Abstract

Stored seeds of Tectona grandis Linn. f. (teak), Bombax ceiba Linn. (Bombax), Eucalyptus citriodora Hook, E. globulus Labill., E. grandis Hill ex Maiden. harboured a rich spermoplane microflora. However, in E. tereticornis micro-organisms occurred in low frequencies. Aspergillus was the most predominant genus in all tree species, except Bombax where actinomycetes were the most frequent organisms. Actinomycetes, and 8 fungal genera, viz. Fusicoccum, Gliocephalotrichum, Gonatobotryum, Humicola, Pestalotia, Pithomyces, Thielavia and Torula are reported for the first time on seeds. In addition to common saprophytic storage micro-organisms, the spermoplane microflora was comprised of numerous potential pathogenic organisms. These pathogens which may be seed-borne in nature, are known to cause infection of seedlings and young plants of many agricultural crops. In the blotter method, except for E. tereticornis, seeds of other tree species showed low germinationand this was directly