Effects of Fungal Filtrates on Seed Germination and Leaf Anatomy of Maize Seedlings (<i>Zea mays</i> L., Poaceae)

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of 7-day-old fungal filtrates of Aspergillus niger and Penicillium chrysogenum isolated from maize seeds on percentage germination, morphological and anatomical structures of maize seedlings. The seeds were soaked in culture filtrate of each fungus for 12hrs before planting. Blotter method was used to observe seed germination. Results showed that the percentage germination of the seeds treated with culture filtrates of A. niger and P. chrysogenum (65.33% and 79.67% respectively) was lower than the control (100%) and significantly different from each other at significant level of P ≥0.05. The leaf area showed significant difference between the experimental and control plants but there was no significant difference in the leaf number. The tetracytic stomatal complex type and wavy anticlinal walls remained constant in all the treatments and control. The stomatal index of seed treated with A. niger on abaxial leaf surface (43.61%) showed significant difference with adaxial leaf surface (31.97%). The treatments had no significant difference on stomatal density at abaxial surfaces. Reduction in stomatal size and density suggests physiological implication. © JASEM http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jasem.v18i4.15

Effect of fungal filtrates on germination of wheat grains and the biological control of these fungi using black pepper extract

“…It could be due to the ability of the fungus to produce Aflatoxins. These findings are consistent with previous findings (Garuba et al, 2014;Jeswal, 1987;Tewfik et al, 1974) that concluded that Aflatoxins prevent or reduce the rate of germination of many crop seeds. It reduces the growth of the crop seedling as well as the development of the radicles and coleoptiles produced from irrigated grains.…”

“…filtrate showed (43.5% ± 19.9, 43.2% ± 1.5, 36.0% ± 4.4 and 29.9% ± 4.7) reduction of the coleoptile lengths after three, five, seven and ten days respectively. These results are consistent with the finding of the previous study (Garuba et al, 2014). This study showed 65.33% and 79.67% germination ratio of corn seeds due to the effect of A. niger and Penicillium chrysogenum filtrates, respectively, when compared with control.…”

“…A piece of 9 mm in diameter of PDA for each fungal isolate was inoculated in a flask containing 25 mL PDB. Three sets of three flasks were assigned for A. niger, Rhizopus sp., and control (Garuba et al, 2014;Hajieghrari, 2010) ( Figure 1). The control flasks were inoculated with PDA only.…”

“…A. niger and P. chrysogenum produced metabolites which are known to reduce germination and seedling development (Haikal, 2008). A. niger can produce mycotoxins such as oxalic acid crystals, kojic acid, and malformins depending on the growth condition and the strain of the organism (Garuba et al, 2014). This effect varies with different fungi.…”

Seed Vigour Enhancement and Protective Potential of Annona senegalensis Leaf Extracts against Fungal Pathogens of Sorghum Seeds

“…Pathogenic fungi are known to produce mycotoxins which can penetrate seed coats, endosperm and cotyledon [27]. In a study on the examination of the effects of 7-day-old fungal filtrates of Penicillium chrysogenum and Aspergillus niger isolated from maize seeds on the morphology and percentage germination of maize seeds soaked in culture filtrates before planting on blotters, the results showed that the percentage germination of the seeds treated with culture filtrates of the fungi were significantly lower than that of the control [28].…”