ABSTRACT
The presence of fungi can reduce the germination of the seed lot, cause seedling death, or transmit diseases to the trees. Therefore, it is necessary to know the pathogens, the causes and consequences of the contamination of the seeds by fungi. This study has the objetive of identifyng the pathogenic fungi associated with Black Wattle seeds stored at 5ºC for twelve months. The Black Wattle seeds were harvest from a 4-year-old commercial stand originated from a South Africa seed lot. The seeds were collected in three turn: (i) harvest 1, green fruits, with some of them turning black; (ii) harvest 2, all the fruits were black, and the seed pods were beginning to open, and (iii) the seeds collected in soil, after the natural dispersion of the seeds, were used as control. The following fungi were found associated with the seeds: Botryodiplodia sp., Botrytis sp., Cladosporium sp., Cylindrocladium sp., Fusarium sp., Penicillium sp., Pestalotia sp., Rhizoctonia sp., Trichoderma sp., and others non-identified fungi. Generally, breaking the dormancy of the seeds with a heat treatment eliminated the fungi present. The highest contamination level was observed in the control (seeds harvested in soil). The soilborne fungi that can cause nursery diseases and gomosis in black wattle were Botrytis sp., Cylindrocladium sp., Fusarium sp. and Rhizoctonia sp.
Key words:
seeds pathology; soilborne; gomosis