New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research abstracts
Morphological and physiological effects of water deficit and endophyte
infection on contrasting tall fescue cultivars
S. G. ASSUERO*
C. MATTHEW
P. D. KEMP
Institute of Natural Resources
Massey University
Private Bag 11222
Palmerston North, New Zealand
G. C. M. LATCH
D. J. BARKER
AgResearch
Private Bag 11008
Palmerston North, New Zealand
S. J. HASLETT
Statistics Research and Consultancy Centre
Massey University
Private Bag 11 222
Palmerston North, New Zealand
*Present address: Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Mar
del Plata, CC 276, 7620-Balcarce, Argentina.
Abstract Morphological and physiological responses to water
deficit of two tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) cultivars were compared
in a glasshouse experiment and the effect, on those responses, of artificial
infection of the tall fescue plants with two fungal endophyte (Neotyphodium
coenophialum) strains was evaluated. The cultivars were Maris Kasba (MK),
of Mediterranean origin, and El Palenque (EP), an Argentinian cultivar of
temperate origin. The endophyte strains AgResearch isolate (AR501) and the
Kentucky (KY31) wild type were compared with nil-endophyte controls. Leaf
growth rate of EP plants under water deficit was higher and leaf senescence
rate lower than for MK plants (P < 0.05). MK plants showed
a greater increase in the proportion of dead leaf tissue than EP plants as
water deficit increased (P < 0.05). Stomatal conductance
and lamina osmotic adjustment at low soil moisture were lower for MK than EP
(P < 0.05). Endophyte-infected plants had a lower dry
weight and tiller number, but a higher net growth rate during water deficit
treatments than endophyte-free plants (P < 0.05). A
significant cultivar x endophyte interaction (P < 0.05) was
observed for many variables studied. This implies that any new endophyte strain
should be evaluated in combination with the plant genotypes with which it is
likely to be associated in commercial practice. MK-KY31 and EP-AR501
associations appeared to tolerate short-term water deficit more effectively
than other associations studied. There was evidence that the two endophyte
strains studied had different physiological effects on their tall fescue host
plants.
Keywords fungal endophyte; Neotyphodium coenophialum;
Mediterranean; morphology; tall fescue; water deficit; water relations
New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 2000, Vol. 43: 49-61
0028-8233/00/4301-0049 $7.00/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand
2000
PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (1101K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)
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