Survival of <I>Alternaria brassicicola</I> in Cryo-Preserved <I>Brassica</I> spp. Seeds for Longer Duration

Seed health testing of seven accessions of Brassica spp. conserved in the year 2001 at -180°C in liquid nitrogen at National GeneBank, ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi resulted in detection of Alternaria brassicicola in three accessions of B. juncea, IC-113148, Pusa Bold and Prakash in the year 2015. Detection of A. brassicicola in cryopreserved Brassica seeds shows that the fungus can survive even at ultra-low temperature for a long duration.