• Sani Abba Nasidi

ABSTRACT Tomato is an important vegetable crop in Nigeria. It is widely grown for home consumption and for sale. The demand for fresh tomato is high both for domestic use and markets. However, tomato post-harvest losses are a threat to the harvested tomatoes. There is no well documented current knowledge on the nature and status of post-harvest losses on tomato in Nigeria particularly with regard to pests and diseases. In areas where post-harvest losses have been documented the figures vary considerably such that their usefulness is short lived. Periodic surveys are therefore necessary to help understand the severity of losses in a specific place at a specific time. The aim of this study was to isolate and identified the fungi associated with tomato fruit spoilage in Geidam. The study also aimed at evaluating the efficacy of plant crude extracts against post-harvest tomato damaging pathogens. Disease causing micro-organisms that were suspected to cause the post-harvest damage were isolated, identified and re-inoculated to wounded surface sterilized fresh harvested ripe tomato to establish pathogenicity. Crude plant extracts from neem leaves, were tested for the control of the most potent fungal pathogens. An in vivo experiment was carried out where healthy ripe tomato fruits were dipped into the selected crude plant extracts and disease development on them monitored and compared with the untreated tomato samples. Data was analysed using one way ANOVA. The in vivo study demonstrated that the extracts could be applied to control the rots on the tomato fruits. Results of this study showed that plant extracts had antimicrobial compounds such as diallyl disulphide, azadrachtin that acted against the test pathogens and can be an important step in developing plant based bio-pesticides for the management of fruit rots because the plants are readily available, and affordable. The study recommends that farmers shorten the distance between harvesting and collection time to reduce chances of fruit exposure to the pathogens.

Tomato,fungi,spoilage,microscopic

"Isolation of fungi associated with spoilage of post harvest tomato and the use of leaf extract of neem three in their management", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 5, page no.c559-c573, May-2021, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2105328.pdf

"Isolation of fungi associated with spoilage of post harvest tomato and the use of leaf extract of neem three in their management", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 5, page no. ppc559-c573, May-2021, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2105328.pdf