Short-term effect of fungicide on seed germination and seedling growth of standing milk vetch(Astragalus adsurgens)

Fungal disease is the main factor reducing perennial forage’s biomass of standing milk vetch (Astragalus adsurgens). In this study, the seeds of standing milkvetch were pretreated with three kinds of fungicide: carbendazim, mancozeb and thiophanate-methyl, with the purpose of evaluating the fungicide effects, seed germination and seedling growth after inoculation through resembling the natural environment. The results suggested that three kinds of fungicide treatments significantly(P<0.05) improved the seed germination in petri dishes and pots compared with sterile water controls, and the plant height, root length as well as dry weight revealed a uniform trend. Significant reductions of incidence, mortality and average disease severity index (DSI) were caused by the fungicides. Based on the results, the fungicides have different roles on seed germination and seedling growth under the pathogen conditions, of which mancozeb was the best choice in this study.