Post-Harvest Handling Survey Report on Cocoyam [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] in Oji-River, Enugu State, Nigeria

Background and Objective: This study presents a survey on the post-harvest handling practices of cocoyam and the identification of fungi responsible for cocoyam rot. The objectives are to assess the perception of farmers on the pre and post-harvest handling practices of cocoyam and to identify the fungi responsible for cocoyam rot. Materials and Methods: The survey was conducted from November, 2022 to May, 2023 in Oji River Local Government Area, Enugu State. A total of 120 well-structured questionnaires on handling practices of cocoyam were administered to 20 randomly selected cocoyam farmers/traders in each of the 6 communities in Oji River. Isolation of pathogens from cocoyam cormels with symptoms of rot purchased from Oji River was done by inoculating a portion of the explant onto sabouraud dextrose agar. The isolates were sub-cultured and identified. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: The survey revealed that the majority of cocoyam farmers/sellers were female (61.67%), within the age range of 41-15 (23.33%), the majority had post primary education (49.17) while 5% had no formal education. All the respondents (100%) had knowledge of fungi diseases and could identify various symptoms of fungi infections in plants. Chiefly among the methods of pre and post-harvest rot control in cocoyam were crop rotation (88.33%) and proper storage (95%). The organisms isolated were Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus stolonifer, Mucor circinelloides, Pennicillium expansum and Fusarium oxysporum. The pathogenicity test showed that the test organisms were responsible for cocoyam spoilage. Conclusion: Proper care should be taken in the handling of cocoyam as some of these spoilage fungi are known to have a negative impact.