GS04; Graden Company, Victoria, Australia). After all debris was removed, the area was seeded at 390 kg·ha −1 on a Garrison gravelly silt loam (fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, calcareous, hyperthermic, Typic, Torrifluvent). Plots were fertilized at
cause of premature tree death in the southeastern United States ( Miller, 1994 ). The survival of A. tabescens on root debris in the soil frequently prevents the establishment of new orchards in previously infested sites and managing Armillaria is
tissue samples (≈5 mg) were immersed in nuclei extraction buffer (Partec, Munster, Germany) and macerated with a razor blade to release nuclei. The suspension was incubated for 5 min and then passed through 20-μm nylon mesh to remove debris. The nuclei in
). Inoculated and noninoculated plants were grown for 2 months. Next, an aliquot of the root was taken with a core sampler (23 mm diameter and 110 mm length) from 26 plants of each treatment. Roots were washed with tap water to remove soil debris and then
two layers of cheesecloth to remove any culture debris, and then spores were counted with a hemocytometer. To prepare inoculum, a mixture of conidia collected from plates of the 10 isolates was used to inoculate detached stems from B. sempervirens
applied via drip lines at 7.84 kg·ha −1 N per week. Pest and weed control and irrigation schedules followed standard cultural practices recommended for North Carolina ( Poling et al., 2005 ). Leaf debris from the base of the plants was manually removed
fungus can persist in soil and plant debris for decades with repeated infection each year. The close plant spacing and overhead irrigation used in most annual plantings create highly favorable environmental conditions for sporulation and infection by S
width was also measured. Shoots and roots were separated and dried for 96 h at 65 °C. Thatch was separated from green living tissue by hand selection of aboveground dead tissues and organic debris and dried for 96 h at 65 °C. Dried samples were weighed
in Manhattan, KS ( Okeyo et al., 2011 ). Stolons were rinsed under tap water to remove soil debris, surface-sterilized with 0.5% NaOCl for 3 min, and finally rinsed in two changes of distilled water. Prepared stolons were subsequently propagated in
infected leaves containing white rust pustules were cut into small pieces and were dispersed in deionized water and filtered through medical gauze to remove any plant debris. The concentration of the pathogenic spore suspension was then adjusted using a