Fungi are ubiquitous and cosmopolitan in distribution. Fungi are non- chlorophyllus organisms that occur in diversified habitats as saprophytes and parasites. Fungi are the second species-rich organism group after Insects. It is more challenging to complete the fungal inventory as compared to other organisms such as plants. Fungi play an important role in decomposition, industry, agriculture, medicine, biotechnology and other related aspects of human welfare. The fungal flora is rich and diverse. Today around 140,000 fungal species are reported from the world.

Edible mushrooms are cooked and eaten directly. Bread, cheese and various other foods, alcoholic beverages, chemicals, medicines are products of microbial activities of yeast, Aspergillus, Penicillium and other fungi. Some fungi however, attack directly plants, animals and human beings causing diseases. Some fungi are often poisonous and carcinogenic, excrete toxins and contaminating foods. Fungi inhaled occasionally inside houses and building or in the fields cause asthma and allergenic troubles. Some fungi are useful, influencing our lives directly or indirectly, but most fungi live under soil conditions separate from our life and we do not understand their usability. Some fungi are causing devastating diseases in different crops in the fields and post harvest situations resulting heavy monitory losses.

In this book, the morphological illustrations were depicted for identification of different groups of agriculturally important fungi isolated from soil, seeds and plant materials. Many of these fungi influence the plant growth and there by its yield. Descriptions and photo-micrographs of theses fungi are helpful for identification of fungi and there by disease diagnosis. However only few books are available with pictorial morphological descriptions for different groups of fungi. In the plant pathological fields, Mycological studies are prerequisite to determining the causal agents of the diseases, including isolations, preservation, classification and identification.

The fungi illustrated in this book were isolated, purified and persevered during their morphological characterization studies. Many of the given fungi are the important plant pathogens but some of them are not pathogenic to plants. Theses saprophytic fungi have been studied to find effective biocontrol agents among them. 

Since biocontrol practices are being used widely in the current scenario of organic farming to control plant diseases, many of biocontrol fungal species have been included in this publication. In this book, 195 species of fungi that have been studied mycologically were described with illustrations.Only a few references or monographs are available on morphological characterization of different groups of fungi. Therefore, this book may be of greater importance to students, academicians and researchers

Dr. T. Prameela Devi
Dr. T. Prameela Devi is presently heading the mycology section in the division of Plant Pathology,
IARI, ND. She did B.Sc(Ag) from Acharya N.G.Ranga University, M.Sc(Ag) from Tamil Nadu
Agricultural University and Ph.D from I.A.R.I., New Delhi. Presently, she is working as Principal
Scientist, Division of Plant Pathology, I.A.R.I., New Delhi. She has served Acharya N.G.Ranga
University and Indian Agricultural Research Institute for 35 years. Her specialization is fungal
taxonomy and she is associated with Indian Type Cultute Collection (ITCC) and Herbarium
Cryptogamme Indae Orientalis(HCIO) in the division of Plant Pathology, IARI, ND. Dr.T.Prameela Devi
has described 6 new genera and 11 new species of fungi. She has initiated molecular taxonomy of
fungi at ITCC with the funds provided through DBT project. She developed molecular markers for
Trichoderma and Aspergillus species, and Multiplex PCR for identification and differentiation of
Trichoderma species. She also made multigene analysis of Trichoderma, Curvularia, Drechslera,
Chaetomium and Aspergillus. Apart from the divisional project, presently handling the NABARD
funded project on “Establishment of Mushroom Spawn Production centre at IARI, New Delhi”. She
has guided students for M.Sc and Ph.D., and published more than 60 research papers. She has
Popularised ITCC for its Identification and culture supply services among the public. She is recipient
of A.K. Sorbhoy Memorial Award (2017) by Indian Phytopathological society, Fellow of Indian
Phytopathological Society, New Delhi, served as Zonal president of IPS, 2020 for Delhi Zone, and was
elected as Honorary council member, Executive council of the Indian Mycological society (2013-16)
and was nominated as an Editor (Mycology) for Indian Phytopathology for the year 2014-16.

Dr. Deeba Kamil
Dr. Deeba Kamil Born on 10th September, 1981 in Lucknow (U.P.), Dr. Kamil completed her
graduation from Lucknow University, Lucknow and Masters in Agriculture (M.Sc.) from AAIDU, Naini,
Allahabad and Ph.D. from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. At present, she is working as Senior
Scientist in the Division of Plant Pathology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi,
India. She has made excellent contribution in plant pathological research. She has involved in the
field of mycology especially fungal taxonomy and associated with Indian Type Cultute Collection and
Herbarium Cryptogamme Indae Orientalis. She has also started the DNA barcoding of fungal cultures
with Genus Fusarium. This was the first attempt from Fusarium barcoding from India. DNA barcoding
of Trichoderma, Colletotrichum, Drechslera, Phoma, Aspergillus and Penicillium is also done. She was
successful to develop molecular marker for many Trichoderma and Aspergillus species. She is being
working on the delineation of different Fusarium species complex. She has also tried to produce
silver nanoparticies by using different fungi and worked on their bio-efficacy against Plant
Pathogens. She is recipient of MK Patel young scientist award, Women scientist awards and many
more societies’ awards. She is fellow of Indian Phytopathological Society, New Delhi. She has
authored 4 books on different aspects of plant pathology, and published more than 50 research
papers in journals of international and national repute. She is reviewer for many International and
national journals.