There are eight chapters covering sampling, examination of dry seeds, washing test, blotter method and its modifications, agar plate method, embryo count method, and seedling symptom test, supported by a glossary and literature. Each method is supplemented with examples.

The book has been written for scientists and technicians working at seed testing and plant quarantine laboratories where the health of seeds is monitored for planting value and where presence of fungi of quarantine importance is checked in seed consignments of big and small sizes, including germplasm. Methods described in the book, along with identifying characters of fungi, will be useful to plant pathologists and seed technologists in their daily work and at the same time the book will act as a reference source to plant pathologists and mycologists in research and training programmes. The descriptions of 239 fungi have been well illustrated with photographs (black and white, as well as colour) and line drawings of fruiting structures that will ease their identification.