Preliminary research on pathogenic fungi colonizing Anthoxanthum aristatum Boiss

Pathogenic fungi were sampled in western Poland from cereals (Triticosecale, Secale cereale L.) and from the accompanying weed Anthoxanthum aristatum Boiss. – an invasive species for the flora of Poland, and Western and Central Europe. The most numerous pathogens were Fusarium spp., with 122 isolates obtained from A. aristatum and 98 from cereals, and Alternaria spp., with 124 isolates obtained from A. aristatum and 149 from cereals. In the tested cereals and weed, many other pathogen cultures were also detected (Cladosporium sp., Epicoccum sp., Helminthosporium sp., Rhizoctonia sp., Stemphylium sp., Ulocladium sp.). A. aristatum, as an invasive weed species, inhabited by a large number of pathogenic fungi, is a potential vector for fungal spread, especially in infertile crop fields, and also in anthropogenic habitats which A. aristatum has successfully colonised.