Incidence of seed-borne fungi and aflatoxins in Sudanese lentil seeds

Thirteen seed samples of lentil (Lens esculenta) were incubated on agar pla te and moist filter papers (Moist Chambers) at 28 +/- 2 degreesC for determ ination of the incidence of seed-borne fungi. Aflatoxins content of the see ds was measured using the bright greenish- yellow fluorescence test (BGYF) and thin-layer chromatography (TLC). Sixty-nine species and seven varieties , which belong to 24 genera of fungi, were isolated from this crop. Of thes e fungi, 51 species and two varieties are considered new for this crop, whe reas seven genera and 13 species are new to the mycoflora of the Sudan. The genus Aspergillus (13 species and 6 varieties) which comprising 44% of the total colony count was the most prevalent genus followed by Rhizopus (2 sp ecies, 19%), Penicillium (6 species) and Fusarium (8 species) (12%), Chaeto mium (3 species) and Cladosporium (5 species) (6%), where the 18 genera (1- 4 species) showed very low level of incidence (19%). Of the possible pathog ens of lentil plants, F. oxysporum the main cause of vascular wilt was reco vered from seeds of this crop. Thin layer chromatographic analysis of chlor oform extracts of 13 seed samples showed that only one samples was naturall y contaminated with aflatoxins B-1, B-2, G(1) and G(2) (14.3 mug/kg).