Forage Yields and Disease Development of Two Varieties of Smooth Bromegrass, Bromus inermis Leyss., Grown under Various Conditions in the Field 1

* I ' HE expanded use of smooth bromegrass in the J. North Central States and other areas, its increasing use in long rotations with legumes, and the narrowing of the genetic diversity of the crop by intensive breeding methods suggest the need for more intensive studies on the effect of management and fertilization on yield of forage and on the nature and development of diseases to which this plant is susceptible. Although random observations (1, 4) have been made of disease incidence in nurseries, seed fields, and meadows, no investigations are known to the authors on the effect ofmanagement upon foliar diseases of bromegrass grown alone or in association with legumes. The influence of different management and fertilization treatments upon forage production, on the botanical composition of the forage, and on the development of bacterial blight and brown leafspot on bromegrass grown alone and associated with alfalfa was investigated. Comparisons were made between inoculated and uninoculated plots using the pathogene, Pseudomonas coronafaciens var. atropurpurea (Reddy and Godkin) Stapp. Two varieties of bromegrass, commonly referred to as Canadian and Parkland, were grown in pure culture and in combination with alfalfa.