VIEW ARTICLE

Disease Control and Pest Management

Sporidesmium sclerotivorum: Distribution and Function in Natural Biological Control of Sclerotial Fungi. P. B. Adams, Soilborne Diseases Laboratory, Plant Protection Institute, Agricultural Research, Science and Education Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705; W. A. Ayers, Soilborne Diseases Laboratory, Plant Protection Institute, Agricultural Research, Science and Education Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705. Phytopathology 71:90-93. Accepted for publication 16 June 1980. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1981. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-71-90.

The mycoparasite Sporidesmium sclerotivorum was detected in soil samples from fields in Arizona, California, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, and Washington. In a field test with natural populations of S. sclerotivorum and Sclerotinia minor, the mycoparasite apparently was responsible for the decline in the numbers of sclerotia of S. minor. A second field test showed that S. sclerotivorum applied to soil at the rate of 100 spores per gram of soil was responsible for a similar decline in the survival of sclerotia. Evidence is presented that indicates that S. sclerotivorum was responsible for the natural decline of sclerotia of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Sclerotium cepivorum in a number of field soils.