Sweet grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is a staple food in rural Africa and is mainly grown for its grains, which are consumed in a paste-like state. It is nowadays attacked by numerous parasitic fungi, hence this study was carried out with the objective to characterize the fungal pathogens associated with this crop from the seed, vegetative stage, to the doughy grain stage at harvest. For this purpose, 37 genotypes of seeds of this crop, obtained from the Genebank of the Plant Genetics and Breeding team, Biosciences Laboratory of the Joseph KI-ZERBO University of Burkina Faso, were subjected to sanitary analysis. All the genotypes were tested during the 2021 rainy season using an alpha lattice design with three replications. From the 30th day of the rainy season, symptomatic leaves were randomly collected from 11 genotypes of each replicate for the isolation and characterization of different fungal pathogens. Similarly, from day 90 onwards, the health status of the doughy grains was analyzed on the same genotypes. The results obtained revealed a diversity of fungal pathogens both on seeds in pre-sowing, on symptomatic leaves and on doughy grains in preharvest. Indeed, 10 fungal species were found on the selected genotypes, among which seven species of fungi were identified as pathogens of sweet grain sorghum, namely Bipolaris sp., Curvularia lunata, Fusarium moniliforme, Phoma sorghina, Colletotrichum graminicola, Nigrospora oryzae and Exserohilum sp. In addition, three saprotrophic fungi namely Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus sp., which account for 30% of the pre-sown seed and pre-harvest doughy grain, were also identified. Curvularia lunata (61.61%), Fusarium moniliforme (53.53%) and Phoma sorghina (42.42%) were the most abundant and common fungal pathogens at the development stages studied. To sum up, the existence of a number of parasites and saprotrophs fungi on grains of this crop, generally consumed in their fresh state, is a significant threat to humans because they could secrete mycotoxins, mainly fusariotoxins, which could lead to the occurrence of certain mycoses in humans in the long term. Hence there is a need to apply basic hygiene rules for a healthy consumption of these grains. Keywords: Burkina Faso, Mouth seeds, Parasitic fungi, Sanitary analysis, Sweet grain sorghum.

Burkina Faso, Mouth seeds, Parasitic fungi, Sanitary analysis, Sweet grain sorghum