demonstrating the antimicrobacterial potential of compounds obtained from the Noni leaf (American Chemical Society, 2000).

2. Anti tumour and anticancer activities:

The anticancer activity from alcohol-precipitate of Noni fruit juiceon to lung cancer in c57 B1/6 mice has been presented in the 83 Annual Meeting of American Association for Cancer Research. The noni-ppt significantly increased the life of mice up to 75% with implanted Lewis lung carcinoma as compared with the control mice (Hirazumi et al., 1994). It was concluded that the Noni-ppt seems to suppress tumor growth directly by stimulating the immune system (Hirazumi et al., 1996). Improved survival time and curative effects occurred when Noni-ppt was combined with suboptimal doses of the standard chemotherapeutic agents such as adriamycin (Adria), cisplatin (CDDP), 5- flourouracil (5-FU) and vincristine (VCR),suggesting important clinical application of Noni-ppt as a supplemental agentin cancer treatment (Hirazumi and Furusawa, 1999). These results indicated that the Noni-ppt might enhance the therapeutic effect of anticancer drugs. Therefore, it may be a benefit to cancer patients by enabling them to use lower doses of anticancer drugs to achieve the same or even better results. Wang et al. (2002) demonstrated that the cytotoxic effect of Tahitian NoniJuice (TNJ) on cultured leukemia cell line at various concentrations. They also observed the synergistic effects of TNJ with known anticancer drugs. Ata sub-optimal dose, both prednisolone and TNJ could induce apoptosis. When the dose of prednisolone was fixed, the dose of TNJ increased. Therefore TNJ is able to enhance the efficacy of anticancer drugs such as predinosolone. When a single dose of taxol induced a lower percentage of apoptosis in leukemia cells, TNJ enhanced the rate of apoptosis.

Hiramatsu et al. (1993) reported the effects of over 500 extracts fromtropical plants on the K-Ras-NRK cells. Damnacanthal, isolated from Noniroots is an inhibitor of RAS function. The Ras oncogene is believed to beassociated with the signal transduction in several human cancers such as lung, colon, pancreas, and leukemia. Two glycosides extracted from Noni-pptwere effective in inhibiting cell transformation induced by TPA or EGF in the mouse epidermal JB6 cell line. The inhibition was found to be associated with the inhibitory effects of these compounds on AP1 activity. The compounds also blocked the phosphorylation of c-Jun, a substrate of JNKs, suggesting that JNKs are the critical target for the compounds in mediating AP1 activity and cell information (Liu et al., 2001).

3. Insecticidal Activity:

An ethanol extract of the tender Noni leaves induced paralysis and death of the human parasitic nematode worm, A scarislumbricoides within a day (Raj,1975). Noni has been used in the Philippines and Hawaii as an effective insecticide (Morton, 1992; Murdiatia et al., 2000). Noni has been used as an effective insecticide in the Philippines and Hawaii (Rangadhar Satapathy, 2007).

Analgesic activity:

Younos et al. (1990) tested the analgesic and sedative effects of the Nonie tract and observed a significant dose-related central analgesic activity in the treated mice. The analgesic efficacy of the Noni extract is 75% as strong as morphine with free of side effects. The TNJ was tested for its analgesic properties by the twisted method animal model using mice. Clearly the analgesic effect of TNJ in mice showed a dose-dependent manner. The analgesic effects of each TNJ group are statistically significant compared with that in the control group. Data from this experiment have clearly indicated that the TNJ was able to make the animals tolerate more pain.

4. Immunological activity:

An alcohol extract of Noni fruit at various concentrations inhibited the production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNA-a), which is an endogenous tumor promoter. Therefore, the alcohol extract may inhibit the tumor promoting effect of TNF-a (Hokama, 1993). Hirazumi and Furusawa (1999) found that Noni-ppt contains a polysaccharide-rich substance that inhibited toxic effects in adapted cultures of lung cancer cells, but could activate peritoneal exudates cells to impart profound toxicity when co-cultured with the tumor cells. This suggested the possibility that Noni-ppt may suppress tumor growth throughout the activation of host immune system. Noni-ppt was also capable of stimulating the release of several mediator from murine effectors cells, including TNF-a,interleukin-1 beta (IL-1b), IL-10, IL-12, interferon-gamma (IFN-g) and nitric oxide (NO) (Hirazumi and Furusawa, 1999). Hokama (1993) separated ripenoni fruit juice into 50% aqueous alcohol and precipitated fractions that stimulated the BALB/c thymus cells in the (³H) thymidine analysis. It is suggested that inhibition of Lewis lung tumors in mice, in part, may have been due to the stimulation of the T-cells immune response. Wang et al.(2002) observed that the thymus in animals treated with TNJ was enlarged. The wet weight of the thymus was 1.7 times that of control animals at the seventh day after drinking 10% TNJ in drinking water. The thymus is an important immune organ in the body, which generates T cells, involved in the ageing process and cellular immune functions. TNJ may enhance immune response by stimulating thymus growth, and thus affecting anti-ageing and anticancer activities, and protecting people from other degenerative diseases.

