Evaluation of Fungal Species Isolated from Three Different Varieties of Pepper (Capsicum chinense, C. frutescens and C. annum L.) in Dutsin-ma, Katsina State

The study was carried out to determine the fungal species affecting the leaves of different pepper varieties in Dutsinma Town, Katsina State. The three pepper varieties studies were Capsicum chinense, C. frutescens L. and C. annum L. A total of twenty seventy (27) samples were collected, 9 each of the three different pepper variety from three fungi devastated farms in the study area. Samples of leaves from the collected pepper varieties were separately chopped up into smaller bits using flame-sterilized scalpel and following standard procedures, they were transferred into prepared PDA plates to which streptomycin (0.2% final concentration) has been added to suppress bacterial growth. The fungal colonies that emerged were continuously sub-cultured in order to obtain a pure culture of the fungal isolates. Isolated fungi were identified based on colony and morphological characteristics such as colour, shape and type of spores observed with the microscope. The fungal species isolated were Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigates, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Penicillium corylophilum, Rhizopus stolonifer and Verticillium spp. some of these species were reported to have caused various diseases in pepper and other plants species which include soft rotting, damping-off, wilting and general spoilage. Efforts were recommended to alert growers in this area, and similar places on the need to safeguard their pepper plants against fungal infections