Fungi are increasingly implicated as the agents of spoilage of economically important fruits and vegetables. Fruits supply some necessary nutritional substances such as vitamins and essential minerals in human daily diet; this keeps the body in a good and healthy condition [1] . Consumption of fruit and vegetable products has dramatically increased in Nigeria by more than 40% during the past few decades. It is also estimated that about 30% of all fruits and vegetables produced are lost each year due to spoilage.

The prevalence of fungi as the spoilage organism of some edible fruits and vegetables abound in different locations in Nigeria. Fruits and vegetables are exposed to contamination by microorganisms through direct contact with soil, dust, water and by handling at harvest or during postharvest processing. This makes them to harbour a wide range of microorganisms including plant and human pathogens [2] . Microorganisms responsible for spoilage of fruits and vegetables exploit the host using extracellular lytic enzymes that degrade these polymers to release water and the plant’s other intracellular constituents for use as nutrients for their growth. Fungi in particular produce an abundance of extracellular pectinases and hemicellulases that are important factors for fungal spoilage [3] . Some spoilage microbes are capable of colonizing and creating lesions on healthy, undamaged plant tissue [4] .

Improper pre-harvest fungicide application, poor washing, and/or inadequate culling of fruits and vegetables usually lead to expanding infestation of spoilage microorganisms which can destroy a substantial portion of a stored lot of fruits [3] . The objective of the present study was to investigate and document the prevalence of fungi responsible for the spoilage of some fruits and vegetables in Enugu State, Nigeria.

Fungi found associated with the spoilage of pawpaw in this study were A. niger, A. flavus, R. nigra, R. oryzae, M. indicus, M. racemosus, C. albicans, P. oxalicum, P. digitatum, F. accuminatum, R. stolonifer and R. nigrican, while R, stolonifer, A. niger, F. accuminatum, F. oxysporum, F. eqiuseti, F. moniliforme, and F. solani were responsible for the soft rot of tomato. A. niger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, M. indicus, R. nigrican, R. nigra and F. accuminatum were responsible for the spoilage of Irish potato. M. indicus, M. amphibiorum, M. racemosus, A. niger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, F. accuminatum, F. oxysporum, R. nigrican, R. oligosporus and R. stolonifer were associated with carrot. Fungi involved in the deterioration of sweet potato were F. oxysporium and F. moniliforme, A. niger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, M. racemosus, M. hiemalis, C. albicans, and P. oxalicum, while F. accuminatum, R. stolonifer and A. niger were found associated with the post-harvest deteriorating of water?me- lon. Penicillium expansum, M. indicus, R. nigrican and F. moniliforme were responsible for the spoilage of avocado pear, while F. oxysporium, F. moniliforme, M. indicus and R. nigrican were fungi found associated with the spoilage of banana and plantain. Fungi associated with the spoilage of palm fruit were F. accuminatum, F. moniliforme, F. oxysporium, A. niger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, M. indicus, M. racemosus, M. hiemalis, R. nigrican, R. stolonifer and that responsible for the spoilage of pepper were F. oxysporium, F. dimerum, A. niger, M. amphibiorum, M. racemosus, R. oligosporus and R. stolonifer.

A total of 2140 (71.3%) positive fungi isolates are recorded in Table 1 as follows: L. esculentus 410 (19.2%), E. guineensis 415 (19.4%), I. batatas 200 (9.3%), S. tuberosum, 380 (17.8%), M. sapientum 120 (5.6%), D. carota 110 (5.1%), M. paradisiaca 115 (5.4%), C. papaya 78 (3.6%), P. americana 67 (3.1%), C. lanatus 110 (5.1%) and C. chinense 135 (6.3%). The rates of isolation of the 6 different genera from the various samples are displayed in Tables 2-4. Figure 1 shows the distribution of the fungi species responsible for the spoilage/soft rots as follows: A. niger (20.42%), F. accuminatum (12.57), F. oxysporum (11.59%), R. nigrican (9.77%), F. moniliforme (6.92%), M. indicus (6.40%), R. stolonifer (6.03%), A. flavus( 4.95%), A. fumigatus (4.11%), M. racemosus (3.46%), M. hiemalis (3.08%), R. nigra (1.78%), M. amphibiorum (1.68%), F. eqiuseti (1.68%), F. solani (1.31%), P. oxalicum (1.26%), F. dimerum (0.97%), C. albicans (0.93%), R. oligosporus (0.84%), P. expansum (0.51%), R. oryzae (0.28%) and P. digitatum (0.19%).

The high rate of isolation of fungi species from some edible fruits and vegetables in this study showed that fungi are responsible for post harvest deterioration of some edible fruits and vegetables in Enugu Nigeria. This is in line with the work of Akinmusire [5] , who also in his studies in Maiduguri, Northern Eastern Nigeria revealed the prevalence of fungi as the spoilage organism of some edible fruits and vegetables Fusarium oxysporium and Fusarium moniliforme were among other fungi isolated. This result is in conformity with that of Olufunmilayo and Oyefolu [6] , who reported natural occurrence of aflatoxin residues in fresh and sun-dried meat in Nigeria and further confirmed that meat generally sold in Nigeria are grossly contaminated by various fungi species including the potentially mycotoxigenic ones, such as Fusarium species. Amusa et al. [7] investigated the etiology of pre-harvest deterioration of Soursop (Annona muricata) fruit in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria and the effects

on its nutrient composition and found that, four fungal pathogens including Botryodiplodia theobromae, Fusarium sp., R. stolonifer and A. niger were found associated with the pre-harvest deteriorating soursop. This result further confirmed the findings of the present study where similar fungi were isolated and found to be responsible for the spoilage of some edible fruits and vegetable.

Gupta and Pathak [8] , reported that A. niger , Aspergillus flavus, R. nigra, C. lanata, R. oryzae, F. eqiuseti and F. moniliforme were responsible for post harvest losses of pawpaw in south western Nigeria . Oke and Banjoko

[9] have also reported P. digitatum and F. oxysporium on pawpaw. This is consistent with the result of the present study where these fungi were also seen to be responsible for deterioration of pawpaw fruits. Different fungal species have been reported to be associated with the post harvested deterioration of these fruits and vegetables in different locations.

Losses due to post harvest spoilage or pathological decay are result of latent infections in the field that become active following harvest or of crosses contamination during harvest, cleaning, storage, and distribution. Presence of the pathogen on a susceptible host fruit or vegetable, combined with suitable environmental conditions such as high temperature, provides the three components required for disease expression such as host, environment, and pathogen.

During harvest and handling before storage and distribution, it is important to minimize wounds and bruising and to cull all damaged and diseased product. A few spoilage microbes, primarily fungi, can infect healthy tissues by forming appressoria, external structures that enable the pathogen to penetrate the cuticle and epidermis. The developing appressorium ramifies through these protective layers and into the pulp through a combination of mechanical pressure and tissue destruction by extracellular enzymes. However, most spoilage microbes infect and initiate decay at punctures and splits in the epidermal layer or, in far fewer cases, through natural openings such as stomata and lenticels.

Deterioration of most fruits and vegetable is caused by fungi infection. We therefore recommended timely spraying of the fruits with fungicides to reduce the damaging activities of the fungal pathogen and contamination with mycotoxins and other related fungal metabolites that might be harzadous to human health. Since some of these pathogens gain access via wounds created by insect pests, there is also the need for further investigations of the pests causing injuries on fruits, with the aims of reducing their activities.