Isolation and Identification of the Fungi Causing Tomato Fruit Rot Disease in the Vicinity of Tandojam, Sindh

Background: The post-harvest tomato fruit rot disease is common threat to the tomato fruit, causing huge economic loss as revealed by (GOP, 2018). The present study was conducted for isolatation and identification of causative agent of tomato fruit rot in order to formulate the proper management stretegies. Methods: Study was conducted in three phases. Phase one included collection of tomato fruit samples from vicinity of Tandojam. In phase two pathogens were isolated from the samples at laboratory, while in the phase three pathogens were identified using standard procedures. Result: The experimental results indicated Alternaria solani as the main cause of post-harvest tomato fruit rot. The symptoms observed were presence of brown to black rot lesions on tomato fruits with distinct rings ranging from small pin-heads to whole surface of fruit. A total of six different fungi viz., Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, Alternaria solani, Geotrichum candidum, Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizopus stolonifer were found to be associated with post harvest tomato rot. Significantly higher infection was recorded for A. solani (53.667%) followed by A. niger (16.333%) and G. candidum (13.00%). The lowest infection percentage was observed for F. oxysporum (2.333%), followed by A. alternata (4.00%) and R. stolonifer (9.00%). A. solani produced aerial mycelium with yellowish to reddish diffusible pigments. A. niger cultures were typically black and colonies were initially whitish to yellow and later became brown to black in colour. G. candidum produced white and nonaerial colonies. F. oxysporum produced circular, aerial mycelium initially white, later changed to light pink. R. stolonifer produced whitish to grey fuzzy colonies.