Seed Borne Fungi; Food Spoilage, Negative Impact and Their Management: A Review

Abstract

Seed is among the most key input for improving crop production and productivity. Increasing the quality of seeds can increase the yield potential of the crop by significant folds. In recent years seed has become an international commodity used to exchange germplasm around the world. Seed is, however, also an efficient means of introducing plant pathogens into a new area as well as providing a means of their survival from one cropping season to another.  Seed borne mycroflora are significant destroyers of food stuffs and grains during storage rendering them unfit for human consumption by retarding their nutritive value and often by producing mycotoxins. Seed-borne pathogens have been involved in seed rots during germination and seedling mortality leading to poor crop stand reduction in plant growth and productivity of crops. The seed-borne pathogens associated with seeds externally or internally may cause seed abortion, seed rot, seed necrosis, reduction or elimination of germination capacity, as well as seedling damage resulting in development of disease at later stages of plant growth by systemic or local infection. Infected seeds play considerable role in the establishment of economically important plant diseases in the field resulting in heavy reduction of crop yields. This paper presents the negative impact of seed borne fungi and their implication in food safety. It also discusses the detection mechanism and implies some management strategies that are implemented to reduce the loss due to seed borne fungi.

Keywords: Disease, food safety, Mycotoxins, Pathogens, Seed,