ABSTRACT
Researches about seed pathology of native forest species, especially, those more extensive, are rare. This research aims to evaluate the health of Spanish-cedar seeds through two detection methods, to evaluate the possible transmission of fungi associated to Cedrela fissilis seeds to seedlings and to evaluate the pathogenicity of the fungus transmitted by Cedrela fissilis seeds. For this, seeds from six different locations from Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná states were used. The seeds were submitted to sanity tests, by blotter-test and potato-dextrose-agar (PDA) methods, transmission by seeds to the seedlings and to the pathogenicity test of Rhizoctonia sp., chosen because it was common in sanity testing and transmitted by seed. The fungi found in both of the methods were: Pestalotia sp., Rhizoctonia sp., Penicillium sp, Phomopsis sp., Rhizopus sp., Aspergillus sp. and Fusarium sp. Both tests can be used for the sanity test in Cedrela fissilis seeds. The fungi transmitted by seeds to the seedlings were Fusarium sp. and Rhizoctonia sp., both causing problems in roots and subsequent damping-off. One of the isolates of Rhizoctonia sp. was identified as pathogenic to seedlings, causing the same symptoms observed on transmission test.
Keywords:
Spanish-cedar; pathology of forest seeds; Fusarium sp.; Rhizoctonia sp.