FUNGI ASSOCIATED WITH SAFFRON (Crocus sativus) IN MOROCCO

In Morocco, saffron is grown in the areas of Taliouine (provine of Taroudante) and Taznakht (province of Ouarzazate). Studies on fungi related to this crop are still very rare. Mycological studies on mycoflora associated with Saffron (Crocus sativus) from the main producing area, located in the Taliouine region was carried out between September (corms for cultivation) and December (soil and roots of saffron plants), 2018. The samples (corms and roots with symptoms) were cut up in fragments and disinfected with alcohol. Then, these fragments were cultured on Potato Sucrose Agar and incubated in the growth chamber for 7 days at 28°C. The pure cultures obtained were identified morphologically and microscopically. The fungal complex identified in the soils, corms and roots of saffron plants was almost identical, including Fusarium solani, F. oxysporum, F. culmorum, F. roseum, Fusarium sp., Aspergillus fumigatus, A. niger, Trichoderma sp., Rhizopus oryzae and Penicillium sp. Species of the genus Fusarium, considered as true pathogens of different crops, are the most represented, with isolation percentages ranging from 6 to 20%. Trichoderma sp., a biocontrol agent against various pathogens, has also been isolated from the soils, corms and roots of saffron plants, with a percentage of isolation ranging from 8 to 13%. This is the first time that the species of the genus Fusarium (F. solani, F. culmorum and F. roseum) and Trichoderma have been isolated in Morocco from Crocus sativus.