A capability to determine the availability of nitrogen in organic amendments is necessary to ensure that such materials will provide sufficient nitrogen to the growing crop and cause minimal environmental degradation. Greenhouse bioassays were used to evaluate N availability of organic by-products, including several employed in the field study of this research. Tall fescue was grown in greenhou...

Phosphorus (P) runoff from fields fertilized with swine (Sus scrofa) manure has been implicated in eutrophication. Dietary modification and manure amendments have been identified as best management practices to reduce P runoff from manure. This study was conducted to compare the effects of dietary modification and aluminum chloride (AlCl3) manure amendments on reducing P in swine manure and run...

• Climate change (altered CO(2) , warming, and precipitation) may affect plant-microbial interactions, such as the Lolium arundinaceum-Neotyphodium coenophialum symbiosis, to alter future ecosystem structure and function. • To assess this possibility, tall fescue tillers were collected from an existing climate manipulation experiment in a constructed old-field community in Tennessee (USA). Endo...

Epichloë endophytes are common symbionts living asymptomatically in pooid grasses and may provide chemical defences against herbivorous insects. While the mechanisms underlying these fungal defences have been well studied, it remains unknown whether endophyte presence affects the host's own defences. We addressed this issue by examining variation in the impact of Epichloë on constitutive and he...

Ruminal solubility of N, K, P, Ca, Mg and S were measured for three forages at six growth stages. The three forages were Kentucky 31 tall fescue (TF), Kenhy fescue (KN) and a red clover-tall fescue mixture (RC). Disappearance parameters were measured by means of the dacron bag technique using cannulated steers. Exposures were for 48 h; maximum extent of disappearance for all elements occurred b...

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...

Agricultural practices often contribute to the transport of solutes into groundwater; thus, low-cost strategies that extract nutrients from groundwater are essential address water pollution. This study evaluated effects agroforestry (tree + grass; AB [cottonwood {Populus deltoides Bortr. ex Marsh.}]) and grass buffers (GB; [tall fescue Schedonorus phoenix (Scop.) Holub, Red clover {Trifolium pr...

Fine fescue taxa differ in their field establishment rate but it is unclear if this due to differences germination or seedling growth rate. Research at Purdue University quantified seed morphology, vigor, and vigor among 30 cultivars of fine (FF) (Festuca spp.). Strong creeping red (STCRF) rubra ssp. rubra), slender (SLCRF) (F. littoralis), Chewings commutata), hard brevipila), sheep ovina) wer...

Ergovaline is an ergot alkaloid produced by the endophyte Neotyphodium coenophialum (Morgan-Jones and Gams) found in tall fescue [Schedonorus arundinacea (Schreb.) Dumort.] and blamed for a multitude of livestock disorders. Ergovaline is known to be unstable and affected by many variables. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of sample handling and storage on the stability of...