Seed-Borne Fungi of Sunflower in Egypt with Reference to Pathogenic Effects and their Transmission

Mycobiota associated with seeds of twenty sunflower samples were studied in Egypt. A total of 20 genera and 31 species of fungi were recovered from the collected seed samples using Standard Blotter (SB) and Deep-Freezing Blotter (DFB) techniques. The two methods differed regarding to the frequency of recovered seed-borne fungi. Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, Rhizopus stolonifer, Penicillium spp. and Cladosporium spp. were the most abundant. Four fungi among those i.e., Macrophomina phaseolina, Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani and F. incarnatum, which are known as plant pathogens, were tested for their pathogenicity and transmission on sunflower seedlings. M. phaseolina caused the highest percentage (69.5%) of mortality of sunflower seedlings as compared with check treatment. The recovery rate of these pathogens gradually decreased from root up to the upper stem and did not reach to the stem apex.