ISOLATION AND IDENTIICATION OF FUNGI ASSOCIATED WITH THE SPOILAGE OF CARICA PAPAYA (PAW PAW) IN KATSINA METROLPOLIS

ABSTRACT: This study was carried out in Katsina Metropolis to isolate and identify fungi associated with the Spoilage of Carica Papaya (Pawpaw).A total of Nine pawpaw were used from three different Market.Three pawpaw were obtain from each market in different location( Chake,Kofar Marusa and Tsohuwar kasuwa Market respectively),and transported immediately to Biology laboratory Umaru Musa Yar'adua University Katsina for analysis.Potatoes Dextrose Agar (PDA) was used as media as it's the media responsible for the growth of fungi. Serial dillution method was carried out during the process of isolation of fungi. The plates was incubated for 5_7 days. Respective fungal colony was form and sub cultured. From the results obtained, Seven fungal contaminants were found to be associated with pawpaw spoilage, namely; Aspergillus flavus 2(5%) Aspergillus niger 3(12%), Rhizopus stolonifer 34(85%), phoma sp. 4(10%),fusasium solani 13(54.1%),Penicillium sp 6(60%), Mucor hiemalis 4(40%) ,and Fusarium oxysporum 4(16.7%). It was Revealed that; Rhizopus stolonifer had the highest frequency of occurrence in both markets and Aspergillus Flavus had the lowest frequency of occurrence 2(5.0%) Respectively Also the results shows that; Chake market has the highest fungal load with 4.0×10^6 campared to Kofar Marusa which is 2.0×10^6 and Tsohuwar kasuwa (1.0×10^6) respectively. Based on these findings, it was observed that perishable food like Pawpaw are susceptible to spoilage by fungi probably because the spores of these organisms are easily transmitted via the air, during transportation, handling and preservations of this product which could lead to spoilage of these fruits. Therefore, care should be taken during handling and transportation of these fruits and improved technology based preservation methods are suggested to increase the shelf life of the fruits. Keywords: Fungi, fruit,isolation, frequency of occurrence, spoilage, Chake market,Kofar Marusa and Tsohuwar kasuwa Market.