Studies on Seed Borne Mycoflora of Soybean Seeds by Incubation Methods

The present study was conducted to detect and identify seed-borne pathogenic fungi in some soybean varieties and their effect on seed germination. Six varieties of soybean seed samples viz.JS 95-60, JS 97-52, RSC 10-46, RSC 10-71, CG Soya-1 and local variety were selected for the experiment. Twelve seed-borne mycoflora viz. Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Alternaria spp., Cladosporium spp., Curvularia spp., Rhizopus spp., Trichoderma spp., Rhizoctonia spp., Nigrospora spp., Macrophomina spp., Fusarium spp. and Penicillium spp. were detected and identified from the seeds of six soybean varieties by using the standard blotter method, agar plate method, 2,4-D blotter method, roll paper towel method and deep freeze method. The seed sample of local variety recorded the highest percentage of mycoflora with the lowest germination percentage, whereas CG Soya-1 variety found as the least percentage of mycoflora with the highest germination percentage compared to other varieties of soybean taken in the study. Among all of the incubation methods, the agar plate was found as the most effective in detecting seed-related mycoflora, on soybean seeds.