Rhizosphere and rhizoplane fungi of Triticum vulgare cultivated in Saudi Arabia

131 species in addition to 7 varieties which belong to 40 genera were collected from the rhizosphere (36 genera and 120 species + 7 varieties) and rhizoplane (27 genera and 56 species + 2 varieties) of Triticum vulgare. More than 22 species and 3 varieties were not encountered previously from soils or other sources in Saudi Arabia.In the rhizosphere, Aspergillus and Penicillium contributed the broadest spectrum of species (26 species + 5 varieties; and 24 species, respectively). The most frequent fungi were Aspergillus niger, A. clavatus, A. flavus, A. terreus, A. carneus, Penicillium citrinum, P. notatum, P. chrysogenum and Fusarium solani. In the rhizoplane which is a more selective substratum for fungi than the rhizosphere, the picture of dominance became different and the most common fungi were Fusarium solani, F. oxysporum, F. moniliforme, Drechslera spicifera, Cephalosporium roseo-griseum, Stemphylium botryosum, Acremonium strictum and Rhizoctonia solani.