AUTOMATIC WATER LEVEL CONTROL

ABSTRACT The bacteriological examination of spoilt fluted pumpkin leaves was carried out. A total of three species of bacteria were isolated from the sample of fluted pumpkin used. The result as shown in table 4.1 identified these three bacteria species as all gram negative. They include; klebsiella spp, Proteus mirabilis and Escherichia coli. In table 4.2, out of the six (6) bacteria isolated, P. mirabilis presented the highest frequency of occurrence with the percentage occurrence of 50%. 33.3% was also recorded for Klebsiella while E. coli had the least frequency of occurrence. These bacteria were the major organisms responsible for the post-harvest spoilage of the fluted pumpkin leaves. There are several factors that promote the contamination and post-harvest deterioration of vegetables by bacteria; these include contamination during field cultivation, harvesting, postharvest handling and distribution. The study therefore recommends that proper personal and environmental hygiene, washing and proper cooking of these vegetables will greatly reduce the population density of the bacteria that contaminates fluted pumpkin leaves.