Eliminating Seedborne fungi of Monodora myristica (African nutmeg) used in Southern Nigeria.

Seedborne fungi of shelled seeds of the African nutmeg Monodora myristica, "Ehuru" were isolated and identified using the standard blotter method. These included Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, A. tamarii, Alternaria terreus, Fusarium oxysporium, F. semitectum, Curvularia lunata, Trichoderma vivide, Phoma sp, Rhizopus stolonifer, Botryobiplodia theobroneae, Penicillium oxalicum. Monodora seeds from Yenagoa (Bayelsa) and Port Harcourt (Rivers) states had the highest percentage occurrence of fungi (47.6% and 46.1%), respectively. Those from Akure (Ondo State) and Calabar (Cross Rivers State) gave the least (20.1% and 21.2% respectively). The most frequently occurring fungus was A. flavus (71.3%), while the least was R. stolonifer (9.7%). Seeds of Monodara from Lagos State harboured 98.4% T. vivide but totally absent in seeds from other states like Anambra and Ondo, respectively. Disinfection of shelled seeds with hot water at 100° C, 1% chlorox, or 5% Brine solution for 5 minutes each and grinding into powder all reduced the percentage of fungal species recovered after treatment compared with the untreated seeds. Roasting of seeds in fire before grinding into powder totally eliminated all fungal species from treated seeds. Key words: Seed, fungi, African nutmeg, elimination [Global Jnl Agric Sci Vol.1(1) 2002: 49-54