Seed-borne Fungal Contaminants on Garlic Post-harvest Storage in Sembalun Highlands of Eastern Lombok, Indonesia Baiq Nurul Hidayah (a*), Nani Herawati (a), Ai Rosah Aisah(a), Tantawizal (a), Yuli Handayani (b)
a) Assessment Institute of Agricultural Technology (Balai Pengkajian Teknologi Pertanian) West Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia
* baiqnurul[at]pertanian.go.id
b) Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Mataram, Indonesia
Abstract
Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is a horticultural commodity of high economic value in Indonesia. Sembalun Highlands in West Nusa Tenggara Province is one of the largest garlic producing regions in Indonesia. Garlic is mostly grown in irrigated highlands therefore domestic production is very limited, only supplies 17.5% of domestic demand. One of the main constraints facing in post-harvest storage is seed-borne fungal contaminants. The objective of this research was to investigate fungal contaminants on garlic seeds in Sembalun Highlands. This research was conducted in October-December 2018. Samples (Sangga Sembalun garlic seeds) were collected from garlic post-harvest storage in Sembalun Highlands, whilst laboratory analysis and identification were conducted at the Biology Laboratory, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Mataram University using Blotter on Test method. Based on the laboratory identification, there were two main soil-borne fungal contaminants isolated from garlic seed samples. Observation under microscope with 400x and 1000x magnification indicated that those fungal contaminants were Aspergillus sp. and Fusarium oxysforum. Aspergillus sp. was identified based on it^s morphology especially conidia and conidiophores whiles F. oxysforum was identified based on microconidia and macroconidia. It is well known that F. oxysforum is plant pathogenic fungi on garlic worldwide.
