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Submitted to: Inoculum
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 5/16/2006 Publication Date: 6/15/2005 Citation: Horn, B.W. 2005. Effect of fungal competition on the colonization of wounded peanut seeds by aspergillus section flavi from natural soil populations. Inoculum. 2005. Interpretive Summary: none required. Technical Abstract: The effect of fungal competition on the colonization of wounded peanut seeds by Aspergillus section Flavi species in soil was examined. Viable peanut seeds were wounded and inoculated with 20 soils differing in composition and density of Aspergillus species, then incubated for 14 d at 37 ºC (seed water activity = 0.92). Maximum percentages of seed colonization by section Flavi species were well below 100% despite high species densities in some soils. Furthermore, less than half of the viable propagules in soil at the wound site resulted in seed colonization by section Flavi species. Significant interactive effects (P < 0.0001) between soil densities of individual section Flavi species and potentially competing Aspergillus species (other section Flavi species and A. niger) suggest that competition is responsible for suppressing seed colonization by section Flavi species. Other fungal species were capable of invading peanut seeds only with soils from fallow fields and forested locations where the densities of section Flavi species and A. niger were low. |
