The presence of an endophytic fungus, Acremonium coenophialum, in tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) deterred aphid feeding by Rhopalosiphum padi and Schizaphis graminum. Both species of aphid were unable to survive when confined to endophyte-infected tall fescue plants. Feeding deterrents and toxic factors to R. padi and Oncopeltus fasciatus, large milkweed bug, were primarily associated with a...

Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) is the most important cultivated pasture grass in the USA, occupying over 35 million acres. It is a native of Europe but is of minor importance there. It is not known when tall fescue was first introduced into the USA but it was being tested in several states by the late 1800s (Buckner et al., 1979). However, tall fescue usage remained low until release of the ...

Many grasses have mutualistic symbioses with fungi of the family Clavicipitaceae. Tall fescue can harbor the obligate endophyte, Neotyphodium coenophialum that is asexually propagated and transmitted via host seeds. Total RNA was isolated from pseudostems of known endophyte-infected (E+) and endophyte-free (E-) plants and tested in triplicate on the Affymetrix Wheat Genome Array GeneChip and Ba...

Abscisic acid (ABA) is known to play roles in regulating plant tolerance to various abiotic stresses, but whether ABA's effects on heat tolerance are associated with its regulation of heat stress transcription factors (HSFs) and heat shock proteins (HSPs) is not well documented. The objective of this study was to determine whether improved heat tolerance of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schr...

Tall fescue is widely used in temperate regions throughout the world as a dominant forage grass as well as a turfgrass, in pastoral and turf industry. However, the utilization of tall fescue was limited because of its leaf roughness, poor regeneration ability and poor stress resistance. New cultivars were desirable in modern pastoral industries exceed the potential of existing cultivars. Theref...

Tall fescue [Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh; Schedonorus phoenix (Scop.) Holub] is the primary cool season perennial grass in the eastern U.S. Most tall fescue contains an endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum), which produces ergot alkaloids that cause vasoconstriction and could restrict blood flow to the fetus in pregnant animals. The objective of this study was to examine fetal growth ...

To address the problem of fescue toxicosis in grazing cattle, non-toxic endophytes from New Zealand have been used to infect tall fescue varieties grown in Georgia. The objectives of the present study were to determine animal performance and evaluate toxicosis in stocker steers and heifers grazing non-toxic endophyte-infected (AR542), endophyte-free (EF), or wild-type endophyte-infected (EI) Je...

ANGUSJournal ■ August 2008 I is hard enough breeding heifers under the best of conditions, so when heat stress and endophyte-infected fescue are added to the mix, reproductive systems, pregnancy rates and the long-term bottom line are all bound to suffer. Dave Patterson, University of Missouri Extension researcher and reproductive specialist, notes that reproductive performance is the most impo...

Consumption of ergot alkaloid-containing tall fescue grass impairs several metabolic, vascular, growth, and reproductive processes in cattle, collectively producing a clinical condition known as "fescue toxicosis." Despite the apparent association between pituitary function and these physiological parameters, including depressed serum prolactin; no reports describe the effect of fescue toxicosi...

Phytoremediation is a biological method to improve soils contaminated with heavy metals. The objective of the present research was to study the capability of Vetiver grass and Tall Fescue in refining and reducing pollution of Cd, Cu and Zn from contaminated soils. The research was implemented in greenhouse during two separate tests (Vetiver grass and Tall Fescue) in a completely randomized desi...