Vol. 10, Special Issue 12 (2021)

Author(s):
Iranna PS, M Madhavi, B Pushpavathi and S Triveni

Abstract:
Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merill.] is an important oil seed and pulse crop grown in India. One of the major constraints that is causing significant reduction in seed quality and yield is due to seedborne diseases in soybean. It is very important to produce disease free seeds to maintain the quality and sustain the productivity of the crop. The present investigation was carried out to study the impact of seedborne mycoflora of soybean on seed quality using different health testing methods. In the present study, a total of eighty-six soybean seed samples were collected during kharif 2020-21 from the four major soybean growing districts of Telangana state viz., Adilabad, Nizamabad, Kamareddy and Nirmal. All the seed samples were tested for seed quality parameters using rolled paper towel method, in which the seed samples of Nirmal district recorded significantly highest (74.50 and 1174) per cent seed germination and seedling vigour index-I (SVI-I) which was above IMSCS followed by Kamareddy (67.36 and 987), Adilabad (61.99 and 906) and Nizamabad (58.99 and 816). Seed associated mycoflora among the soybean seed sample were found to significantly reduce the seed germination and vigour. All the soybean seed samples were subjected to standard seed health testing methods (ISTA, 1996) viz., standard blotter, agar plate, deep freeze and test tube agar methods to detect and isolate the mycoflora associated with seed samples. Of the four methods, standard blotter method was found superior in recovering the seed mycoflora over the other test methods. The fungi recovered from the seed health methods include Colletotrichum truncatum, Macrophomina phaseolina, Fusarium sp., Alternaria sp., Phomopsis sp., and storage fungi like A. flavus and A. niger. Fusarium sp. was the predominantly found in all the districts followed by M. phasoina while Phomopsis sp. was found least.