Note: Survey of seedborne fungi of sudanese cultivars of onion,with new records

Through incubation of onion (Allium cepa L.) seed samples on potato dextrose agar and moist filter papers at 28±2°C, 32 species and four varieties belonging to 19 genera of fungi were determined as seedborne in this crop. Among them, 23 species are new reports to the mycoflora of onion seeds.Aspergillus (11 species and three varieties, ∼42.1% of the total colony count of fungi) was the most prevalent genus:A. niger (∼19.7%) was found at the highest rate in the seeds, followed byA. parasiticus (∼17.3%,A. oryzae (∼17.3%) andA. flavus (∼14.5%). The genusAspergillus was followed byPenicillium (∼12.4%),Sclerotium (∼7.1%),Fennellia, Rhizopus, Chaetomium, Drechslera andAlternaria (∼12.4%),Fusarium, Emericella andByssochlamys (∼7.1%), whereas the remaining eight genera displayed a low level of infection (∼10%). Twenty-seven species, three varieties and 12 genera represent Hyphomycetes; four genera, three species and one variety — Ascomycotina; one genus and one species — Zygomycotina; two genera and two species — other Deuteromycotina; and one genus — Oomycetes. Some species, which are known to cause devastating pre- and postharvest diseases to onion crops, were recovered from the seeds of this crop, suggesting the high possibility of their transmission by seed. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting July 14, 2004.