The suitability of a bioherbicide as a component of an integrated weed management program not only relies on its field efficacy, but also on its compatibility with other pest control measures that may be employed during the cropping season. The effects of selected pesticides applied according to label rates onDactylaria higginsii, a biological control agent for purple nutsedge, were determined using mycelial growth on pesticide-amended potato dextrose agar (PDA) and conidial germination as indicators of pesticide sensitivity. Among the pesticides tested, the herbicides oxyfluorfen and sethoxydim and the fungicides fosetyl-Al and thiophanate methyl inhibitedD. higginsiimycelial growth and reduced or completely inhibited conidial germination; the herbicide diuron, the fungicides metalaxyl and copper hydroxide, and the insecticide cyromazine reduced mycelial growth but did not reduce conidial germination. The miticide dicofol reduced mycelial growth and completely inhibited conidial germination while the herbicide imazapyr had no adverse effect on either the mycelial growth or conidial germination ofD. higginsii.
The possibility of using the fungusBipolaris saccharias a bioherbicide to suppress cogongrass and to allow the establishment of bahiagrass in cogongrass–bahiagrass mixed plantings was investigated under greenhouse conditions. The bioherbicide was prepared by mixingB. saccharispore suspension containing 105spores ml−1with an oil emulsion composed of 16% horticultural oil plus 10% light mineral oil and 74% sterile water. The bioherbicide caused severe foliar blight in cogongrass and slight phytotoxic damage on bahiagrass. In the first experiment, the bioherbicide reduced cogongrass biomass without affecting bahiagrass biomass. In the second experiment, the bioherbicide caused a 64% reduction in fresh weight, a 74% reduction in the number of rhizomes, and a 47% reduction in the height of cogongrass. The latter experiment also showed an increase in bahiagrass fresh weight in the presence of cogongrass when the bioherbicide was applied. This study indicates the potential of combining bioherbicide application with competition from a desirable grass species as a strategy for the integrated management of cogongrass.
Based on field surveys and evaluations in the greenhouse, two fungal pathogens, Bipolaris sacchari and Drechslera gigantea, were identified as promising biological control agents for cogongrass. In greenhouse trials, the application of spore suspensions of these fungi containing 105 spores/ ml in a 1% aqueous gelatin solution to cogongrass plants and their incubation in a dew chamber for 24 h resulted in disease symptoms that ranged from discrete lesions to complete blighting of leaves. Disease severity (DS), based on a rating scale for southern corn leaf blight with 50% as the maximum DS rating, ranged from 42 to 49%. In greenhouse experiments, the application of spores formulated in an oil emulsion composed of 4% horticultural oil, 10% light mineral oil, and 86% water resulted in higher levels of foliar blight with no dew exposure or shorter periods of dew exposure (4, 8, or 12 h) as compared with the application of spores formulated in 1% gelatin. Field trials demonstrated that under natural conditions, the application of a spore and an oil emulsion mixture containing 105 spores/ml of either fungus could cause foliar injury from disease and phytotoxic damage from the oil emulsion. Depending on the application rate (100 or 200 ml/plot), the level of foliar injury ranged from 40 to 86% (based on a field assessment scale of 0 to 100% foliar injury) with B. sacchari as the test fungus. However, with D. gigantea as the test fungus, foliar injury ranged from 9 to 70% depending on the application volume and the oil concentration used. Although B. sacchari and D. gigantea were capable of causing foliar blight on cogongrass, the regenerative ability of the rhizomes allowed cogongrass to recover from the damage caused by these fungi. However, the level of injury caused by these fungi is sufficient to support their use as components for integrated management of cogongrass.
Phomopsis amaranthicola, a newly described species discovered in Florida, is under development as a biological control agent for weeds belonging to the genus Amaranthus. Host-range testing was performed on the fungus, using the centrifugal phylogenetic scheme, with Amaranthus hybridus as the focal plant. Forty-five accessions of 21 species in the genus Amaranthus were tested for susceptibility to infection by this fungus. Fifty-six plant species outside the genus Amaranthus were also tested. The latter included crops in which the fungus might be used as a bioherbicide, members of genera that are closely related to Amaranthus , and selections of species that have been reported as hosts of other species of the genera Phomopsis or Diaporthe . Phomopsis amaranthicola did not infect any of the plants from outside the genus Amaranthus but was highly pathogenic to several species in the genus Amaranthus. All Amaranthus species tested were infected to varying degrees by P. amaranthicola ; the resulting mortality levels were also variable. Thus, P. amaranthicola appears to be host-specific to the members of the genus Amaranthus . The generic level of specificity of this pathogen renders it not only a safe bioherbicide agent but also one that could be used against several weedy Amaranthus species.
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