Fungi Associated With Post-harvest Avocado Fruit Rot at Jimma Town, Southwestern Ethiopia

The poor post-harvest handling of avocado in and around Jimma was contribute its part for Post-harvest decay of avocado fruits and loss in quality of avocado. Besides, Post-harvest disease can limit the storage period for the fruit. The aim of this study was to identify Post-harvest pathogens affecting avocado fruits in Jimma town. A total of 35 avocado fruits categorized as apparently healthy (20), diseased (10) and decayed (5) avocado fruits were sampled from wholesalers, local market and farmers' field during 2017. A total of 30 fungal isolates were recovered and grouped into nine fungal species under eight genera. Botryotinia was the most frequently isolated genus (26.67%) followed by Colletotrichum (23.33%) and Aspergillus (10%). Thus, requests the need of management strategy that targets in reducing factors that facilitates the occurrence of fungal infection such options are avoidance of avocado fruit damaging practices by using locally available cushioning materials during loading to cars, avoiding loading of people and other materials together with avocado fruits on the same car, improving avocado storage houses to allow air circulation and avoiding damping of avocado fruits in the storage house.