Abstract

Fungi were isolated from soil in three different sites around Sokoto cement company environment. Soil samples from the three different sites were serially diluted and dilution factors of up to 10^-4and were cultured on the appropriate agar media. The spread plate technique was adopted using potato dextrose agar for the determination of the total fungal counts. Fungal isolates were Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus species, Candida albicans, Histoplasma capsulatum, Aspergillus nidulans, Epidermophyton floccosum, and Fusarium species. Fungal counts ranged from (1.0×10³ cfu/g) in sample C₂ to (8.7×10⁴cfu/g) in sample B₂. Aspergillus niger was the most common isolated fungi (25%) while Aspergillus nidulans, Epidermophyton floccosum, and Fusarium species (8.33%) were the least isolated. In conclusion, Aspergillus niger is the most fungi isolated in soil, and it is of medical importance to the soil and also to humans.