Aeromycological Indoor Environmental Study of Bharat Hitech Polyhouse Katurli, Amgaon, Gondia, (Maharashtra) India

Fungal spores in indoor air may come from outdoors by ventilation or they may originate within. When these spores get favorable conditions they proliferate and cause the deterioration. An aeromycological study verifies the presence and quantifies the concentration of fungal propagules in the air. It is important in the polyhouse setting because of the increasing numbers of fungal diseases and their effect on production. The objective of this study was to determine the concentration of fungi in the air of the two sections of the polyhouse such as the plantation and storage section. A total of1233 colonies were trapped from feb.2023 to January 2024 by the exposure petriplate method. Out of 1233 colonies, a total of 633 colonies were found in the plantation and 600 colonies were found in the storage section in the polyhouse. More fungal spores were recorded in the plantation section as compared to the storage section of the polyhouse. A Total of 5640CFUs/m3 are observed by Hi – media air sampler method. Therewere2860 CFUs/m3 found in plantation section while 2780 CFUs/m3where found in thein-storage section. Dominant fungi found in thein door environment of a poly house are Aspergillus, Cercospora, Mucor, Penicillium, Rhizoctonia, Cladosporium, Rhizopus and Alternaria.