The survival of Cercosporella herpotrichoides Fron in wheat straw

SUMMARY The saprophytic survival of Cercosporella herpotrichoides in naturally infected and artificially infested wheat straw has been investigated. Test pieces of straw containing the fungus were buried both in unsterilized soil in laboratory containers and in the field. Survival of the fungus was assessed by its ability to produce viable and infective spores on the surface of the recovered pieces of straw when incubated in a moist chamber. It was found that C. herpotrichoides survived, virtually undiminished in vitality, in straw buried for 3 years, the maximum period tested. Straw colonized by C. herpotrichoides was observed to decompose more slowly in the soil than did uninoculated straw; this suggests a mechanism whereby C. herpotrichoides may be enabled to survive for such long periods in the presence of competitors.