Isolation and Identification of Fungi Associated with the Spoilage of Sweet Orange and Banana in Sokoto Metropolis

Mycological studies on Fungi in apparently diseased Sweet Orange ( Citrus sinensis) and Banana ( Musa sapientum) sampled from various points in Kara market in Sokoto Metropolis was carried out between August and September. The samples were surfaced sterilised with ethanol and the homogenates were cultured on Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) and incubated aerobically at room temperature for 7 days at 30C. The pure cultures obtained were identified morphologically and microscopically. The investigation revealed that the samples were infected with several fungi species. The most predominant Fungi isolated from Sweet Orange were Cladosporium spp (40%), Fusarium spp (30%), Alternaria spp ( 20%), and Chrysonilia spp (10%) while the most predominant Fungi isolated from Banana were Fusarium spp (50%), Mucor spp ( 30%) and Rhizopus spp (20%). The pathogenecity test results show that Cladosporium spp and Fusarium spp were the most active in sweet orange with rot length of 74 mm and 70 mm respectively and the least active fungi were Alternaria spp and Chrysonilia spp with rot lengths of 52 mm and 48 mm respectively. Furthermore, Fusarium spp and Mucor spp were the most active in banana with rot lengths of 84 mm and 75 mm respectively and the least active fungus was Rhizopus spp with rot lengths of 54 mm.