Identity and recovery of seed-borne fungal pathogens of field peas in Western Australia

Abstract

Abstract Plating of field pea seed sampled from 13 locations in Western Australia revealed the presence of Mycosphaerella pinodes and, to a lesser extent, Phoma medicaginis var. pinodella. In an experiment aimed at determining the effect of surface sterilisation on the frequency of occurrence of M. pinodes and the location of this fungus within the seed, it was found that surface sterilisation underestimates the level of seed infection by the fungus, as infection localised on the surface of the seed is eliminated by the treatment. Unsterilised seed would therefore be more suitable for the testing of infection levels of this fungus than seed which is routinely surface sterilised. Seedlots from locations with less than 350 mm rainfall were free of the pathogens. These sites may be suitable for producing disease-free seed.