Detection and Identification of Major Seed Mycoflora Associated with Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Cultivars Grown in Kashmir, India
Mohd Aslam Dar
Division of Genetics and Plant Breeding, FoA Wadura, Sher- e -Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Mehfuza Habib
Division of Genetics and Plant Breeding, FoA Wadura, Sher- e -Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Gowhar Ali
National Seed Project Unit Shalimar, Sher- e -Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Muhammad Ashraf Bhat
Division of Biotechnology, FoH Shalimar, Sher- e -Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Zakir Amin
Division of Plant Pathology, FoA Wadura, Sher- e -Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Efath Shahnaz
Dryland Agriculture Research Station, Sher- e -Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Muhammad Altaf Wani
Division of Genetics and Plant Breeding, FoA Wadura, Sher- e -Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Seerat-Un-Nisa
Dryland Agriculture Research Station, Sher- e -Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Sanjay Kumar
National Seed Project Unit Shalimar, Sher- e -Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Fehim Jeelani
Division of Agricultural Economics and Statistics, FoA Wadura, Sher- e -Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Tanveer Ahmad Ahngar *
Division of Agronomy, FoA Wadura, Sher- e -Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Worldwide, rice is a significant crop for food production. The main requirement for increased yield and production is high-quality seed. While being exported, seeds and grains have the risk of being associated with pathogenic as well as non-pathogenic microflora. As a result, they are frequently inspected in accordance with phytosanitary laws to stop diseases from spreading into new areas and also to have an impact on the quality of the seeds. Fungal infections that infect rice seeds are regulated by phytosanitary laws and can be identified using several techniques for checking seed health. Therefore, in accordance with the recommendations of International Seed Testing Association (ISTA), stored seeds of seeds of four rice varieties (SR-2, SR-3, SR-4, and SR-5) were studied to investigate the occurrence of seed-associated fungal mycoflora using the blotter paper and agar plate method. In both blotter and agar tests, four fungal species namely as Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizopus stolonifer, Alternaria alternata, and Trichoderma harzianum were isolated from different test varieties of rice. There was 5.667%, 8.333%, 4.333% ,9.667% by blotter test and 7.667%, 11.667%, 6.333%, 12.667% by agar test mycoflora associated with the seeds of SR-2, SR-3, SR-4 and SR-5.
Keywords: Rice seeds, blotter paper, agar plate, seed-associated mycoflora, pathogen frequency