Epichloë typhina

Epichloë • Hypocreales • Sordariomycetes • Ascomycota • fungi • plant diseases • pests-diseases-weeds

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Epichloë typhina symptoms on Poa sp. (click on image to enlarge it)
Author(s): Gerhard Koller
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Epichloë typhina (Pers.) Tul. & C.Tul. 1865

This fungus is widely distributed and infects Dactylis and other grasses, causing the orchardgrass choke disease. E. typhina is an endophytic fungus which grows around the emerging inflorescences and prevents (“chokes”) their development. As a result, infected plants usually do not produce seeds.

While the disease has little effect on the use of orchardgrass for forage, it has a drastic effect in fields planted for seed production. Yearly seed yield losses in the north-western region of North America have been estimated at $800,000 (Pfender and Alderman, 2006). The disease is also common in some parts of Europe. Management is difficult without re-establishing the seed field.