Is Fusarium torulosum the causal agent of kikuyu poisoning in Australia?

M. J. Ryley; C. A. Bourke; E. C. Y. Liew; B. A. Summerell

doi:10.1071/DN07053

RESEARCH ARTICLE

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Is Fusarium torulosum the causal agent of kikuyu poisoning in Australia?

M. J. Ryley ^A ^D , C. A. Bourke ^B , E. C. Y. Liew ^C and B. A. Summerell ^C

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, PO Box 102, Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia.

^B New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Orange Agricultural Institute, Forest Road, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia.

^C Botanic Gardens Trust, Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia.

^D Corresponding author. Email: malcolm.ryley@dpi.qld.gov.au

Australasian Plant Disease Notes 2(1) 133-135 https://doi.org/10.1071/DN07053
Submitted: 18 June 2007 Accepted: 29 August 2007 Published: 19 September 2007

Abstract

Fusarium torulosum was isolated consistently from the leaves of kikuyu plants collected from a pasture near Maitland, NSW, on which grazing cattle had been affected by kikuyu poisoning. This fungus is known to produce the toxins wortmannin and butenolide, both of which can produce clinical signs and pathological changes similar to those exhibited by cattle with kikuyu poisoning. The available evidence suggests that F. torulosum might be the casual agent of kikuyu poisoning in Australia.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Digby Rayward, NSW DPI District Veterinarian, Maitland NSW for the collection and forwarding of the kikuyu sample.

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