Nematode Reproduction on Endophyte-Infected and Endophyte-Free Tall Fescue. C. A. Kimmons, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville 37901-1071. K. D. Gwinn, and E. C. Bernard. Assistant Professor, and Professor, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, Knoxville 37901-1071. Plant Dis. 74:757-761. Accepted for publication 23 January 1990. Copyright 1990 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-74-0757.

Infection of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) with the endophytic fungus Acremonium coenophialum has been shown to reduce nematode populations in field soils. We evaluated reproduction of three plant-parasitic nematodes on endophyte-infected (E+) and endophyte-free (E–) tall fescue in greenhouse tests. E+ plants had lower numbers of Pratylenchus scribneri, a migratory endoparasite, than E– plants, and roots of E+ plants had fewer egg masses and eggs of Meloidogyne marylandi, a sedentary endoparasite. However, levels of Helicotylenchus pseudorobustus, an ectoparasitic nematode, were not significantly different in pots of E+ and E– tall fescue. Reproduction of an undescribed Meloidogyne sp. on white clover was not affected by the presence of E+ or E– fescue.

Keyword(s): Poaceae.