Fungal pathogens associated with forest fruit <i>Dialium guineense</i> (Icheku) in Port Harcourt Metropolis

Abstract

A study was carried out on Dialium guineense (Icheku) fruit for the growth of fungal pathogen. The fruits were collected from four different locations of Port Harcourt; namely Borokiri, Choba, Oyigbo and Rumuokoro. Standard Blotter Method and Agar method for the growth of pure culture were used for the isolation of the following organisms; Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Botrydioplodia theobroma, Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillium chrysogenum and Rhizopus stolonifer. Rumuokoro had the most organisms, while Borokiri had the least organisms. Aspergillus niger occurred in all the locations but was most frequent in Oyigbo with a frequency of occurrence of 8.1%. The frequency of occurrence of Aspergillus flavus was 4.1% in all the locations. For Penicillum chrysogenum Oyigbo had the highest frequency of 10.8%. Fusarium oxysporium occurred in three locations with Rumuokoro having the highest frequency of 5.4%. For Rhizopus stolonifer, Oyigbo had the highest occurrence frequency of 12.2%. Botrydioplodia theobromae was found in two locations Rumuokoro 9.5% and Choba 4.1%.

Keywords: Dialium guineense and fungi