Pathological Evaluation and Nutritional Composition of Golden Melon (Cucumis Melo)

Abstract

Studies on the pathological evaluation and nutritional composition of golden melon was carried out in the Plant Pathology and Food Science and Technology Laboratories in the Rivers State University. The freshly harvested fruits of the golden melon had high amount of moisture (58±0.04), sucrose, total solid, lipid with very low ash (0.56±0.00). Mineral composition analysis also revealed high amount of calcium (98.5±0.01), moderate quantity of potassium, and low amount of phosphorus (21.4±0.00). Vitamins A and C were also present in the fruits. Other components found were lactic acid and saponnins which occurred in minute quantities.Pathological evaluation of the associated fungi showed that five different fungi with varying degrees of incidence were associated with the spoilage of the fruits of golden melon. These fungi were Botrytis cinerea (60%), Aspergillus flavus(30%), Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus tamari (5%) respectively while Muccor species recorded the highest incidence (70%). However, all the fungal isolates were found to be pathogenic causing soft rot characterized by oozing of water with offensive odour.