Endophytes of perennial ryegrass and tall fescue

Summary

Endophytes are fungi that live between the plant cells of many forage grasses. Their presence within the plant is symptomless, living mostly near the base of the grass tiller and in the growing points, spreading upwards as the seed heads develop in reproductive tillers. Smaller amounts of endophyte can be found in leaf blades and sometimes trace amounts can be found in roots. This Primefact discusses: disadvantages of cultivars with wild endophyte alkaloids produced by endophytes endophyte types life history endophyte in tall fescue endophyte in perennial ryegrasses seed infection seed storage managing endophytes on farms sowing select or nil endophyte lines testing forage for lolitrem B and ergovaline.