Effects of fungal endophyte infection in the grass Festuca rubra on germination and growth of four legume species

Resumen del trabajo presentado en el 23th General Meeting of the European Grassland Federation, celebrado en Kiel (Alemania), del 29 de agosto al 2 de septiembre de 2010Red fescue (Festuca rubra) is a perennial grass present in a wide range of ecological conditions. It is also included in mixtures with other grasses and legumes for several purposes. The objective of this paper was to determine the effect of Festuca rubra plants, infected and non-infected by the endophyte Epichloë festucae, on the germination and seedling growth of four legume species. During three weeks, a greenhouse experiment was carried out with infected and non-infected plants of F. rubra, and four legume species: Trifolium pratense, Trifolium repens, Trifolium subterraneum and Lotus corniculatus. The emergence of the legumes was not affected by the presence of F. rubra plants. However, the length and biomass production of the four legumes was reduced in the presence of F. rubra plants. The decrease in shoot length was greater than that in root length. There was a significant effect of endophyte infection status of F. rubra plants on the root length and root biomass of legumes. The reduction in root length and root dry weight of legume seedlings was greater in the presence of infected plants than in the presence of non-infected plants.This research was founded by AGL2008-01159AGR project, from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology and FEDER