VIEW ARTICLE

Fungi Associated with Storage Decay of Yam in Nigeria. M. O. Adeniji, Lecturer in Plant Pathology, Department of Agricultural Biology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Phytopathology 60:590-592. Accepted for publication 24 September 1969. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-60-590.

Incidence of decay among five species of yam (Dioscorea alata, D. cayanensis, D. dumetorum, D. esculenta, and D. rotundata) was much greater in yams stack-piled on the floor than in those tied up on stakes in a barn. Fungi associated with yam decay in storage were isolated and identified. They were reinoculated individually into sound yams. Penicillium oxalicum and Aspergillus niger were consistently isolated. Six other fungi isolated were Aspergillus tamarii, Botryodiplodia theobromae, Fusarium sp., Cylindrocarpon radicicola, Cladosporium herbarum, and Rhizopus nigricans. Penicillium oxalicum and Aspergillus niger were the major organisms of decay in stored yam. Aspergillus tamarii and Botryodiplodia theobromae cause slight rotting in some species. The cluster yam (D. dumetorum) is resistant to Penicillium oxalicum.