Bijaya Kumar Nayak

ABSTRACT

Studies on airborne micro fungi with their seasonal distribution in the working environment (Fish market) of Pondicherry city was carried out by gravitation method from January 2011 to December 2011. Incidence of fungal spores considerably varied from indoors to outdoors as well as from season to season. The air of the market harbored maximum fungal species which was predominated with more number of propagules during the months of December and July in comparison to other months. Altogether, 296 fungal isolates were recorded from the fish market during of the study period. To the total population of the fish market major fungal groups like Aspergillus, Cladosporium and Penicillium contributed 27.71%, 27.37% and 12.50% respectively. Out of 18 fungal numbers the genus Aspergillus had 5 members, Penicillium had 3 members, Fusarium and Cladosporium had 2 species each, Aureobasidium pullulans, Curvularia lunata, Monilia sitophilla and Rhizopus stolonifer had 1 species each. In seasonal periodicity, winter contributed the maximum spore load (47%) followed by rainy (28%), summer was found with the least (25%) in harboring the spore mass in the indoors and outdoors. Alternaria alternata, which is accounted as a human allergen for ear infection and an agent for hay fever and other parasites, was also intermittently recorded. Key words: Fish market, Fungal spores, Mean, Variance, Correlation coefficient.