Composition of mycoflora and aflatoxins in pea seeds from the Sudan

Through incubation of 13 pea (Piswn sativum L. "Titan") samples from the local markets of Khartoum on potato dextrose agar (PDA) and moistened filter papers (Moist Chambers) at 28 ± 2°C, 22 genera, 56 species and 9 varieties were encountered as seed-borne fungi of pea crops. Of these fungi, 45 species and 9 varieties are new records to this crop, where two genera, three species and two varieties are new reports to the mycoflora of the Sudan. The genus Aspergillus (11 species and 5 varieties) was the most common followed by Rhizopus (2 species), Alternaria (7 species), Fusarium (7 species), Emericella (2 species and 3 varieties), Drechslera (2 species), Cladosporiwn (4 species) and Penicillium (5 species), where the remaining 14 genera (1-3 species) exhibited very low levels of infection. As possible pathogens of pea plants, A. alternata (2.07%), A. flavus var. columnaris (3.75%), A. flavus var. flavus (3.70%), C. cladosporioides (1.88%), D. australiensis (2.46%), F. oxysporum (1.58%), F. solani (1.88%) and Pythium ultimum (1.50%) were recovered from pea seeds. Thin layer chromatographic analysis of chloroform extracts of 13 seed samples revealed that three samples were naturally contaminated with aflatoxins B₁, B₂, G₁ and G₂ (18-30 μg/kg).