Mycoflora associated with black pepper in storage

Black pepper, known as the "King of Spices" and "Black gold," is a valuable spice native to India, commonly cultivated in tropical regions. However, it is prone to fungal growth and mycotoxin contamination, particularly during storage when moisture levels rise. Therefore a survey was conducted during July to December 2023, for identifying the mycoflora associated with black pepper in storage. Stored samples of the contaminated whole black pepper collected from pepper growers in 3 locations each from Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Idukki and Wayanad districts (Agro ecological units (AEU) 14, 15, 16 and 20) of Kerala, India. Twelve samples collected were examined to record the symptoms, then isolate the mycoflora associated with the samples and the prevalent contaminants present in it were characterized. The average moisture content of the samples was determined and found below 10 per cent for all the black pepper samples. Sixty one isolates of different fungi were isolated from the samples collected from different locations in Kerala. 14 isolates from Thiruvananthapuram, 16 from Kozhikode, 16 from Wayanad and 15 from Idukki were isolated from mouldy black pepper berries. Cultural and morphological studies of the 61 isolates were carried out and the isolates includes Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., Syncephalastrum sp., Mucor sp., Colletotrichum sp., Helminthosporium sp. Among the contaminants, one of the isolates of Aspergillus sp. observed from most of the samples collected was subjected to cultural, morphological and molecular characterization. Major contaminant associated with black pepper at storage was identified as Aspergillus flavus.