Detergent washing technique for the efficient extraction of teloispores of Tilletia indica from contaminated wheat seeds

A detergent washing technique was developed for the removal of teliospores of Tilletia indica from wheat seeds. In this method, the seeds were washed with varying concentrations of detergents- sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), Tween-20, Triton-X-100 and urea. The best results were achieved with 0.005% SDS, 0.001% Tween-20 and 0.05% Triton-X-lOO which recovered 90-95% of teliospores added to seeds. The whole procedure takes 20 min/sample and several samples can be processed at once. This procedure can also be used to reduce or eliminate T. indica spores from seeds before planting. All detergents except Tween-20 also increased the percent germination.