Table 3.
Frequency and relative abundance of the pathogenic fungi associated with maize grains in the studied governorates in Saudi Arabia.
| Fungus | The Percentage of Appearance of the Fungus in Five Samples for Each Site | Total Frequency (%) | Relative Abundance (%) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riyadh | Al-Ahsaa | Najran | Aseer | Al kharj | Wadi Al-Dawasir | Al-Jouf | Tabuk | Gazan | Al-Madinah | Al-Qaseem | Hail | |||
| Alternaria alternata | 20 | 40 | 80 | 100 | 80 | 60 | 60 | 40 | 100 | 20 | 60 | 60 | 100 | 21.8 |
| Curvularia australiensis | 40 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 33.3 | 4.2 |
| Curvularia lunata | 40 | 0 | 60 | 60 | 40 | 60 | 0 | 20 | 80 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 66.7 | 12.1 |
| Fusarium chlamydosporum | 20 | 0 | 60 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 0 | 75.0 | 7.9 |
| Fusarium proliferatum | 40 | 40 | 60 | 60 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 60 | 20 | 40 | 40 | 100 | 13.9 |
| Fusarium verticilloides | 60 | 60 | 80 | 100 | 80 | 60 | 60 | 80 | 80 | 40 | 80 | 60 | 100 | 25.5 |
| Sarocladium zeae | 40 | 0 | 100 | 60 | 100 | 40 | 40 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 20 | 40 | 83.3 | 14.6 |
A total of 12 fungal pathogenic strains belonging to 7 species were chosen for the biodiversity metrics. They are Alternaria alternata (one strain), Curvularia australiensis (one strain), Curvularia lunata (one strain), Fusarium chlamydosporum (one strain), Fusarium proliferatum (two strains), Fusarium verticilloides (four strains), and Sarocladium zeae (two strains).