Abstract

Bruising, morphological distortion, decaying, discolouration and mycotoxin production in stored melon seeds ensued partly as a result of several microbial activities within the storage environment. Shelled and unshelled melon seeds were collected from store houses in local markets within Lagos, Nigeria. Disease diagnosis, characterization and Laboratory analysis were conducted on samples collected. Absidia corymbifera and Penicillium spp caused decay and mummification of unshelled melon seeds, Cladosporium spp and Aspergillus fumigatus degraded the unshelled seed hilum, while A. flavus, Curvularia spp and Cladosporium spp caused tanning of the shell of stored melon seeds. Also, A. niger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, and Penicillium spp caused internal ramification and morphological distortion of unshelled melon seeds. The ability of these storage fungi to degrade melon seeds were mostly restricted by their capacity to survive and thrive within the storage environment.