Effect Of Cellulolytic Fungi of Genus Aspergillus Isolated from Infected Cotton Bolls on Deterioration on Cotton Fibers

This study explores the impact of cellulose-degrading Aspergillus isolates on the fiber properties of four Egyptian cotton cultivars Giza 45, Giza 92 and Giza 96 (extra-long staple), and Giza 94 (long staple). Cotton fibers were inoculated under pure culture conditions using seven fungal isolates that were first isolated from diseased cotton bolls that were taken from several locations, including Sohag (Upper Egypt), Giza (North Egypt), and Daqahliya (Middle Delta). The following properties were tested: micronaire value, fiber maturity, fiber strength (g/tex), fiber elongation percentage (%), reflectance degree, yellowness degree, trash area, trash count, upper half mean (UHML), length uniformity index (%), and short fiber index (SFI). With the exception of micronaire value, analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that cultivars, isolates, and cultivars × isolates interaction were all extremely significant sources of variation in all evaluated parameters. A least significant difference (LSD) was employed to compare the impact of individual isolates within cultivars for each of the tested properties because of the importance of cultivars × isolates interactions. According to these comparisons, fungal infection tended to deteriorate the majority of the tested properties. This study clearly demonstrates that isolates of Aspergillus spp. had a greater influence on the deterioration of tested properties than cultivars. These results suggest that the harmful effects of cellulose-degrading fungi on fiber quality could be significantly minimized if the fungus isolates are effectively controlled.