An experiment was conducted in two gorse populations (Ulex europaeus ) in which Chondrostereum purpureum was applied each month as mycelial-agar cultures to the wounds of decapitated stems of previously untreated gorse plants to determine its potential as a mycoherbicide. Summer Á/autumn (Feb Á/May) or late winter Á/early spring (Aug Á/Sept) applications were effective in both populations, halving stem stump survival (from an average of 56 to 29%). Another experiment in the same gorse populations evaluated the combined effects of C. purpureum applied in May to decapitated stems, and Fusarium tumidum applied as spores in an invert emulsion to regenerative shoots 5 Á/6 months later. There was no evidence of synergism between the two fungi; each pathogen independently reduced the density of regenerative shoots on the decapitated stems by 39 Á/63% averaged over the 12 months following their respective applications. It is concluded that both pathogens have potential as mycoherbicides for gorse regenerating after stem decapitation.
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