An Investigation into the Microfungal Flora of Field Soils in the GAP (Southeastern Anatolia Project) Irrigation Area of Harran Plain

Abstract

The microfungal flora of the field soils to be irrigated by GAP in Harran Plain were investigated with regard to quality and quantity. Using the "Soil Dilution Plate" and "Soil Washing" methods, a total of 3102 microfungus isolates were obtained from 203 soil samples. With the identification of these isolates, 133 species and variates plus 23 different sterile fungi were found. The distribution of these fungi by order was; 11 from Mucorales, 2 from Eurotiales, 3 from Sphaeriales, 3 from Sphaeropsidales and 114 Moniliales. The genera containing the most species were: Aspergillus Mich ex Fr. (Moniliaceae), Penicillium Link ex Gray (Moniliaceae), Acremonium Link ex Fr. (Moniliaceae), Fusarium Link ex Fr. (Tuberculariceae), Gliomastix Gueguen (Dematiceae), Paecilomyces Bainier (Moniliaceae) and Cladosporium Link ex Fr. (Dematiceae). The most widely distributed taxa, that is, the most abundant colony-forming taxa determined with the "Soil Dilution Plate" method, were Penicillium, Aspergillus, Beauveria Vuill. (Moniliaceae), Cladosporium, sterile 8, Paecilomyces, sterile 3 and Acremonium. The most common species were Penicillium canascens Sapp. (Moniliaceae), Penicillium verrucosum Direckx var. cyclopium Samson, Stok Hadlok (Moniliaceae), Penicillium jenseni Zaleski (Moniliaceae), Penicillium expansum Link ex Gray (Moniliaceae), Penicillium clavigerum Demelius (Moniliaceae), Penicillium brevi-compactum Dierekx (Moniliaceae), Aspergillus niger Hennigs (Moniliaceae), Aspergillus alliaceus Thom & Church (Moniliaceae), Beauveria alba Saccas (Moniliaceae), Paecilomyces lilacinus Samson (Moniliaceae) Aspergillus sclerotium Huber (Monilliaceae), Beaueria brongniartii Petch (Moniliaceae) and Aspergillus versicolor Tiraboschi (Moniliaceae). According to the results obtained using the "Soil Dilution Plate" method, fresh soil bulk equivalent to one gram of oven-dried soil contained an estimated average of 36840 units of microfungi. The soils examined in this study have a poor frequency of microfungi but they have a rich species composition. Although most of the species encountered in the flora are cosmopolitan and have a worldwide distribution, there are also many samples suited to the ecological conditions of the area and so show wide distribution. The fact that Aspergillus was the first in respect of species number may be due to the hot climate of the district.