A SURVEY ON THE OCCURRENCE OF ENDOPHYTIC FUNGI IN SEED LOTS OF LOLIUM PERENNE AND FESTUCA ARUNDINACEA

C. Cappelli and R. Buonaurio

Dipartimento di Arboricoltura e Protezione delle Piante (DAPP)

Borgo XX Giugno, 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy

e-mail: cappelli@unipg.it; Fax: ++39.75.5856482

Forty seed lots of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and 20 of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) cultivars from Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden and the USA, used for set up experimental fields located in different Italian regions, were examined for the presence of endophytes. Neotyphodium lolii and Neotyphodium coenophialum were found in 19 ryegrass and in 8 tall fescue seed samples, respectively.  N. lolii was not found in the German and Swedish ryegrass cultivars.  The highest infection level (90%) was recorded in one of the two Italian cultivars.  N. coenophialum was found in USA and German tall fescue cultivars, with the highest infection level (78%) in one of the three USA cultivars.  To estimate the level of vital endophytes in infected seed lots, plants were grown in a greenhouse from the infected seed samples and the infection was revealed by staining leaf sheaths with aniline blue.  Endophytic mycelium was found in all the cultivars and the level of infection was similar to those of the corresponding seed lots.

Keywords: seed pathology; endophytes; Neotyphodium; Lolium perenne; Festuca arundinacea.