5. Antioxidant activity

In general consuming fruits and vegetables reduces free radicals-induced oxidative damage and the consequent lipid per oxidation and therefore reduce the cancer risk (Wang and Leiher, 1995; Diplock et al., 1998). It is believed that fruits and vegetables are major sources for antioxidants (Weisburer et al., 1997; Nishikimi et al., 1972). Noni is a medicinal plant that helps the human in different health conditions. It was believed that the Noni fruit juice contained significant level of antioxidants. This has been proved scientifically by the analysis of TNJ.

6. Anti-inflammatory activity:

Evidences are indicating that COX-2 inhibitors may be involved in breast, colon, and lung cancer development (Yau et al., 2002; Takahashi et al.,2002; Langman et al., 2000). Research on anti-inflammatory has shown that the selectivity of COX- 2 inhibition of TNJ is comparable with that of Celebrex. The discovery of the selective COX-2 inhibition of TNJ is very significant since TNJ is a natural fruit juice without side effects this is the first scientific evidence for a strong anti- inflammatory activity in TNJ, which may also be one of the mechanisms of cancer prevention (Zhang et al., 1994). The anti-inflammatory activity was observed in an acute liver injury model in female SD rats induced by CCl4. A decrease in inflammatory foci and lymphocyte surrounding central vein areas were observed at 6 h post CCl4 administration in animals pre treated with 10% TNJ for twelve days in drinking water compared with CCl4 without TNJ (Wang et al., 2001).Research from this clinical trials indicated that cigarette-smoke is not only involved in cancer but also involved in pulmonary, heart and other degenerative diseases. However, drinking TNJ was beneficial for the prevention of heart, lung, and brain diseases as well as delaying the ageing processing, and maintaining overall good health.

7. Wound healing activity:

It is well established that the Morinda leaf and fruit extracts are effective inhaling the wounds. Surendiran (2004) studied the wound healing property of M. tinctoria using the animal model. The application of chloroform fruit extract of M. tinctoria topically on the excision wound surface of two different doses accelerated the wound healing process by decreasing the surface area of the wound. The fruit extracts of M. tinctoria at 20 mg/ml significantly healed the wound in rats within 15 days where complete healing was observed against 60% in untreated control. On day 3, all the treated animals exhibited considerable increase in the percentage of wound contraction as compared to control. The wound contraction was significantly increased in the subsequent days due to treatment of fruit extract at 10 and 20 mg/ml as compared to control.

8. Anti Lithiatic Effect:

Noni, Morinda citrifolia, L has the anti Lithiatic effect on Ethylene Glycol induced Lithiasis in male albino rats. This observation provided the basis for considering Noni for inhibiting stone formation induced by ethylene glycol, (Murugesh and Christina2007).

9. Anti fungal activity:

The observational study of the anti fungal activity of Morinda citrifolia, L. fruit extract of Fusarium semitectrum had indicated the inhibitory activity for Morinda extract and it is equivalent to that of commercial available anti fungal agents, (Murugesh and Kannan, 2007).

Plant protection:

Noni growing in natural ecosystem did not have much pest problems, but became susceptible to a wide spectrum of insect pests, pathogens and nematodes when domesticated in a monoculture as experienced in Hawaii and other Pacific Island. Further, Noni is likely to become more and more susceptible when the cultivation is intensified to a larger extent. Literature revealed that Morinda citrifolia is infected by a wide range of fungal pathogens such as Phytopthora sp. and Sclerotiumrol fisii (black flag and stem, leaf and fruit blights), Guignardia morindae, (leaf spot), Phellinusnoxius (brown root rot) and Collectrotrichum sp. (anthraconose). A pathogenic alga, Cephaleuros minimus has been reported to cause leaf spot in Noni. Further, occurrence of mold infection caused by Rhizopus sp. in the post harvested fruits were recorded. Noni is susceptible to several species of root-knot nematodes, like Meloidogyne spp. and is also vulnerable to parasitic plants namely Cuscutaspp. and Cassytha filiformis. Noni is attacked by several insects, such asaphids (Aphis gossipii), scales (Coccusviridis), weevils, leaf miners, whiteflies (Dialuerdeskirkaldyi), caterpillars (Achaea janata), thrips (Heliothrips haemorroidalis) and unidentified eriophid mites.

