Moulds Associated with Deterioration of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) and Proximate Analysis of Infected Fruits in Keffi, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

A study was carried out on moulds associated with deterioration of mango fruits and proximate analysis of infected fruits in Keffi, Nasarawa State. The disease survey covered four locations in Keffi. The locations include; Keffi Market, FMC Round about, Angwan Lambu and High Court. The four locations were visited four times and a total of 64 mango fruits were collected and sampled. Forty two (42) fruits were infected with different fungal diseases while twenty two (22) were free from fungal infection. The fungal species isolated and identified were Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus oryzae, Mucor hiemalis and Rhizopus stolonifer. Their frequencies of occurrence were 28.57%, 23.81%, 23.81% and 23.81% respectively. FMC Round About and High Court has the highest frequency of occurrence (18.75%) and Angwan Lambu has the least occurrence (12.50%). There was no significant difference (P<0.05) in the incidence of different isolates in relation to locations. Analysis of the nutritional contents of infected mango fruits showed increase in the moisture content and reduction in crude fibre, crude ash, crude protein and crude carbohydrates level compared with uninfected fruits. The result for pathogenicity test showed that Aspergillus niger was the most virulent, while Mucor hiemalis was the least virulent or may be mere contaminate. Consumption of deteriorated mango fruits should be avoided because of the health implication of swallowing these fungal isolates.