Effect of gamma radiation on growth and survival of common seed-borne fungi in India

Microbial quality evaluation and effective decontamination of nutraceutically valued lotus seeds by electron beams and gamma irradiation

“…Gamma irradiation dose in the range of 10-12 kGy has been recommended for total elimination of fungi and yeasts (Diehl, 1990;Ramakrishna et al 1991;Wilkinson and Gould, 1998;Bhat et al, 2007b). Previously, Maity et al (2008) investigated the effects of gamma radiation (range 0.5-2 kGy) on certain seed (Oryza sativa Cv-2233, O. sativa Cv-Shankar, Cicer arietinum Cv-local) borne fungi from India. Accordingly, from their results, a depletion of the fungal viability (germination) was noted within the irradiation dose range of 1-2 kGy for Alternaria sp.…”

Effects of gamma irradiation on long-storage seeds of Oryza sativa (cv. 2233) and their surface infecting fungal diversity

“…2233 were collected from the district of Midnapore, West Bengal, one the major rice producing districts of India. Five hundred grams of such collected seeds were stored in the polythene bags for irradiation following the method as described by Maity et al (2008). The seeds were exposed to a 60 Co gamma source for irradiation at the 25 1C at the Chemical Science Division of Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Calcutta, India using exposure doses in the range 1-6 kGy (0.12 kGy/h).…”

“…Seed viability of O. sativa L was determined by incubation of 180 seed (three irradiation experiments, three subset, 20 seeds/ subset) on sterile wet filter paper in sterile petri dish before and after gamma irradiation (Chaudhuri, 2002;Maity et al, 2008Maity et al, , 2009) at 281C and 90% relative humidity (De Temple, 1961;Christensen, 1974). The percentage of seed germination was examined for both groups of samples (exposed and non-exposed) at just after gamma treatment and after specific interval of 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, 9 and 12 months.…”

“…In recent decades, gamma radiation has been employed as an excellent tool for application in sterilization and preservation of food (Maity et al, 2008;Hyun-Pa et al, 2006;Bari et al, 2003). The potential application of ionizing radiation in food processing is based mainly on the fact that ionizing radiations damage the bio-molecules very effectively, deactivating living cells, thereby preventing microorganisms, insect gametes, etc.…”

“…The amount of radiation energy required to control microorganism in seed, therefore, varies according to resistance of particular species and according to the number of organism present. There are many reports supporting the use of gamma irradiation as a fungicidal agent (Maity et al, 2004(Maity et al, , 2008(Maity et al, , 2009Aziz et al, 2007). However, there is no/insufficient information available on seed surface infecting fungal sensitivity/diversity, especially when long-time post-irradiation storages (upto 12 months) are employed.…”