Phytosanitary Quality of Genotypes of Wheat Seeds Used Northern Paraná State

Abstract

Wheat seeds can be infested and/or infected by microorganisms that might cause deterioration of this propagation structure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the health quality of sixteen wheat genotypes grown in northern Paraná. Therefore, seeds of each genotype were submitted to the blotter test with 16 repetitions, 400 seeds per sample, for phytosanitary quality evaluation. The identification of the fungi was performed based on their morphological characteristics and quantified data. The results revealed variations in incidence, with 20 fungi genera in the analyzed samples. The fungi Rhizopus sp., Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp. and Bipolaris sp. were found in 100% of the analyzed samples, while Mucor sp. and Alternaria sp. were in 89% and 78% of the samples, respectively. The main pathogens that cause diseases in the aerial part of wheat were not found, or were low incidence in all materials analyzed. The pathogens with the highest incidence associated with wheat seeds were groups of storage fungi and known to produce mycotoxins.