Determination of Pathogenic Effect of Fungi on Fresh Healthy Tomatoes in Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State, Nigeria

Aim: To determine the rot (pathogenic) effect of fungi isolated from diseased tomatoes on fresh healthy tomatoes obtained from Jos North LGA markets.

Place and Duration of Study: Jos North Local Government Area market, Plateau State; Microbiology laboratory, Federal College of Forestry, Jos, Plateau State between May 2015 and August 2015.

Materials and Methods: A total of thirty (30) fresh healthy and thirty (30) infected tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum) were obtained randomly from different market in Jos North LGA between May and August 2015. Three types of fungi were isolated from the infected tomatoes and morphologically identified. Fresh and healthy tomatoes were use for pathogenicity testing.

Results: Percentage distributions of the isolated fungi showed Geotrichum candidum (45.16%), Rhizopus stolonifer (22.58%) and Fusarium oxysporum (32.26%). All the isolates caused spoilage of fresh and healthy tomatoes with Rhizopus stolonifer having the highest percentage severity of rot (70.88%), followed by Geotrichum candidum (38.73%) and Fusarium oxysporum (32.08%) after 96hours of incubation. The percentage severity results shows significant difference among the three fungi tested (P<001).

Conclusion: This study revealed that tomatoes rot are caused by different types of fungi and their activities, therefore proper handling procedure especially during post harvest should be ensured to avoid spoilage.