VIEW ARTICLE

Overwintering Capacity of Ramulispora sorghi. Gary N. Odvody, Graduate Assistant, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln 68503; Larry D. Dunkle, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln 68503. Phytopathology 63:1530-1532. Accepted for publication 30 June 1973. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-63-1530.

Ramulispora sorghi, causal agent of sooty stripe of sorghum, overwintered in Nebraska. A method for isolating R. sorghi sclerotia from soil was developed which involved wet screening, ammonium sulfate flotation, and centrifugation on a 70% (w/v) sucrose shelf. This isolation method was used in studies of survival under natural and artificial conditions in the field to demonstrate that sclerotia were the primary structure for survival of R. sorghi. Sporodochia also were important for fungal survival when sorghum production practices allowed infected leaf residue to remain on and above the soil surface throughout the winter. When such cultural practices are employed, maintenance of the connection between the sporodochium within leaf tissue and sclerotium on the leaf surface may be important to the survival of both fungal structures.