Occurrence and Identitication of Seed Borne Fungi Associated with Groundnuts in Kordofan States

Abstract

Groundnut (Arachishypogaea L.) is considered the 4th most important oilseed crop worldwide due to its multiple uses. The production of the crop is constrained by several factors, among which are the seed borne fungi. In Sudan, the impact of these fungi and their secondary metabolites as food contaminants is under continuous investigation. This study was conducted at laboratory of Plant Pathology, Department of Plant Protection, College of Agricultural Studies, Sudan University of Science and Technology during February -April, 2016.(Stored since2015 season). The objectives to determine the occurrence and identify the seed borne fungi associated with groundnuts in samples collected from four locations in the Agricultural Bank of Sudan stores, namely, Alfulah , and Almoglad in Western Kordofan whereas Alobied and Alnehud in Northern Kordofan State,filter paper method and agar plate method were used as recommended by ISTA (1966). The laboratory examination revealed that five seed borne fungi were identified namely, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus nigricans, Penicillium digitatum and Alternaria solani. Among these fungi the most predominantly occurred and consistently recorded across locations were A. flavus andA.niger. Their percentages incidences were significantly higher (42.5% and 30%) respectively followed by Alternaria solani (6.5%), R. nigricans (5.0%) and P. digitatum (1.25%). The results obtained by the two methods used are very close. The results obtained in this study highlighted the major human and animal health risk encountered due to high contamination of groundnut with mycotoxins producing fungi.