Introduction. Consumption of Physalis fruits is quite recent and the products are poorly known among consumers. This plant has been known for a long time as an ornamental in Europe, for at least 200 years. Traceability is increasingly becoming important across the agri-food industry; however, at the present time, the traceability of this fruit is only documentary. In case of doubt or fraud, no standardized analysis can determine the geographical origin of the fruits. Materials and methods. In order to discover the relationship between the fungal communities of the fruit and their geographical origins, 28S rDNA-PCR-DGGE was used to analyze the variation in fungal communities in three species of Physalis fruit (Physalis ixocarpa Brot., Physalis pruinosa L. and Physalis peruviana L.) from Egypt, Uganda and Colombia. Results. Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprints of 28S ribosomal DNA (28S rDNA) analyzed by multivariate analysis could distinguish different fruit origins by their fungal communities. Conclusion. We propose the PCR-DGGE method as a new traceability tool which provides fruit in general, and Physalis in particular, with a unique barcode for each country by using 28S rDNA fingerprinting of fungi.

Introduction. Pentaclethra macrophylla, Mimosaceae, is the only species of the genus present in West Africa. The plant's diseases are not well known. The numerous uses of the plant's seeds and pods aroused our interest in investigating its pests and mycoflora, which would constitute a drawback to the plant's production, value and use. Materials and method. Mature pods of P. macrophylla were collected from different locations in Nigeria and tree-top observations were also made for studying the pests present. Isolation, characterization and identification of the mycoflora were done by plating washings from pods, skin and seeds on different media and incubating for 2 to 3 days at 28 °C. Control plating was done with sterile peptone water. Streptomycin was incorporated in the test and control media to avoid bacteria. Some pods and seeds were also stored before being treated as above. A pathogenicity test was also carried out. Results and discussion. Many insect species and pathogens were found to attack the pods and seeds of the plant. The major insect pests identified were Cossus cadaribae, Sitophilus spp., Spodoptera exempta and silkworms. The major fungal pathogens included Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus stolonifer, Cladosporium herbarum, Penicillium sp., Botryodiplodia theobromae and Fusarium sp. Some of the insect pests skeletonize the green pods, depriving them of photosynthetic surfaces; some bore into the pods, eating up and damaging the seeds' fleshy cotyledons; others lacerate the pods, causing lesions of varying sizes and shapes, thereby creating portals for the penetration of fungal and bacterial pathogens which invade and rot the predisposed seeds. Conclusion. Our study established many pests and mycoflora which attack P. macrophylla pods and seeds. They might have been the cause of the observed symptoms and damage, and the cause of the reduction in the crops planted, reported by previous authors.

Introduction. Black plum (Vitex doniana sweet) is a plant widely used by various communities in Nigeria for many purposes, including production of wine and jam. Ripe mature black plum fruit for food use commonly collected from the ground instead of plucked which is more hygienic. An investigation was conducted to find out the mycoflora on the surface and within the fruits of black plum fruits. Materials and methods. Mycoflora associated with the surface, skin, pulp and juice of healthy intact fruits of black plum was isolated in malt extract agar and potato dextrose agar and identified. Pathogenicity test was carried out with three pathogens of the fruit. Results and discussion. Fungi with incidence of 20-100% of occurrence were classified as major components and those below 20% of occurrence were regarded as minor components. Yeasts making up the major components in the ripe fruits were Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans, while the minor yeast components were Rhodotrula sp., S. coreanus and Pichia sp. Filamentous fungi constituting major components were Aspergillus niger and Penicillium sp. whereas minor components were Botryodiplodia theobromae and Penicillium chrysogenum. Spoilage of fruits was caused by B. theobromae, Aspergillus sp. and A. niger. Conclusion. Yeasts and, occasionally, filamentous fungi occur within apparently healthy fruits of Vitex doniana sweet. Stages of development when the yeasts enter the pulp of the fruit need to be thoroughly investigated.