Differential Aggressiveness of Bipolaris microstegii and B. drechsleri on Japanese Stiltgrass

Abstract

Severe leaf blight of Japanese stiltgrass (JSG) fromBipolarisdisease, causing significant decline in population density at some locations, has been reported sporadically in the field. Even so, much of the JSG in the mid-Atlantic is not diseased. Six populations of JSG from the field, one that was severely diseased byB. microstegiiand the others “healthy,” were tested by artificial inoculation for susceptibility to bothB. microstegii(five isolates) andB. drechsleri(three isolates). Populations of JSG in this study differed in their response to the twoBipolarisspecies, but within species ofBipolaristhe plant responses were consistent. Plants from the diseased population of JSG from Frederick, MD, were very susceptible toB. microstegii, and plants from other populations from Maryland (three locations), Delaware, and Indiana were not. In contrast,B. drechslericaused moderate disease on plants from all accessions but one, and it was significantly less aggressive than wasB. microstegiion the susceptible accession of JSG. Results of a limited host range determination only withB. microstegiirevealed hypersensitive responses, and therefore high levels of resistance, in corn (four cultivars) and sorghum (three accessions). The native, sympatric grass deertongue was not diseased in these tests. Results reveal a distinct differential response among populations of JSG to disease fromB. microstegii, while in contrast,B. drechsleriis capable of causing disease on a broader range of JSG populations.