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An Investigation of the Fungus, Balansia Cyperi Edg., and Its Effect on Purple Nutsedge, Cyperus Rotundus L

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An Investigation of the Fungus, Balansia Cyperi Edg., and Its Effect on Purple Nutsedge, Cyperus Rotundus L Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1988 An Investigation of the Fungus, Balansia Cyperi Edg., and Its Effect on Purple Nutsedge, Cyperus Rotundus L. Mary Elizabeth Stovall Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Stovall, Mary Elizabeth, "An Investigation of the Fungus, Balansia Cyperi Edg., and Its Effect on Purple Nutsedge, Cyperus Rotundus L." (1988). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 4681. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/4681 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS The most advanced technology has been used to photo­ graph and reproduce this manuscript from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. 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University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Order Number 8917860 An investigation of the fungus,Balansia cyperi Edg., and its effect on purple nutsedge, Cyperus rotundus L. Stovall, Mary Elizabeth, Ph.D. The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical Col., 1988 UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 An investigation of the fungus, Balansia cyperi Edg., and its effect cn purple nutsedge, Cvperus rotundus L. A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the retyiirements far the degree of Doctor of Bhiloscphy in Hie Department of Botany hY Mary Elizabeth Stovall. B.A., Southeastern Louisiana university, 1971 M.S., Louisiana State University, 1977 Decenher, 1988 ACKNCHIEDGEMENES The writer wishes to express her sincere appreciation to Drs. Meredith Blackwell and Keith Clay for their guidance, assistance, and encouragement in conducting this study. She also wishes to thank Drs. Shirley Tucker, Tcm Moore, Jim Grace, NOrimoto Murai, and Hector Flores for serving on the various doctoral ocmaittees an! reviewing this manuscript. The writer wishes to thank the Louisiana State University Feeds and Fertilizer laboratory for leaf tissue analysis, Drs. Niklaus Fischer and Felix Parodi for their direction in preparing leaf and mycelial tissue extracts, and Drs. Milton C. Rush, John P. Jones, and Lowell L. Black for their help in identifying fungi as well as suggesting techniques to be used in the fungal inhibition tests. She also would like to thank Drs. Dorothy Pashley and Sharon Quiseriberry, and Mr. Tad Hardy for their assistance in designing the insect studies, supplying the fall amyworms, and helping throughout the feeding tests. Gratitude is also expressed to Ms. Riilly Tsaraboulidou for help in all areas of data collection, Drs. Leon Standifer and John Baker, Mr. Tad Hardy, and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments on the preliminary manuscript, and Mrs. Karen Pilgrim, Mrs. Jean Troendle, Mrs. Patti Leggett, and Mrs. Lois McDonald for typing the manuscript. Finally, the writer wishes to express her special appreciation to her husband, John W. Lindner, and her daughter, Megan Friday Auer, for their constant help, encouragement, and understanding throughout these past four years. It is to them that she dedicates this dissertation. ii TABEE o f octroaras PAGE Acknowledgements ii List of tables iv List of figures vi Abstract vii Chapter l. Introduction. 1 Chapter 2. TWo forms of Balansia cyperi. 27 Chapter 3. The effect of purple nutsedge infected with Balansia cyperi on the feeding behavior and development of the fall armyworm. 58 Chapter 4. Fungitoxic effects of Balansia cyperi and the leaves of purple nutsedge infected with Balansia cyperi. 87 Chapter 5. The effect of the fungus, Balansia cyperi. on growth and reproduction of purple nutsedge, Cvperus rotundus. 122 Chapter 6. Summary and conclusions. 150 Vitae 157 in U S F OP 12UBLES PAGE TABLE CHAPTER 2 X. Colony characteristics of isolates of B. cyperi on several solid media. 48 2. Conidia and vegetative hyphae dimensions of isolates of B. cyperi on 1/2 CMA. 49 3. Oonidia production by isolates of B. cyperi on 1/2 CMA in the dark. 50 4. Enzyme production on solid media. 