Fungi Associated with Soils and Roots of Cucurbits (Lagenaria guineensis and Luffa aegyptica) in Open Waste Dump Sites

Cucurbits have been associated with the degradation of solid waste in refuse dump sites, a potential which can be harnessed in the phytoremediation of components of solid wastes. This study examined a total of 84 soil and 84 Cucurbit root samples collected from three (Borokiri, Rugaraga and Eagle Island) waste dump sites for population and diversity of fungi using standard microbiological techniques. Population of soil fungi in dump sites ranged from 2.3 x 102CFU/g to 3.1 x 103CFU/g soil and in the decreasing order of Borokiri > Eagle Island > Rugaraga. Population of Cucurbit root fungi in the dump sites ranged from 0.2 x 102CFU/g to 2.6 x 103CFU/g root and in the decreasing order of Borokiri (Lagenaria guineensis) > Rugaraga (Luffa aegyptica) > Eagle Island (Luffa aegyptica). Fungi isolated and identified were Alternaria conidia, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, Ceratocystis fimbriata, Fusarium sp., Gelasinospora calospora, Mucor mucedo, Penicillium chrysogenum, Penicillium expansum, Rhizodiomyces apophysatus, Rhizopus stolonifer, Sacccharomyces sp., and yeast. Only Penicillium chrysogenum, Penicillium expansum, and Saccharomyces species were isolated from both soil and root samples from all the dump sites. Alternaria conidia were isolated only from soil samples in Borokiri and Eagle Island dump sites. Gelasinospora calospora was isolated from soil samples in Borokiri and Rugaraga while Rhizodiomyces apophysatus was isolated from soil samples in Rugaraga dump site. Candida albicans was isolated from Curcubit root samples in Borokiri and Eagle Island. Statistical analysis using ANOVA (F-test) varied at 5% level for the fungi population between the different sampling periods.