Effect of Cottony Snow Mold on Mortality and Biomass of Calamagrostis canadensis under Controlled-Environment Conditions |
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Authors: | K I Mallett K A Schreiner D A Gaudet |
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Institution: | a Canadian Forest Service, Northern Forestry Centre, Natural Resources Canada, 5320 122 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6H 3S5;b Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2G2;c Lethbridge Research Station, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, T1J 4B1 |
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Abstract: | A low-temperature basidiomycete (LTB), the causal agent of cottony snow mold, was evaluated as a potential biological control agent for marsh reed grass (Calamagrostis canadensis Michx.] P. Beauv.), a native grass of the North American boreal forest. Marsh reed grass and 2-year-old white spruce trees (Picea glauca Moench] Voss) were inoculated with LTB and incubated for 12 weeks in a cold chamber to determine whether the fungus was pathogenic to these species. The fungus was not pathogenic to white spruce but was to marsh reed grass, causing 15% mortality and 64% reduction in dry weight of aboveground plant matter. In a second experiment, two clones of marsh reed grass were inoculated with an isolate of LTB and incubated for 8, 14, and 20 weeks in a cold chamber. Maximum response in the grass to the LTB treatment occurred after 20 weeks of incubation, with decreases of 97, 97, and 63%, respectively, in tiller number, dry weight of aboveground plant matter, and plant height. The LTB is a potential biological control agent of marsh reed grass. |
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Keywords: | bluejoint grass low-temperature basidiomycete mycoherbicide snow mold spruce Picea glauca |
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