Excess use of nitrogenous fertilizers in Noni cultivation can induce susceptibitily to sap-feeding insects such as aphids, whiteflies and scales (Mathivanan, 2007). He also had suggested that systematic bio control studies should be initiated in the angleutilizing the knowledge on the use of natural enemies, microbial agents, and botanicals for control of various pests on Noni. How ever, there is scope for enhancing the impact potential of bio pesticides through improved formulations and application methods (Sithanantham, 2007). Marimuthu and Nakkeeran (2007) have suggested the use of plant growth promoting rhizobactera (PGPR) viz., Pseudomonos, Azospirillum, Rhizobium, Bacillus and Serratia spp. in the management of pests and diseases of noni.

Major pests and diseases of Noni:

While noni cultivation and its medical significance is gaining popularity, it is important to understand various challenges and limiting factors that the crop encounters. It is susceptible to a wide range of fungal pathogensviz., Phytopthora sp. and Sclerotiumrolfisii (black flag and stem, leaf and fruit blights), Guignardia morindae (leaf spot), Phellinusnoxius (brown rootrot) and Collectrotrichum sp. (anthraconose); insects such as aphids (Aphis gossipii), scales (Coccusviridis), weevils, leaf miners, whiteflies (Dialuerdeskirkaldyi), caterpillars (Achaea janata) and thrips (Heliothrips haemorroidalis). Marimuthu and Nakkeeran (2007) have suggested the use of plant growth promoting rhizobactera (PGPR) viz., Pseudomonos, Azospirillum, Rhizobium, Bacillus and Serratia spp. in the management of pests and diseases of noni.

i. Aphids - Aphis gossypii:

Aphids are most often associated with and tended by one of several ant species. Aphids are sap-feeding insects that cause stunting and slow growth of noni plants and leaf curling and deformity if aphid populations are large (Fig 2). The sugary waste product that is excreted from aphid abdomens provides a substrate for the growth of a saprophytic fungus that causes “sooty mold”. If ants and aphids can be controlled, the sooty mold usually disappears after a short time. Melon aphids are widely distributed throughout all of the major Hawaiian islands. Aphid population outbreaks are favored at warm, dry locations or during warm, dry periods of the year. Aphids have the most negative impacts on the growth of noni seedlings in nurseries.

ii. Dry fruit rot- Colletotrichumgloeosporioides:

Commercial cultivation of noni has resulted in the outbreak of disease like fruit rot. Manjunathet al. (2010) reported leaf anthracnose caused by C. gloeosporioides. However, the literature survey does not reflect the occurrence of fruit rot and about the etiology of the same. Thus symptamatology of medicinal plant and other crops are reviewed hereunder. Li and Zhang (2007) described the symptom of Trichosantheskirilowii fruit rot as water-soaked, dark brown-to-black sunken lesions with numerous black acervuli and black setae that produced abundant spore masses of Colletotrichum. Masanto et al. (2009) reported that the symptom of anthracnose on dragon fruit caused by C. gloeosporioides which appeared as reddish-brown lesions with chlorotic haloes on fruits and the lesions coalesced to rot. The fruit rot disease of pepper characterized by sunken, necrotic lesions on the surface of sfruit that usually contain an abundance of tan or salmon-colored conidia (Harp et al., 2008).

iii. Dry fruit rot –Alternaria alternata:

The cursory perusal of literature does not imply the associations of Alternaria with noni fruit rot disease. Thus symptomatology of other crops infected by Alternaria spp is reviewed hereunder. Li et al. (2010) reported A. tenuissima causing fruit rot of pepper with brown necrotic spots. Later spots enlarged in size and became concentric rings. In the later stages of infection, these spots coalesced, resulting in withering and extensive drying of fruit. Ezra et al. (2010) reported the presence of black spot onpomegranate as a result of A. alternate infection. On laquot fruit A. alternata caused dark-brown necrotic lesions (almost circular) and coalesce to form large necrotic areas (Batta, 2005).

iv. Wet fruit rot – Pantoea agglomerans:

