Fungal colonization of seeds of three lupine species in different regions of Poland

Agnieszka Faligowska,Janusz Prusiński,Magdalena Borowska,Agnieszka Pszczółkowska,Adam Okorski,Gabriel Fordoński

doi:10.5586/aa.1714

Abstract

The health status of seeds of three lupine species (white lupine, narrow-leaved lupine, and yellow lupine) from different regions of Poland was investigated. Seeds were analyzed by microscopic method and PCR. The examined lupine seeds were colonized by saprotrophic fungi of the genera Alternaria, Cladosporium, and Penicillium, and pathogenic fungi of the genera Fusarium, Botrytis, Mycosphaerella, and Colletotrichum. The relative frequency (RF) of fungi detected on lupine seeds from the regions of Kujawy, Wielkopolska, Lower Silesia, and Warmia and Mazury was determined. The highest RF values of pathogenic fungi were noted in Lower Silesia in 2012 and 2013, and in Warmia and Mazury in 2011. The RF values of pathogenic and saprotrophic fungi on lupine seeds harvested in different regions of Poland were affected by weather conditions. PCR analyses revealed the presence of Tri genes in the seeds of narrow-leaved lupine. The analyzed seeds were relatively free of pathogenic fungi and could be used for sowing and feed production.

Highlights

The prevalence of saprotrophic species was noted, and potentially pathogenic fungi were represented by species of the genus Fusarium as well as by Botrytis cinerea and Mycosphaerella lupini (Tab. 3)
In Wielkopolska, precipitation was most abundant in July 2011, which contributed to the highest fungal colonization of seeds, including by pathogenic species (Tab. 2, Tab. 3)
In 2012, lupine seeds harvested in the region of Kujawy were colonized mostly by pathogenic fungi, which can be attributed to high rainfall in June, during the flowering stage of lupines (Tab. 2, Tab. 3)

Summary

Introduction

Restricted imports of genetically modified soybeans for feed production can be compensated with intensively grown local legumes, including three important lupine species: yellow lupine, white lupine, and narrow-leaved lupine [3]. In Poland, the main avenues of research into lupines include improvements in agricultural technology aimed at increasing crop yield [4] and genetic research aimed at improving the quality of lupine varieties, analyzing the genome of pathogenic fungi that colonize lupine plants, identifying the mechanisms responsible for infections and enhancing plant resistance [5,6]. Bieniaszewski [7] demonstrated that the seed yield of lupines is influenced by genetic factors (variety) and agronomic factors (seeding date, seeding rate, row spacing) as well as by weather conditions (temperature, humidity, precipitation) [8] and pathogenic infections [9,10,11].

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