Screening, Isolation and Characterisation of Fungal Species Causing Post-Harvest Spoilage of Mangoes in Uganda

Edgar Mugizi Ankwasa*, Atuhaire Judith, Imade Francis and Ssekandi Joseph

Mangoes are grown in tropical and subtropical countries in the world. Post-harvest spoilage of mangoes greatly reduces their quality and market value. Pests of mangoes include fruit flies, stone weevils, and mealy bugs while the main pathogens are the fungi. Several diseases have been reported in mangoes such as anthracnose, stem end rot, Aspergillus niger rot, soft rot, and Alternaria rot. The aim of this study was to isolate, characterize, and identify fungal species causing post-harvest spoilage of mangoes in Uganda. Mangoes with signs of fungal infection were purchased from markets in Kampala, small pieces (2X2mm) were cut and extracted from the infected tissue of the mangoes, surface sterilized by dipping them in 1% (V/V) Sodium Hypochlorite (NaClO) solution for 60 seconds, rinsed 3 times with sterile distilled water and cultured on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) supplemented with chloramphenicol at 28 °C with 12-hour photoperiod for 7 days. Pure colonies were obtained from single spore isolation and identified as Aspergillus fumigatus, Neofusicoccum parvum, Aspergillus krugeri, and Lasiodiplodia theobromae after morphological and molecular characterization. Pathogenicity of the isolates was performed according to Koch’s postulates and two control samples were included. The effect of fruit maturity and incubation temperature were also investigated by using ripe and unripe fruits and incubating at different 15 °C, 28 °C, and 35 °C. Ripe mangoes showed severe symptoms compared to the unripe mangoes when incubated at 28 °C and the results further showed that 28 °C was the favorable growth temperature for the fungi and that all the isolates were pathogenic.

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Published on: Feb 21, 2025 Pages: 1-8

Full Text PDF Full Text HTML DOI: 10.17352/ojps.000062
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