A new phytotoxic sesquiterpenoid penta-2,4-dienoic acid, named pyrenophoric acid, was isolated from solid wheat seed culture of Pyrenophora semeniperda, a fungal pathogen proposed as a mycoherbicide for biocontrol of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and other annual bromes. These bromes are serious weeds in winter cereals and also on temperate semiarid rangelands. Pyrenophoric acid was characterize...

The recent invasion by Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed) has, like no other plant, raised the awareness of invasive plants in Europe. The main concerns regarding this plant are that it produces a large amount of highly allergenic pollen that causes high rates of sensitisation among humans, but also A. artemisiifolia is increasingly becoming a major weed in agriculture. Recently, chemical...

the potential mycoherbicide alternaria alternata was isolated from one lesion on a leaf of amaranthus retroflexus which had been inoculated with conidia of the fungus. the isolate was cultured on v-8 agar medium. hyphal tip isolates (hti) were derived from young germ tubes of single spores and cultured on a semidefined culture medium with a c:n ratio of 15:1. amplified fragment length polymorph...

Two new phytotoxic sesquiterpenoid acids, named pyrenophoric acids B and C, were isolated together with the related pyrenophoric and abscisic acids from solid Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass) seed culture of the seed pathogen Pyrenophora semeniperda. This fungus has been proposed as a mycoherbicide for biocontrol of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), a Eurasian annual grass that has become invasive in r...

We undertook an investigation to advance understanding of the host-range dynamics and biocontrol implications of Cochliobolus lunatus in the past decade. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L) farms were routinely surveyed for brown-to-black leaf spot disease caused by C. lunatus. A biphasic gene data set was assembled and databases were mined for reported hosts of C. lunatus in the last decade. The plac...

Crofton weed, Ageratina adenophora (Sprengel) R. King and H. Robinson, originally from Central America, was introduced into China in the 1940s. The weed spreads rapidly and is seriously damaging grasslands and hindering livestock production in southwestern China. To tackle the weed problem and allow the sustainable use of pastures, an integrated strategy, based on biological control and habitat...