The literature reviews pertain to the wet fruit rot on noni revealed that there is no report of occurrence of fruit rot on this crop. Hence, the symptomatology of other fruit crops affected by the Pantoeaspp. is reviewed hereunder. Kazutakaet al. (2008) described the symptom of internal fruit rot of netted melon as water soaked lesion that expanded around placenta of the fruits without any external visible symptom. Gitaitis et al. (2003) described symptom of center rot of onion caused by Pantoeaananatis with water soaked margins running along the length of the leaf. Pink disease caused by P. citrea, appeared as translucent, sub-dermal on pine apple fruit (Cha et al., 1997). Cotheret al. (2004) characterized the symptom of stem necrosis of rice (Pantoeaananas) and necrotic lesions occurred on the rachis, stem extending up to the flag leaf sheath and stopping at the second node.

v. Black flags of Noni – Phytophthoraspp:

The disease, named noni black flag, is caused by a pathogen in the genus Phytophthora. This is the first report of a Phytophthora species causing disease of M. citrifolia. Severely diseased plants have characteristic “black flags,” which describes the blackened, wilted, withered, or com- pletely necrotic leaves hanging from blackened petioles and stems (Fig 3). In the early stages of infection the leaves, petioles, and stems may have blackened streaks or stripes along the veins. As the disease progresses, entire stems and petioles may collapse after being girdled by black lesions. Fruit symptoms, common at the stem end, consist of a progressive soft rot with a water-soaked appearance and chocolate-brown or dark brown to black color. Fruit infection often occurs through the pedicel, where the base of the fruit is attached to the stem. Advanced fruit infections may result in dry, shriveled fruit “mummies” that may have a fuzzy or silvery surface.

vi. Root knot nematode – Meloidogyne incognita:

Noni is susceptible to root-knot nematodes Meloidogyne spp. M. incognita is one of the most important species infesting the crop at the seedling stage in the nursery and carried to the main field (Nelson, 2003). It causes severe reduction in plant growth and fruit yield. Symptoms of damage induced by root-knot nematode include patches of stunted and yellow plants, presence of root galls and reduced root system. Presence of multiple galls is the characteristic symptom. Occurrence of symptoms in fields may be patchy, with severely affected plants growing next to apparently unaffected plants. Symptoms can develop slowly over time and take several years to cause a significant decline in plant growth, fruit yield, or lead to plant death. It has been reported to cause significant yield loss of 45-50% (Kavithaet al., 2011b) in noni. M. incognita, like other root-knot nematodes causes swellings and galls in the infested root. The nematode retard plant growth, cause chlorosis and wilting symptoms (Nelson, 2005). The life cycle of M. incognita in noni ranges from 28-30 days (Kavitha et al., 2011b) (Fig 4).Histopathological and ultra structural studies conducted by Kavithaet al., 2012c of root knot nematode infested noni root samples revealed the nematode lay eggs inside the root rather outside. This characteristic association resulted in the formation of multiple galls which ultimately caused severe decline in the plant growth and yield.

Integrated Pest Management:

Various methods of pest management including physical and cultural are not efficient due to internal habit of the pathogen. Owing to the medicinal importance of the crop, use of chemicals for the pest and disease management is ruled out. Development and use of resistant cultivars offer the best management tool for controlling them. Lack of resistance to the pathogens in the available noni varieties has been a major factor hindering the genetic improvement. Bio control microorganisms have unquestionable potential for managing plant diseases and increasing crop productivity. Interest in biological control has recently been intensified because of imminentbans on effective pesticides, wide spread development of fungicide resistance in pathogens and a general need for more sustainable disease control strategies. For many decades, microorganisms have been introduced into soil or on seeds, roots, bulbs or other planting material to improve plant growth and health. Bacillus is important microorganism widely used against a number of economically important plant pathogenic fungi (Svetlana et al., 2010).It also improves plant health through enhancement of plant resistance against biotic stresses (Weller, 1988).

CONCLUSION:

Indiscriminate use of chemicals for the management of pest and disease enhances the problem of pathogen resistance and risk to the environment, favored the introduction of various eco-friendly approaches of management. Since each management approach has some advantage, an integrated approach can be a better option to overcome their menace.

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Received on 17.12.2015 Modified on 15.01.2016

Res. J. Pharmacognosy & Phytochem. 8(1): Jan.- Mar. 2016; Page 41-48

DOI: 10.5958/0975-4385.2016.00009.1