Endophytic Fungal Infection of Meadow Fescue in the Driftless Area of the Upper Mississippi River Valley: Impacts on Agronomic Fitness

Meadow fescue, Schedonorus pratensis (Huds.) P. Beauv., has recently been discovered as a common but previously unknown pasture grass in the Driftless Area of the upper Mississippi River Valley, USA. Preliminary data also indicated that many meadow fescue pastures were infected with an endophytic fungus, Epichloë uncinata (W. Gams, Petrini & D. Schmidt) Leuchtm. & Schardl. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine if the endophyte impacts agronomic fitness of the host meadow fescue. Meadow fescue plants from eight farm sites were intensively sampled, and endophyte infection levels were determined to range from 82 to 95%. Paired endophyte-infected (E+) and endophyte-free (E−) meadow fescue subpopulations from each collection site were then created, and were subsequently compared for greenhouse and field drought tolerance, forage mass, and persistence under frequent defoliation. There was no impact of the endophyte under a wide range of drought conditions for either greenhouse or field studies. Furthermore, there was a small forage-mass-enhancement effect in the E+ subpopulation for only one of the eight collection sites. The only consistent effect was an average of 9% increased ground cover (persistence) in endophyte-infected meadow fescue under frequent defoliation. As per other studies, enhanced root growth, fungal-disease resistance, and/or reduced insect feeding could be mechanisms for this increased survivorship. We conclude that the meadow fescue endophytes present in the Driftless Area do not help protect their host from drought or provide any consistent forage-growth enhancement; however, we found evidence that the endophyte provides some protection against frequent defoliation at low residual sward heights.