Seasonal dynamics of phyllosphere fungi of Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze from the plantations of Tripura, Northeast India

The objective of this study is to investigate the seasonal composition of phylloplane and endophytic fungi in Camellia sinensis, as well as their seasonal flux. The results indicated that the peak isolation rate for both groups of fungi occurred prior to winter. For endophytic fungi, the lowest isolation rate was observed during the winter season, and for phylloplane fungi, during the monsoon season. Genera Alternaria, Colletotrichum and Phyllosticta exhibited the highest colonization frequency of fungal endophytes across all four seasons. Penicillium, followed by Aspergillus and Mucor reveals the highest proportion of phylloplane fungi across all four seasons. In the winter, phyllosphere fungi had the highest diversity. The similarity index of endophytic and phylloplane fungal genera isolated from C. sinensis for distinct seasons revealed the highest similarity during the pre-monsoon season and the lowest similarity during the monsoon season. The occurrences of both categories of fungi are discussed in terms of seasonal and environmental variation.