Association of Seed Mycoflora Infection in Assessment of New Source of Resistance against Grain Mould of Sorghum

The frequency of association of different seed borne infections of sorghum hybrids and their parents was assessed during Kharif 2011 at MARS, UAS, Dharwad. The study examined the frequency of the two most common grain mould fungi, Fusarium and CurvulariaM. The germination percentage varied from 13.45 per cent (296 B) to 80.21 per cent (B 58586). The newly developed hybrid DNB 4 x GMRP 950-285 had higher germination percentage of 78.59 and lower Fusarium infection per cent of 11.45 which was on par with highly grain mold resistant check B 58586 (80.21per cent germination and 9.78 per cent seed infection with Fusarium). The association of Fusarium infection in crosses was higher when compared to Curvularia infection. There were highly significant negative correlations between germination and Fusarium species (r = -0.84). Germination was reduced upto 25-30 per cent in sorghum genotypes due to infection of grain mould species. Thus, the study identified a new hybrid with lesser frequency of Fusarium and Curvularia causing grain mould in Karnataka.