Interactions between the Grasses Phalaris arundinacea, Miscanthus sinensis and Echinochloa crus‐galli, and Barley and Cereal Yellow Dwarf Viruses

Abstract

The grass species Miscanthus sinensis, Echinochloa crus‐galli and Phalaris arundinacea may be useful biomass crops. In glasshouse inoculations with two isolates of Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV)‐MAV and BYDV‐PAV and one of Cereal yellow dwarf virus (CYVD)‐RPV, E. crus galli was infected by all three virus isolates, P. arundinacea by BYDV‐MAV and CYDV‐RPV, but M. sinensis only by BYDV‐MAV. All three hosts became very difficult to infect after several weeks’ growth. Symptoms were inconspicuous; dry matter yield losses ranged from c. 20–40%. Aphids acquired all three virus isolates from E. crus‐galli, but more efficiently from 5 than 26‐week‐old plants. Only BYDV‐MAV was acquired from P. arundinacea and M. sinensis. Plants of each species and of Avena sativa were grown outdoors between May and July in 1994 and 1995. Young plants of each species were exposed for successive 2‐week intervals during the same periods. Vector populations were higher on A. sativa and P. arundinacea than on E. crus‐galli and M. sinensis, and more plants of these species became infected. In 1994 only BYDV‐MAV was detected. In 1995 BYDV‐MAV, BYDV‐PAV and CYDV‐RPV were all detected; BYDV‐MAV was again the virus isolate most frequently found.

Environmental costs and benefits of growingMiscanthusfor bioenergy in theUK

“…Despite studies finding some incidence of agricultural disease in Miscanthus (Christian et al, 1994;O'Neill & Farr, 1996;Ahonsi et al, 2010), it does not appear to have become a significant problem after more than a decade of commercial growing in the UK, and pesticides are still not generally considered necessary. Lamptey et al (2003) found that while Miscanthus (M. sinensis in this case) was susceptible to yield losses from infection with Cereal Yellow Dwarf Virus after being inoculated with them in laboratory experiments, it was more resistant than other energy grasses in their study. All were difficult to infect once the plants had got past the seedling stage but of 18 Miscanthus plants none were found to become infected when exposed to the virus after stem extension.…”

“…Lamptey et al . () found that while Miscanthus ( M. sinensis in this case) was susceptible to yield losses from infection with Cereal Yellow Dwarf Virus after being inoculated with them in laboratory experiments, it was more resistant than other energy grasses in their study. All were difficult to infect once the plants had got past the seedling stage but of 18 Miscanthus plants none were found to become infected when exposed to the virus after stem extension.…”

“…Even during its susceptible seedling stage infection was only 33% despite deliberate inoculation, compared to almost 100% for Phalaris arundinacea and Echinochloa crus-galli. Lamptey et al (2003) did warn, though, that conventional rhizome propagation and translocation of Miscanthus run the risk of disease transfer between sites; care must be taken that crops sourced for rhizomes are disease free as pesticide control on field crops would be uneconomic and undesirable for sustainable biomass production. The results of such infections were seen in a Miscanthus field trial in central Italy (Beccari et al, 2010) where 90% of the transplanted rhizomes failed to establish due to fungal infection by Fusarium spp.…”

Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea) as a Biological Model in the Study of Plant Invasions

“…Vanky (1991) reported diverse fungi species from the Ustilaginales family on German populations of RCG plants. After experimental inoculations in glasshouse, Lamptey et al (2003) showed that growth of adult and seedlings of RCG can be severely suppressed (up to 45%) by the Barley yellow dwarf virus (a widespread disease in Europe) and by Cereal yellow dwarf virus, as well as their natural vectors (aphid species). The Wheat dwarf virus and its insect vector were also shown to infest RCG plants in natural conditions (Mehner et al, 2003).…”

Modifying lignin to improve bioenergy feedstocks: strengthening the barrier against pathogens?†

“…Overall, these studies indicated that similar to row crops, fungal pathogens pose a serious threat to these bioenergy crops. In addition, viruses also pose a threat to bioenergy feedstocks, which have been documented in switchgrass and miscanthus (Chatani et al, 1991; Turina et al, 1998; Lamptey et al, 2003). …”