Identification of fungal species isolated from diseased cabbages in the western highlands of Cameroon

Abstract

Some fungal species of cabbage are pathogenic contributing significantly to pre-harvest and post-harvest loses leading to food  insecurity. Therefore, a study was carried out to identify fungal species on diseased cabbage in the Western highlands of Cameroon. One  hundred samples of diseased cabbage were collected from Santa and Dschang. Fungal species was isolated from the leaves, and cultural  and molecular identification of the Internal Transcript Spacer (ITS) and Translation Elongation Factor (TEF) gene regions was done. The  results of cultural study indicated that out of 100 samples, 81 were infected with fungi species. The results of molecular identification of  fungal isolates base on ITS regions revealed that a total of 45 fungal species belonging to 12 genera with Trichoderma being the highest  with 16 isolates followed by Fusarium with 10 isolates. The fungal species identified from TEF regions showed that 51 species of fungal  species were isolated from cabbage belonging to 8 genera with Trichoderma the most dominant (26 species) closely followed by  Fusarium (16 species). The results clearly revealed that molecular identification was more accurate in identifying fungi species than the  cultural method. The identified fungal species will be used in pathogenicity test to know the actual pathogens of cabbage and to devise  appropriate control measures.