51 5. Inoculation treatments of C. rotundus with one isolate of B. cyperi from C. rotundus. 52 6. Success of infection of sprouted tubers of C. rotundus inoculated by needle injection into rhizcmes with four isolates of B. cyperi. 53 CHAPTER 3 1. Effect of diet on the development of the EAW fed leaves from infected and uninfected purple nutsedge. 78 2. Neonate FAW preference and feeding rating for leaves from infected and uninfected purple nutsedge. 79 3. Leaf analysis of infected and uninfected purple nutsedge. 80 CHAPTER 4 1. Endophytic and epiphytic fungi of purple nutsedge infected with B. cyperi and free from infection with B. cyperi. 113 2. Inhibition of growth of selected fungi by B. cyperi. 114 3. Growth responses of fungi to crude extracts of mycelium and culture medium of B. cyperi. 115 iv PAGE TABLE 4. Determination of crude extract test solutions for bioassay. 116 5. Completely randomized design analysis of variance data (variable E/C). 117 CHAPTER 5 1. Analysis of variance of tuber weights, for two years. 138 2. Tuber weights, percent sprouting, and days to sprouting by infection status and population, for two years. 139 3. G-tests of independence for tuber sprouting differences, for two years. 140 4. Analysis of covariance of time to sprouting, for two years. 141 5. Analysis of covariance of tiller and inflorescence number at two times for 1985 experiment, once for 1986 experiment. 142 6. Tiller number and inflorescence number by infection status and population, for two years. 143 7. Analysis of covariance of 1986 harvest data at week 20. 144 8. Results of harvest of 1986 plants at week 20 by infection status and population. 145 V M S T OF FIGURES PAGE FIGURE CHAPTER 2 1. Balansia cyperi. Oonidia and oonidiophores. 46 2. Grcwth-tenperature relationships of isolates of B. cyperi grown on 1/2 CMA in the dark. 47 CHAPTER 3 1. Distribution of 10 day weights (mg) for FAW larvae fed leaves from infected and uninfected purple nutsedge. 76 2. Distribution of length of larval period in days for FAW larvae fed leaves from infected and uninfected purple nutsedge. 77 CHAPTER 4 1. A general procedure for the extraction of B. cyperi culture medium filtrate and fractionation into different classes of crude extracts according to polarity* 108 2. A general procedure for the extraction of C. rotundus leaves and mycelium of B. cvoeri and fractionation into different classes of crude extracts according to polarity. 109 3. Growth inhibition of test fungi when grown in the presence of crude hexane extracts of B. cyperi- infected and uninfected C. rotundus leaves. 110 4. Growth inhibition of test fungi when grown in the presence of crude chloroform extracts of B. cvperi- infected and uninfected C. rotundus leaves. 111 5. Growth inhibition of test fungi when grown in the presence of crude ethyl ether extracts of B. cyperi- infected and uninfected C. rotundus leaves. 112 vi ABSTRACT This study was designed to investigate host specificity of the fungus Balansia cvoeri Edg. on Cvperus rotundus L. (purple nutsedge) and to determine the effect of fungus presence on the biology and ecology of the sedge. Isolates of epiphytic Balansias from C. rotundus and C. virens had similar cultural characters, conidium morphology, and extracellular enzyme activity in artificial culture. However, B. cvoeri from C. rotundus had a faster growth rate, greater conidium production, and higher temperature optimum than did the isolate from C. virens. Artificial infection of C. rotundus by B. cvperi from C. rotundus was far more successful than infection by the isolate from C. virens. These results suggest that host specificity may exist. Evidence obtained in this study indicates that purple nutsedge gains three selective advantages from fungus infection. Non-choice and preference feeding experiments conducted in the laboratory showed that larval weight and to a lesser extent larval growth rate were significantly reduced when the fall armyworm was fed leaves from B. cvperi-infected purple nutsedge as compared to uninfected leaves; larvae also preferred uninfected leaves. Therefore one advantage is reduced herbivory on uninfected plants.
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