Detection of endophytic fungi in Festuca spp. by means of tissue print immunoassay

Pasture mealybug (Balanococcuspoae) was found infesting two field trials evaluating the performance of selected strains of the endophyte Neotyphodium lolii in ryegrass (Lolium spp.) in Canterbury, New Zealand. Deterioration of endophyte-free plots relative to endophyte-infected plots had been observed. In Trial A, pasture mealybug were sampled in plots of the perennial ryegrass cultivar 'Grasslands Nui', without endophyte (nil), or infected with the wild-type endophyte, or the selected strains, AR1 and AR37. In Trial B, mealybug numbers on six ryegrass cultivars infected with AR1 or wild-type were compared with those on the same cultivars without endophyte. In sampling these trials, the presence of a root aphid, Aploneura lentisci, was also noted. Populations of mealybug in both trials were similar on all endophyte-infected treatments and significantly lower than populations on nil treatments. Neither AR1 nor wild-type appeared to reduce root aphid numbers, while AR37 may have had some effect. The amount of dead grass was significantly greater in nil than in endophyteinfected plots in Trial A, and yield of ryegrass was correlated with numbers of mealybug and root aphid present. Pasture productivity in nil treatments had recovered by spring, in the year of the outbreak. The presence of endophyte, strain of endophyte and cultivar were all significant factors affecting both total dry matter and green yield in Trial B. Pasture mealybug accounted for 55% of the variation in a decline in growth rate that occurred in this trial over the summer-autumn periods between 2000 and 2001, particularly in the nil treatments. Two years after the outbreak there was 25% less ryegrass and persistently lower pasture yields in nil plots. We conclude that pasture mealybug are capable of inflicting severe damage to endophyte-free ryegrass in Canterbury, particularly during dry summer-autumn periods.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occurrence and impact of pasture mealybug (Balanococcus poae) and root aphid (Aploneura lentisci) on ryegrass (Loliumspp.) with and without infection byNeotyphodiumfungal endophytes

Pennell

Popay

Ball

et al. 2005

“…Collected tillers were taken to the laboratory and refrigerated until being recut and pressed on to 0.45 μm nitrocellulose blotting paper (Protran BA45, Thermo Fisher Scientific) for 2-3 sec within 24 h of sampling. Blotting sheets were processed using the tissue print immunoassay method of Hahn et al (2003) to determine the frequency of infection by an endophyte.…”

Section: Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pasture renewal on Bay of Plenty and Waikato dairy farms: impacts on pasture performance post-establishment

Tozer

Rennie

King

et al. 2015

To determine the impact of pasture renewal on dairy pasture performance, a total of 24 renewed and unrenewed pastures were monitored in Bay of Plenty and Waikato for 5 years. Renewed pastures produced an additional 1.5, 1.8 and 1.9 t dry matter (DM) ha −1 in the first, second and third years of monitoring, respectively, compared with unrenewed pastures. There was a greater contribution of clover, sown grasses and unsown grasses and a smaller contribution of broadleaf weeds in renewed than unrenewed pastures in some years (% of total DM). The sown grass DM content (kg DM ha −1 ), perennial ryegrass tiller densities and endophyte infection frequencies were similar in renewed and unrenewed pastures. The abundance of invertebrate pests and total nematodes was lower in renewed than unrenewed pastures in some years. The greater clover content, fewer weeds and fewer insect pests, contributed to the greater herbage production of renewed pastures.

“…Infection of ryegrass with fungal endophyte (Neotyphodium lolii) was determined in the 2003Á06 trial using a tissue print immuno-blot assay (Hahn et al 2003) at the warm temperate site. In late summer 2004, 2.5 months after sowing, 20Á40 tillers were tested from one replicate for all treatments.…”

Section: Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agronomic performance and water-soluble carbohydrate expression of selected ryegrasses at two locations in New Zealand

Hume

Hickey

Lyons

et al. 2010

Agronomic trials at cool (Gore) and warm (Palmerston North) temperate sites in New Zealand tested ten United Kingdom-bred (six diploids, four tetraploids) and two New Zealand-bred diploid ('Bronsyn', 'Impact') perennial and long-term hybrid ryegrasses (Lolium perenne, L. boucheanum) over two trial periods. Dry matter (DM) yields and persistence were better at the cool site but differential expression among cultivars for water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) and yields was small compared with the warm site. The tetraploid cultivars generally had the highest concentrations of WSC but also on occasions had higher levels of crown rust, moderate DM yields and poorer persistence compared with diploids. Two of the tetraploid cultivars will be of value for their high WSC and good agronomic performance at the cool site. Some of the diploid UK cultivars expressed higher WSC and had similar or higher annual DM yields than some of the NZ-bred cultivars, and had high levels of resistance to crown rust. Overall, differences among cultivars in expression of WSC were small. Some differences occurred for seasonal DM yields with some UK cultivars having lower winter yields.