Link to home

Cannot retrieve the URL specified in the Content Link property. For more assistance, contact your site administrator.

Frequency of fungi associated with giant miscanthus in 2011.
M. D. GILLEY (1), M. Tomaso-Peterson (1), T. W. Allen (1), B. S. Baldwin (1). (1) Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, U.S.A.

Giant miscanthus (<i>Miscanthus</i> x <i>giganteus</i> Greef et Deu.) is a tall perennial grass with potential for production as a biomass feedstock crop for alternative energy solutions. In 2010 foliar disease symptoms were observed on giant miscanthus in Starkville, Mississippi. In an effort to better understand the patho-system, a study was initiated to monitor fungal occurrence in naturally infected giant miscanthus fields. ‘Freedom’, ‘Illinois’ and ‘Nagara’ giant miscanthus varieties were observed monthly throughout the growing season in 2011. Lesions were excised from mature leaves, surface disinfested and rinsed prior to plating on water agar. Fifty lesions were plated per giant miscanthus variety each month and incubated at room temperature for 21 days under continuous fluorescent light. Fungi were identified based on fruiting structure and colony morphology using light microscopy. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of ribosomal DNA of selected fungi were amplified with PCR primers ITS1 and ITS4 to confirm identity. Predominant fungi observed among giant miscanthus varieties included <i>Alternaria</i>, <i>Phoma</i>, and <i>Stagonospora</i> species. <i>Bipolaris</i>, <i>Colletotrichum</i>, <i>Leptosphaeria</i>, <i>Nigrospora</i>, <i>Pithomyces</i> and some unknown species were isolated at lower frequencies. The isolation of gramineaceous pathogens from foliar lesions indicates a pathogenic relationship may exist among giant miscanthus varieties. <p><p>Keywords: Fungus

View Presentation