Assessment of Postharvest Handling of Banana Fruits and Associated Fungi in Ganmo Market, Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

Banana fruit is vastly perishable and needs to be handled with cares to ensure its safety and reduce the loss. This study aimed at assessing various postharvest practices of banana fruits with associated fungi in Ganmo market, Kwara State, Nigeria. The study was done by purposive sampling for the selection of the study area. Pretested questionnaires were administered to gather pertinent information on the postharvest handling practices of the fruits within the study area. Fungi were isolated and identified from the apparently diseased fruits using the standard method. The results showed that loss of banana fruits is not restricted to a particular member of agricultural supply chain but occurs at all phases spanning from farmers through the wholesalers to the retailers. It was deduced that practices like poor sanitation, absence of temperature monitoring system, unsuitable packaging system and inappropriate transport system are responsible for the postharvest loss of the fruits. The highest fruit damage (62.5%) was observed in the samples from retailers. The same handlers also had the highest disease incidence (37.5%) and severity (15.63%). Fusarium oxysporum, Saccharomyces cerevisae, Pichia kudriavzevii and Alternaria alternata were frequently isolated from the deteriorated banana fruits. Good postharvest practices should be fostered and agricultural extension agents should promptly disseminate useful information to all fruit handlers.