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The susceptibility of agricultural grasses to pre‐emergence damage caused by Fusarium culmorum and its control by fungicidal seed treatment
Author(s) -
HOLMES S. J. I.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
grass and forage science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1365-2494
pISSN - 0142-5242
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2494.1983.tb01641.x
Subject(s) - fusarium culmorum , fungicide , fusarium , biology , agronomy , tebuconazole , agriculture , horticulture , ecology
A total of 104 cultivars of six agricultural grass species were compared under controlled conditions for their relative susceptibility to the common soil‐borne fungus Fusarium culmorum (W.G.Sm.) Sacc. A number of the perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne ) cultivars showed a high degree of resistance, their emergence being little reduced under the stringent test conditions. The emergence of others was, however, severely affected. Italian ryegrass ( L. multiflorum ) cultivars generally had a high level of resistance, the outstanding exception being cv. Leda Daehnfeldt which proved very sensitive. None of the cultivars of cocksfoot ( Dactylis glomerata ), timothy ( Phleum pratense ), meadow fescue ( Festuca pratensis ) or tall fescue ( F. arundinaceae ) which were tested had more than a moderate level of resistance and most were highly susceptible. The vigour of ryegrass seedlings was, in most cases, closely correlated with percentage emergence but was less closely correlated in the more susceptible species. These often had a very low emergence but those seedlings which did establish were frequently of a size similar to that of healthy plants. Treatment of grass seed with a fungicide mixture of benomyl (15% a.i.) plus captan (60% a.i.) provided excellent protection against F. culmorum on even the most susceptible cultivars. Drazoxolon (40% a.i.) was, however, much less effective.