Identification of fungal diseases associated with imported wheat in Iranian silos

In this study, imported wheat varieties used for cookies and bread making were evaluated for the presence of fungal diseases in the silos. Grain samples were taken and cultured on nutrient agar medium and sterile papers impregnated with nutrient. The results showed the presence of pathogenic fungi such as Ulocladium sp., Cladosporium sp., Alternaria sp., Rhizopus nigricans, Penicillium sp. and Trichothecium sp. in varieties from Australian, Mucor sp., R. nigricans, Fusarium sp., A. triticum, Helminthosporium sp. and Penicillium sp. from Argentina, Alternaria sp., Ulocladium sp., Penicillium sp., Aspergillus sp., Mucor mucedo, R. nigricans, Fusorium sp., Curvularia triticola, U. clamydosporium and C. tritici from Kazakistan varieties stored in Karaj silos or unloading trains. It is noteworthy to mention that Fusarium sp., Helminthosporium sp., Alternaria sp., A. tritici, A. triticola and U. clamydosporium are phytopathogenic fungi that often cause serious diseases on crops, produce lots of spores that are widely disseminated across the field and grow and reproduce in plant residues and diseased or wounded plant tissues and mature grains particularly under moist conditions. If in case, farmers try to use contaminated wheat grains that are distributed among them for flour, for cultivation purposes, it is highly probable that new fungal strains and species will be introduced in the areas where wheat production has never been threatened before. Fungal disease such as Indian smut or rusts is not native to Iran but are considered quarantine diseases. In addition, high incidence of contamination due to the presence of mycotoxins produced by Penicillium sp. and Aspergillus sp. in foreign wheat cultivars, could result in serious toxicity and illness in humans and birds.