Seed-Borne Fungal Diseases of Maize (Zea mays L.): A Review

Abstract


 Introduction: Maize (Zea mays) is one of the most important cereal crops. It is ranked as 3rd after wheat and rice. Due to its wide adaptability, diversified uses, and low production costs, it has great potential as a cereal crop. In the case of yield losses, various factors are involved. The fungal diseases of maize play a significant role in the reduction of both quantity as well as the quality of maize.
 Review Results: At the seedling stage, maize suffers from numerous diseases and many of them are seed-borne diseases. Anthracnose stalk rot (Colletotrichum graminicola), Charcoal rot of maize (Macrophomina phaseolina), Crazy top downy mildew disease (Sclerophthora macrospora), Corn grey leaf spot disease (Cercospora zeae-maydis), Aspergillus ear and kernel rot (Aspergillus flavus), Corn smut (Ustilago maydis), Southern corn leaf blight disease (Bipolaris maydis) etc. are important among these diseases.Chemical control of seed-borne pathogens of maize is rather difficult to achieve as a reasonably good. Due to the hazardous environmental effects of chemicals, the Integrated Management of the seed-borne fungal pathogens of corn is mostly preferred. The distribution, disease cycle, symptoms of the damage, effects of environmental factors, economical importance of disease, and integrated disease management options of major seed-borne fungal pathogens of maize have been reviewed in this review article from various currently available sources.

Models of mycorrhizal colonization patterns and strategies induced by biostimulator treatments in Zea mays roots

“…The diameter of the root is very important for the colonization of the roots by arbuscular mycorrhizas. de Vries et al (2021) showed that colonization is positively correlated with root diameter but negatively correlated with its length. Plants with a large root diameter, but few in number, are dependent on mycorrhizal fungi colonization, while plants with thin and multiple roots are not dependent on mycorrhizae.…”

“…With the use of biological inputs, an increase in the quality of yields along with the maintenance of their quantity can be achieved ( Boobalan and Nachimuthu, 2020 ; Kumar and Aloke, 2020 ). Corn, one of the world’s leading crops ( Rehman et al., 2021 ), is a type of cereal that adapts to different environmental conditions and also different agro-climatic conditions ( Reddy et al., 2021 ). Various fertilizers based on N, P, and K are used in this crop because maize is a plant with accelerated growth and needs a rich source of nutrients for production ( Baghdadi et al., 2018 ).…”

Prevalence and Management of Phytopathogenic Seed-Borne Fungi of Maize

“…Poor seed germination and inhibition of root and hypocotyl elongation are among the phytotoxic effects of these mycotoxins [11,[14][15][16]. In the end, a yield loss of up to 50% can be encountered due Seeds 2023, 2 to seed-borne fungi responsible for fungal diseases [17]. Seed treatment using chemical fungicides is a common practice in Tanzania, and also worldwide [18,19].…”

Variations in the Functional Diversity of Rhizosphere Microbiome of Healthy and Northern Corn Leaf Blight Infected Maize (Zea mays L.)

“…It is the most cultivated cereal across the globe, which forms a food staple for over 900 million people and one-third of malnourished children across the globe. Despite its importance, the quality and quantity of maize is being reduced by a variety of diseases including bacteria, viruses, mycoplasma-like organisms, nematodes, and other higher parasitic plants (Peiffer et al, 2013;ur Rehman et al, 2021). This results in up to 9.4% annual losses across the world, which directly affects human health and income generation (Bandyopadhyay et al, 2019;Seyi-Amole and Onilude, 2021).…”