Phylloplane microflora of safflower

Studies on the phylloplane micro flora of safflower revealed that the bacterial population was more than the fungal population in both the varieties at various growth stages of crop. The mean fungal population was highest at flowering stage (5.32 x 10²/cm² leaf area) whereas the bacterial population was more at the stage of physiological maturity (32.15 x 10²/cm² leaf area). Fungal and bacterial populations were highest on phylloplane of variety ‘Bhima’.