Identification of fungal species most commonly associated with tomato rotting in Nagongera trading center, Tororo Uganda

Abstract

The fruit of Lycopersicum esculentum M. (tomato) is among important vegetable crop widely grown around the world. Their large water content and soft endocarp make them susceptible to spoilage by fungi. The spoiled, rotten, often broken ones are usually preferred by low-income earners because of their cheap prices. Isolation and identification of fungi associated with rotten tomatoes was carried out, to determine fungi involved in tomato spoilage. Some of the rotten tomatoes were procured from Nagongera market vendors. One gram of the infected part was put in the measuring cylinder and was subjected to a ten times dilution with sterile water and was shaked vigorously for even distribution of microbes. Two milliliters was inoculated onto PDA media and incubation was carried out at 27℃ for five days. Strains of some of the fungal species that cause tomato rotting were identified. The results regarding the association of fungi with tomato post-harvest fruit rot indicated a significant variation among the different fungal isolates. Total of three different fungi species, Aspergillus Niger, Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizopus stolonifer were found to be associated with tomato post-harvest rot. Significantly highest frequency percentage of tissue infection was recorded for Rhizopus stolonifer (54.55%) followed by Fusarium oxysporum (30.30%) and lastly Aspergillus Niger with (15.15%).