Bromus auleticus is a native perennial grass, with potential to produce forage in the autumn-winter, a period when animal feed is scarce in the south of Brazil. The objective of this work was to verify microorganisms associated with seeds of B. auleticus, in function of the moment of collection, in the plant and in the soil. Field studies were conducted in "Embrapa Pecuária Sul", Bagé - state of Rio Grande do Sul, in an area sowed in 1995. Panicles of thirty representative plants were harvested in November, 2002, obtaining 900 seeds. Following another procedure, in the same experimental area, soil samples were collected in the first days of January, February, March and April; 200, 300, 200 and 60 seeds were thus obtained, respectively. All seeds were analyzed by the blotter test, with incubation at 20ºC, 12 hours of light, for a period of seven days. Several fungi were observed, mainly Alternaria spp., associated with seeds of B. auleticus that were still attached to the mother plant. There was a tendency for that contamination to decrease after natural detachment. A high incidence of Trichoderma was also observed in seeds of B. auleticus present in the soil, probably constituting a beneficial association between these species. It is considered that Trichoderma may be antagonistic to other fungi that are potentially pathogenic to seeds of Bromus auleticus, such as Alternaria spp.
pasture; forage; fungi; Trichoderma
