Online ISSN : 2349-8080 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorinchiefijcrbp@gmail.com |
2Department of Applied Biology, College of Applied Natural Science, Adama Science and Technology University, P.O. Box 1888, Adama, Ethiopia
Fungal spoilage in maize resulted in grain deterioration and mycotoxin contamination. In Ethiopia, maize production is prone to losses due to mold contamination. The purpose of this study was to isolate fungi and determine the contributing factors to fungal spoilage in Maize. 72 maize samples were collected based on incremental sampling method. Fungal isolation was done on Potato Dextrose Agar amended with 0.01% chloramphenicol. Fungal colonies were purified by sub-cultured on PDA. Morphological and microscopic characterization of the isolates was done based on fungal identification manual. From 1080 maize grains, 613 fungal isolates were recorded with 54.1% mean value where the majorities were belongs to the genus Fusarium. Grains collected from warehouse were more infected (58.88%) followed by store, open market and household. Overall, the prevalence of fungal infection in the study sites was high. Awareness creation, cumulative integrated management, monitoring, and precautionary measures are recommended.
Food contamination,Fungal spoilage,Maize,Mycotoxin