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Survey of soil fungal and oomycete diversity from maize field soils in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Dissertation (MSc (Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2024.

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Other Authors: Visagie, Cobus
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2024
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Visagie, Cobus
author_browse Visagie, Cobus
author_facet Visagie, Cobus
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Dissertation (MSc (Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2024.
format Thesis
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:37:07.698Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2024
publishDateRange 2024
publishDateSort 2024
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/96987 Survey of soil fungal and oomycete diversity from maize field soils in the Eastern Cape, South Africa Visagie, Cobus alice.mthembu@up.ac.za Yilmaz, Neriman Mthembu, Alice UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Survey Oomycete diversity Maize field soils Soil fungal SDG-02: Zero hunger Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-02 Dissertation (MSc (Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2024. Maize plays a crucial role as a staple food and feed grain in South Africa and globally. Fungal diseases pose a significant threat to maize yields in South Africa, particularly in the Eastern Cape where fungal and oomycete diversity in maize rhizosphere soils is limited. The first chapter presents a comprehensive literature review focused on soilborne diseases affecting maize, with a particular emphasis on those prevalent in South Africa. It covers their distribution, symptoms, and commonly employed management strategies. Additionally, the chapter delves into maize production in the Eastern Cape, addressing the challenges encountered by the emerging farmers in this region. Chapter 2 (first research chapter) focuses on a survey of fungal and oomycete diversity in rhizosphere soils from maize farms in the Eastern Cape. Our goal was to isolate and culture fungi and oomycetes from these soils and identify the isolates using both morphological characteristics and DNA sequence data. Isolation resulted in 421 fungal and 16 oomycete strains The most dominant fungal genera from the soil collected were Penicillium (n=98), Fusarium (n=90), Cladosporium (n=46), and Trichoderma (n=103), with Fusarium oxysporum sensu lato (n=64), Trichoderma gamsii (n=29), and Penicillium cremeogriseum (n=18) among the most common species. Several pathogenic fungal species like A. alternata, F. graminearum, Beauveria amorpha, S. maydis, G. irregulare and G. ultimum, were isolated from this study and have been reported to cause root and stalk rot in maize. There is a large variation in the distribution of fungal and oomycete species across all farms. The fungal and oomycete communities that were dominant in the soils belonged to the genera Fusarium, Penicillium, Trichoderma, and Globisporangium. None of the isolated Penicillium and Trichoderma species have been reported to cause diseases in maize in South Africa. Notably, Globisporangium irregulare was the predominant oomycete species identified. Several strains belonged to species known to cause maize diseases, such as Fusarium stalk rot, Diplodia stalk rot, and Pythium root and stalk rot. Chapter 3 (second research chapter) of this study provided the description of a newly proposed Penicillium species in the section Canescentia series Atrovenata. We described the species based on its unique DNA sequences and provide morphological evidence for its formal description. Overall this study shows that the fungal communities detected in the maize rhizosphere soils are relatively diverse and some have been reported to cause important maize diseases. The Maize Trust FABI Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) MSc (Microbiology) Unrestricted Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences SDG-02: Zero Hunger 2024-07-12T12:22:22Z 2024-07-12T12:22:22Z 2024-09-30 2024-04-04 Dissertation * S2024 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/96987 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25403/UPresearchdata.26268553.v1 10.25403/UPresearchdata.26268553 en © 2023 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Survey
Oomycete diversity
Maize field soils
Soil fungal
SDG-02: Zero hunger
Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-02
Survey of soil fungal and oomycete diversity from maize field soils in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
title Survey of soil fungal and oomycete diversity from maize field soils in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
title_full Survey of soil fungal and oomycete diversity from maize field soils in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
title_fullStr Survey of soil fungal and oomycete diversity from maize field soils in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Survey of soil fungal and oomycete diversity from maize field soils in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
title_short Survey of soil fungal and oomycete diversity from maize field soils in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
title_sort survey of soil fungal and oomycete diversity from maize field soils in the eastern cape south africa
topic UCTD
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Survey
Oomycete diversity
Maize field soils
Soil fungal
SDG-02: Zero hunger
Natural and agricultural sciences theses SDG-02
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/96987