Location: Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research
Project Number: 8044-22000-047-017-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 15, 2024
End Date: Jul 14, 2025
Objective:
The invasive annual grass Ventenata dubia degrades pasture, crop, and rangeland value while harming native ecosystems and exacerbating wildfire-mediated environmental change. An increasing number of agricultural production systems and natural resources are at risk due to the ongoing ventenata invasion. New management tools are needed to mitigate the impact of this weed. The objectives of this research project are to (1) Identify populations of ventenata in the native range where pathogens may occur, (2) Recover microbial plant pathogens infecting ventenata for preservation and identification, and (3) Determine the potential biological control value of ventenata pathogens. Discovery of these microbes will support ongoing research on the efficacy and environmental safety of plant pathogens proposed for use as weed biological control agents.
Approach:
Field surveys will be conducted at different time points in locations known to have Ventenata populations based on existing literature reviews and expert knowledge. The Cooperator will search these locations for diseased host tissue and plant pathogens that can be collected and sent to ARS for (i) identification by morphological and molecular characteristics, (ii) preservation through cryogenic storage, and (iii) preliminary evaluation of biological control activity against ventenata in containment facilities.
