Detection of Contamination Level of Aspergillus spp on sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. (Moench)) Seeds in Khartoum State Grains Central markets

Abstract

The present study was conducted under 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 two different locations, in Khartoum state, Khartoum North (KN) and Omdurman (OM) central grains markets) with Aspergillus spp. fungi. The study revealed that the Aspergillus spp. fungi were recorded in all samples collected from the three locations with varying level of contamination. The mean percentage frequency of occurrence of Aspergillus spp. in seeds samples ranged from 10.7% in Khartoum North to 4.7% in Omdurman. The highest level of fungus contamination was recorded in samples collected from Omdurman 10.7%. 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 7.3 and 1.7%, three days after incubation in KN and OM and 10.7 and 4.7 after six days respectively. 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.