Microbial Organisms Associated With the Post-harvest Rot of Bell Pepper (capsicum Annuum L.) Fruit in Mubi, Nigeria

The study was aimed at assessing the microbial organisms associated with the post-harvest rot of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) fruits in Mubi, Nigeria. A total of sixty samples of both the healthy and spoilt pepper fruit were collected from three different markets (Mubi main market, kasuwan dole and kasuwa kuturu) within Mubi. After proper washing the fruit samples using running tap water and dipping in 1% hypochlorite for one minute and rinsing in three changes of distilled water, the fungi and bacteria were isolated by direct plating and streaking methods using potato dextrose and nutrient agar media respectively. Three fungal species which included: Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus and Rhizopus stolonifer all found in samples obtained from the three different markets; and bacteria from two different genera, Clostridium and Bacillus were isolated and confirmed through pathogenicity test A. niger of fruit sample from kasuwan dole had the highest percentage frequency of occurrence with 50 % and A. flavus in samples from Mubi main market was the lowest with 21.42 %. Bacillus sp. in samples from Mubi main market and Kasuwan kuturu had the highest and lowest percentage frequency of 100 % and 44.44 % respectively. The fungal and Bacterial species which involved A. niger, A. flavus and R. stolonifer and Clostridium sp. and Bacillus sp. respectively caused post-harvest fruit-rot of C. annuum. Therefore, C. annuum spoilt fruit should be discarded and never consumed to avoid diseases associated with these microbes.