[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-148225-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-148225-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","journal-of-agriculture-and-sustainability-characterization-of-pathogenic-fungi-infecting-citrullus-lanatus-in-different-agroecological-regions-of-embu-county-kenya","Journal of Agriculture and Sustainability - Characterization of Pathogenic Fungi Infecting Citrullus lanatus in Different Agroecological Regions of Embu County, Kenya","","Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) fruit is a nutritious cash crop, yet production in Kenya has declined sharply over the past five years due to pests, diseases, and unpredictable climatic conditions. Between July and November 2018, fungi associated with watermelon were isolated and characterized from farms (n=16) using culture on PDA, morphological assessment, and molecular methods. ANOVA tested prevalence differences among agroecological sites. Fusarium oxysporum was most prevalent (73%), followed by Aspergillus niger (32%); other isolates included Penicillium crustosum and Fusarium brachygibbosum (31% each).",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/journal-of-agriculture-and-sustainability-characterization-of-pathogenic-fungi-infecting-citrullus-lanatus-in-different-agroecological-regions-of-embu-county-kenya/148225/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/journal-of-agriculture-and-sustainability-characterization-of-pathogenic-fungi-infecting-citrullus-lanatus-in-different-agroecological-regions-of-embu-county-kenya/148225.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Maya Linwood","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-02","2026-08-26",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",11,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"When and how were the fungi associated with Citrullus lanatus isolated and characterized?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Fungi were isolated and characterized from July to November 2018. Isolates were cultured on PDA and characterized using morphological and molecular methods.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Which pathogenic fungus showed the highest prevalence in the study?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Fusarium oxysporum showed the highest prevalence, with a reported frequency of 73%.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What was the main result regarding differences among agroecological sites?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"ANOVA indicated significant differences among agroecological sites, with exceptions for Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium brachygibbosum as described in the results.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},148225,1787777528,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,115,120,123,127],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":112,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,30,"research-report",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":122},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":124,"slug":126},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":128,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":130},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":132},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":133,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":112,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":80,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962084928432,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Journal of Agriculture and Sustainability ISSN 2201-4357  \nVolume 15, 2022, 3  \nCharacterization of Pathogenic Fungi Infecting Citrullus lanatus in Different Agroecological Regions of Embu County, Kenya  \nSalome W. Kiarie1*, Sheila Okoth2, Mary Gikungu3, Susan S. Imbahale1  \n1School of Biological and Life Sciences, Technical University of Kenya, P.O. Box 52428-  \n00200, Nairobi, Kenya  \n2School of Biological Sciences, University of Nairobi, P.O. BOX 30197-00100, Nairobi,  \nKenya  \n3The National Museums of Kenya, P.O. Box 40658-00100, Nairobi, Kenya  \n*Corresponding author: [salome.thuo@yahoo.com](salome.thuo@yahoo.com)  \nORC-ID:  \nKiarie S: 0000-0003-0510-1305 Okoth S: 0000-0002-7803-0301  \nGikungu M: 0000-0002-4552-9325 Imbahale S: 0000-0003-3482-0317  \nABSTRACT  \nWatermelon (Citrullus lanatus) fruit is nutritious and a profitable cash crop. Its production in Kenya however has dropped from 379.36K metric tonnes to 173.70K metric tonnes in the last five years; attributed to pests, diseases and unpredictable climatic conditions. Study done between July and November, 2018 isolated and characterized fungi associated with watermelon determining their diversity and occurence frequency in  \nfarms (n=16) . Fungi isolated and cultured on PDA.; characterized by morphological and  \nmolecular method. ANOVA was used to detect fungal prevalence differences among  \nsites. Fusarium oxysporum was most prevelent with 73% frequency, Aspergillus niger (32%) . Penicilliun crustosum and Fusarium brachygibbosum at 31% each. Least prevalent was  \nTrichoderma asperellum (1%) . Significant differences (F= 23.365, p=0.05, df=13), were observed among agroecological sites except for Fusarium oxysporium and F.  \nbrachygibbosum. Majority of fungi identified were of significant economic importance.   \nKeywords: Citrullus lanatus, Pathogenic Fungi, Disease symptoms  \nEmbu County, Kenya. Necrotic fruits and leaves (n=160) were sampled from random  \n2  \nINTRODUCTION  \nWatermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a flowering vine-like plant in the order Violales of family Cucurbitaceae. Its centre of origin has been traced to both the Kalahari and Sahara deserts in Africa (Ufoegbune [et. al](et. al)., 2014) and these areas have been regarded as point of  \ndiversification to other parts of the world (Adekanye and Adelakun, 2017) . It is a  \ntraditional food plant in Africa (Sousa and Raizada, 2020) with potential to improve  \nnutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable land use  \n([Dube](Dube et. al)[ et. al](Dube et. al)., 2020). There are over 1,200 varieties of watermelon worldwide, with varieties  \nsuch as sukari F1, Zuri F1, sugarbaby, charleston grey and crimson sweet among others,  \nrecommended for Kenyan climate range ([Ufoegbune](Ufoegbune et. al)[ et. al](Ufoegbune et. al)., 2014; [Gichamu](Gichamu et. al)[ et. al](Gichamu et. al)., 2010).  \nThe watermelon fruit is composed of 93% water, trace amount of minerals, proteins, fats,  \ncarbohydrates, lycopenes and vitamins A and C ([Naz](Naz et. al)[ et. al](Naz et. al)., 2014) . Its flesh is nutritious  \nand medicinal rich in citrulline which promotes the dilation of blood vessel improving  \ncirculation; a source of arginine amino acid, which is a substrate for the synthesis of nitric  \noxide and is associated with cardiovascular and immune roles in humans. The seed  \ncontains phytochemicals such as carbohydrate, phenol, flavonoids, protein, fiber,  \nphosphorus and iron which helps to relieve inflammation, and increases digestive ability  \n3  \nof the body system ([Manivannan](Manivannan et. al)[ et. al](Manivannan et. al)., 2020). Watermelon is not only grown for local consumption, it is the second most important horticultural foreign exchange earner after tea (KNBS, 2019) being exported to other parts of the region, Europe and Middle East. In 2019, Kenya ranked 35th with a share of 0.24% in the global market watermelon production (Tridge, 2020) .  \nWatermelon is a warm seasonal c","cbCaicXuVZQ4nola","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaicXuVZQ4nola","pdf",1686776,28,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction\n## Study background and crop importance\n## Production constraints and fungal diseases","[{\"question\":\"When and how were the fungi associated with Citrullus lanatus isolated and characterized?\",\"answer\":\"Fungi were isolated and characterized from July to November 2018. Isolates were cultured on PDA and characterized using morphological and molecular methods.\"},{\"question\":\"Which pathogenic fungus showed the highest prevalence in the study?\",\"answer\":\"Fusarium oxysporum showed the highest prevalence, with a reported frequency of 73%.\"},{\"question\":\"What was the main result regarding differences among agroecological sites?\",\"answer\":\"ANOVA indicated significant differences among agroecological sites, with exceptions for Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium brachygibbosum as described in the results.\"}]","Journal of Agriculture and Sustainability - Characterization of Pathogenic Fungi Infecting Citrullus lanatus in Different Agroecological Regions of Embu County, Kenya | PDF",71]