Seed-borne Fungi Detected in Sugar Beet Seeds Imported into India during Last Three Decades

Quarantine processing of 1,111 samples of germplasm and inbred lines of sugar beet seed imported into India from 1976 to 2005 resulted in the interception of 10 pathogenic fungi including Uromyces beticola, the beet rust pathogen which is not yet reported from India. Other seed-borne fungi of high economic significance that were detected included Colletotrichum dematium, Fusarium solani, Pleospora betae, and Verticillium albo-atrum as well as other fungal pathogens for which sugar beet is a non-host crop, such as Drechslera halodes, D. rostrata, D. sorokiniana,Cephalosporium sp., and Pestalotia sp. Various fungi detected in sugar beet seed imported from different countries are presented and their economic significance is discussed. Seeds contaminated with U. beticola were disinfected by dipping them in concentrated sulphuric acid for 1 min while those infected with P. betae were disinfected by hot water treatment at 50 degrees celsius for 30 min.