AQUATIC PHYCOMYCETES FROM EGYPTIAN SOIL (DELTA REGION)

Seventy identified and six unidentified species in addition to 5 varie ties which belong to 30 genera of aquatic phycomycetes were recovered from 220 soil samples collected randomly from different localities in the Nile Delta and Suez canal regions including eleven governorates du ring November 1991. The highest number of aquatic fungal genera and sp ecies was obtained from El-Sharkya (24 identified and 4 unidentified s pecies in addition to two varieties belonging to 14 aquatic fungal gen era) and El-Dakahlia (24 identified and 4 unidentified species in addi tion to two varieties belonging to 13 aquatic fungal genera) Governora tes, whereas the lowest was from Port-Said (13 identified and 2 uniden tified species in addition to one variety belonging to 11 aquatic fung al genera). Pythium (high occurrence), Allomyces (moderate occurrences ), Nowakowskiella, Aqualinderella, Achlya, Phytophthora, Olpidiopsis, Dictyuchus and Blastocladiopsis (low occurrence each) were the most fr equent aquatic fungal genera recovered during this investigation, whil e Allomyces anomalus, Aqualinderella fermentans, Nowakowskiella elegan s, Olpidiopsis brevispinosa and Blastocladiopsis parva were the preval ent species. Soil samples which were characterized by relatively low t emperature, high contents of organic matter and low total soluble salt s were the richest in aquatic phycomycetes and vice versa.