Prevalence and Determination of Contamination Level of Aspergillusspp on sorghum (Sorghumbicolor L. (Moench)) Seeds in Khartoum State Grains Central markets

Abstract

The present study was conducted in Plant Pathology laboratory conditions of Plant Protection Department, College of Agricultural Studies, Sudan University of Science and Technology to investigate the prevalence and level of contamination of sorghum seeds collected from three different locations, in Khartoum state (Khartoum, Khartoum North and Omdurman central grains markets) with Aspergillus sp. fungi. The study revealed that the Aspergillus sp. fungi were recorded in all samples collected from the three locationswith varying level of contamination. The mean percentage frequency of occurrence of Aspergillus sp. in seeds samples ranged from 11% in Khartoum North to 13% in Omdurman. The highest level of fungus contamination was recorded in samples collected from Omdurman. The most prevailing seed borne fungi recorded across seeds samples was Aspergillus niger. The study showed that the mean percentage frequency of occurrence of this fungus. In seeds samples increased with days of incubation. It was recorded as 5.4, 5.8 and 8.8% four days after incubation in Khartoum, Khartoum North and Omdurman to reach 11.0, 13.0 and 11.4% after six days respectively. Moreover, it was observed that the treated control exhibited very low level of contamination at 6 days of incubation, 2.2%. It is worth mentioning that, the findings of this study are therefore, important as they highlighted the need for adhering to effective measures that aimed at reducing seed-borne fungi incidence in stable food crops seeds in Sudan.