Fungi in the main vegetable crop seeds and their fungal biological characteristics

¹ Center of Genomics and Bioinformatics at Academy of Sciences the Republic of Uzbekistan, University Street 2, 111215 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
² Tashkent State Agrarian University, 2, University street, Tashkent, 100140, Uzbekistan

^* Corresponding author: d.zuparova@mail.ru

Abstract

Fungal contamination in vegetable crop seeds poses a significant threat to agricultural productivity and food security. This manuscript investigates the presence of fungi in the main vegetable crop seeds and explores their fungal biological characteristics. The study employed a comprehensive approach involving sample collection, fungal isolation, morphological identification, and molecular characterization. The research collected a diverse range of vegetable crop seeds from different locations of Uzbekistan and examined them for the presence of fungal pathogens. Aseptic techniques were utilized to isolate and culture fungi from the seed samples. Morphological characteristics, including colony appearance, spore production, and hyphal structure, were evaluated to identify the fungal species. In cases where morphological identification was challenging, molecular techniques were employed for accurate species determination. The research of 36 species of fungal phytotoxic qualities was done using seeds that were collected and preserved during the growing of vegetable crops in farms in the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan. The findings are presented in this paper. Based on the impact on vegetable crop root and stem growth and seed germination, phytotoxic characteristics were identified. Phytotoxic fungi were defined as those that lowered these markers by 30% when compared to the control.