ABSTRACT OF INVENTION Synthetic seed production and usage is rapidly growing branch of seed biotechnology majorly because of the problems encountered during the storage and transport of propagules. We report the production of synthetic seed using fungal mycelium as inoculant. The organism has been isolated from tissue cultured Withania somnifera plant and characterised. The organism showed negative for fatty acid esterase test while positive for nitrite assimilation and resistance, gelatine hydrolysis and cellulose test. The 16s RNA result showed the organism to be Cladosporium oxvsporum .The mycelium of the organism was included in the synthetic seed production and encapsulated seeds with and without mycelium were stored at 4°C . The seeds encapsulated with mycelium remained fresh for more than 15 days while without mycelium dried within a period of 5 days .Thus, inclusion of inoculants during the production of syntheticseed enhances the shelf life and stability.
