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Disease Note First Report of Acremonium typhinum as an Endophyte in American Beachgrass. P. M. Halisky, NJAES, Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903. J. F. White, Jr., NJAES, Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08903. Plant Dis. 75:537. Accepted for publication 15 January 1991. Copyright 1991 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-75-0537B. American beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata Fernald) is a
common sand-binding perennial plant growing on coastal sand dunes
in the northeastern United States. Systemic mycelium of Acremonium
typhinum Morgan-Jones & W. Gams was observed in and isolated
from culms and leaf sheaths of the American beachgrass cultivar Cape.
Stromata bearing conidia of A. typhinum were observed in up to
40% of the flowering heads of Cape American beachgrass. Neither
systemic mycelium nor stromata of this fungus have been reported
previously in Ammophila. Cape American beachgrass was registered
in 1974 (1) as an improved cultivar characterized by broad, flat leaves,
wide culms, and robust vegetative growth. It is possible that the
superior vegetative attributes of Cape, as compared with other
beachgrass cultivars, may be due to infection by this beneficial,
symbiotic endophyte, a phenomenon previously documented in
Acremonium-infected turf and forage grasses.
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