Identification of Fungi Associated with Different Pigeon Pea Seed Accessions from Iran

Abstract

A species of Leguminosae family is Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. (Pigeon pea) is an herbaceous, annual, self-pollinated legume pulse crop. The pigeon pea is mainly cultivated in many countries of South Asia due to its nutritious quality and a good source of minerals and protein. Seeds are a common carrier of plant pathogens, which act as the primary source for the distribution of diseases. Contaminated seeds can often create defecated germination and poor seedling vigour. They lose viability much faster than non-contaminated seeds. A large number of mycoflora were reported to be associated with the pigeon pea seeds. To assess the seed health and quality of some pigeon pea accessions this experiment was conducted at the genetic department and national plant gene bank of Iran, seed, and plant improvement institute in 2021. In the experiment, a total of 52 accessions from the pigeon pea collection were used for laboratory tests. During this study different species of Alternaria spp., Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp., and Rhizopus spp. were found along with germinating seed and seedlings of contaminated pigeon pea. The most identified species on the contaminated pigeon pea seeds were Rhizopus spp., with 50%, and the least were Alternaria spp. and Aspergillus spp., with 7.2%. The other species Penicillium spp., and Fusarium spp., were measured on 21.4% and 14.2% of the contaminated seeds respectively. On contaminated pigeon pea seeds, 20 to 100% reduction in seed germination has been measured. Paying attention to seed health is the fundamental strategy for the integrated management of the disease for durable crop production and seed conservation.