Isolation and Identification of Fungal Pathogen Associated with Post Harvest Deterioration of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) Fruits in Three Selected Markets in Jos, Nigeria

Aim: This study was carried out to isolate, identify and characterize fungal pathogens associated with post-harvest spoilage of cucumber. Study Design: This research study was done using random sampling technique. Place and Duration of Study: The experiment was carried out from March to June, 2019 at biology laboratory Federal College of Forestry, Jos. Methodology: Fungi isolates were obtained from diseased portions of the cucumber fruit samples cultured on PDA media and incubated at 28ºC2 for seven days. The mycelial were identified macroscopically and microscopically. Pathogenicity tests were conducted for all the fungal pathogens identified by inoculating healthy cucumber samples and incubating for ten days with the readings being taken at two day intervals. The data obtained were analyzed using ANOVA and means were separated using LSD at P ≤ 0.05. Results: Aspergillus fumigatus, Fusarium sp., Geotrichum candidum and Yeast sp were isolated and identified. Result showed that Gada biu market was the most heavily infested location with all the fungal isolates. Geotrichum candidum constituted the highest (50%) occurrence of fungal isolates from all locations. All the fungal isolates were found to be pathogenic on cucumber fruits, with Fusarium being the most destructive, followed by yeast and Geotrichum candidum and the least was Aspergilus fumigatus. Conclusion: The results obtained in this study showed the isolates identified were involved in Cucumber spoilage. Therefore, Careful handling of Cucumber fruits should be ensured to prevent the spread of these pathogenic fungi.