Identification and pathogenicity of fungi causing disease of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) fruits on farmlands in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria
Résumé
Fungi causing disease of cucumber fruits on farmlands in Makurdi was investigated. Diseased cucumber fruits cultivated in farmlands in Makurdi were sampled using the quadrant method. The farmland was divided into four quadrants (A, B, C and D) and the diseased fruits were sampled. They were taken to the Botany Laboratory of the Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu University for isolation of fungi. Small pieces of decaying cucumber fruits were surfaced sterilized in 5% sodium hypochlorite for 30 seconds to 1 minute and plated on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) for fungi isolation. The pathogenicity of the isolated fungi was also carried out on healthy cucumber fruits. Data collected include incidence of fungi, occurrence of specific fungi, mean fungi count and area of rot. Data were analyzed using Chi square (χ2) and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Means were separated using Fisher’s Least Significant Difference at 5% level of significance. Two fungi were isolated namely; Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus stolonifer. Results obtained showed that out of 120 cucumber fruits examined in Quadrant A, 15 representing 12.50% were infected, 25 (16.70%) out of the 150 cucumber fruits examined in Quadrant B were infected. Also, 10 (10.50%) out of the 95 cucumber fruits examined at Quadrant C were infected while 30 (18.20%) of the 165 cucumber fruits examined in Quadrant D were infected. Cucumber fruits collected from quadrant D (2.67) had higher fungi count compared to quadrant B (2.00), quadrant A (1.67) and quadrant C (1.33). Eighty 80 (15.10%) out of the 530 cucumber fruits examined in this study were infected with fungi. There was no significant incidence of fungi on infected cucumber fruits across the quadrant (χ2 = 3.69; df = 3; P = 0.29). Cucumber fruits in quadrant D recorded the highest occurrence of fungi 8 (34.80%) followed by quadrant B 6 (26.10%), quadrant A 5 (21.70%) and the least was quadrant C 4 (17.40%) respectively. Aspergillus niger had higher occurrence 12 (52.20%), followed by R. stolonifer 11 (47.80%) respectively. Chi-square analysis showed that there was no statistically significant relationship in the occurrence of specific fungi on cucumber fruits based on location (χ2 = 1.15; df = 3; P = 0.76). The area of rot caused by A. niger (5.33) cm2 and R. stolonifer (4.38) cm2 was significantly higher compared to control (0.00) cm2. The occurrence of these pathogens varied within the farmland. The pathogenicity showed that the fungi were pathogenic on healthy cucumber fruits. Thus, farmers should ensure good agronomic practices on the field such as inspecting the field regularly for any symptoms of decay on the cucumber fruits.
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