Abstract
The feasibility of introducing Neotyphodium uncinatum, an endophytic fungus of meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis) that is non-toxic to grazing livestock, into Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) was investigated in inoculation studies involving eight endophyte-free cultivars and one breeding line. Seedlings were inoculated with an isolate of this endophyte and examined for infection after two months. Rates of N. uncinatum infected plants varied from 26 to 63% with the five diploid cultivars, 15 to 17% with the three tetraploid cultivars, while 57% of the seedlings of the diploid breeding line were infected. Transmission of this endophyte in open-pollinated seeds from infected plants was examined. The percentage of infected seeds from individual plants ranged from 0 to 100%, even among plants of the same cultivar. Tetraploid cultivars tended to be difficult to infect by seedling inoculation and to be poorly seed transmitted.
