Johnsongrass [Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.] is one of the most noxious weeds distributed around the world. Due to its rapid growth, wide dissemination, seeds that can germinate after years in the soil, and ability to spread via rhizomes, S. halepense is difficult to control. From a perspective of plant pathology, S. halepense is also a potential reservoir of pathogens that can eventually jump to other crops, especially corn (Zea mays L.) and sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]. As one of the most problematic weeds, S. halepense and its diseases can provide useful information concerning its role in diseases of agronomically important crops. An alternative consideration is that S. halepense may provide a source of genes for resistance to pathogens. While some studies have verified that pathogens isolated from S. halepense actually cause disease on host crops through cross inoculation, similarity of disease symptoms and pathogen morphology have been used for identity of the disease agent in most studies. Availability of DNA sequence information has greatly altered and improved pathogen identification, leading to significant changes in phylogenetic assignments. Reclassification of pathogens, especially fungi, raises new questions concerning the role of S. halepense as a disease reservoir. Our goals in this review are to pinpoint, where possible, diseases for which S. halepense acts as a significant pathogen reservoir and to point out problem areas where further research is needed.

The effects of five soil fungi, endemic to the western United States, were evaluated for disease reaction, root dry weights and shoot dry weights on five grass species. The undesired grass, downy brome or medusahead, the perennial forage species, squirreltail or western wheatgrass, and winter wheat were susceptible to take-all. Downy brome, medusahead, squirreltail, and winter wheat were susceptible to crown rot. The desired grasses, squirreltail, western wheatgrass, and winter wheat, were susceptible to barepatch. Crown rot is adapted to dry soils and may be a potential biological control on downy brome and medusahead in the arid environment of the western U.S.

Tropical signalgrass (TSG) causes serious problems for sod production and turf maintenance in Florida. Other grasses such as large crabgrass (CG), smutgrass (SG), thin paspalum (TP), and torpedograss (TG) can be problematic as well. Several emulsion formulations composed of mycelium or mycelium-free culture filtrate (or both) of the fungal pathogen Drechslera gigantea (DG) and Sunspray 6E oil were tested with or without ammonium sulfate or pelargonic acid (n-nonanoic acid; a natural product registered as a biorational herbicide) in greenhouse and field trials. A 30% Sunspray 6E oil formulation containing DG mycelium (10 g), DG culture filtrate (70 ml), and 4.5 g of ammonium sulfate caused 88 to 100% injury on TSG, CG, SG, and TG in greenhouse trials. The injury resulted from disease as well as phytotoxicity of the culture filtrate, oil, and ammonium sulfate. An emulsion formulation composed of 30% Sunspray 6E oil and 70% DG culture filtrate amended with 2% (v/v) pelargonic acid killed SG 2 wk after application. DG formulations containing ammonium sulfate or pelargonic acid produced lower levels of injury when treated grasses were exposed to a 24-h dew period compared with those treated and not exposed to dew. Formulations containing DG mycelium, DG culture filtrate, and ammonium sulfate or pelargonic acid are effective and promising for control of weedy grasses. Further evaluations of these formulations under field conditions are justified.

An integrated pest management (IPM) program is a systems approach that requires an understanding of the overall agroecosystem. The interaction between different pest categories (weeds, insects, pathogens, nematodes), as well as their management practices, should be examined, understood, and taken into consideration in the design of IPM systems. Several studies have shown that plant pathogens are affected by other pests and their management practices. Herbicide application has often been cited as an example of a management practice that affects plant pathogens and disease development in various cropping systems. The activity of herbicides can extend beyond their target organisms and inhibit spore germination or mycelial growth, alter the level of phytoalexins, or interfere with other physiological processes in plants. This paper summarizes the published reports on direct effects of herbicides on plant disease and provides insights for future research on this aspect. Examples are drawn from some common agricultural herbicides and adjuvants. The discussion on various findings on herbicide and crop diseases re-emphasizes the fact that pest management in agriculture requires a systems approach. Although it is difficult to come to a common consensus on the effect of these chemicals on crop diseases or pathogens, this paper provides an overview of several interactions between herbicides and crop diseases and pathogens in various cropping systems. Knowledge of such interactions can help in the design of IPM systems.

The atmosphere plays a key role in plant disease, but only recently has it become understood that atmospheric pollutants can influence the response of plants to attack by pests and pathogens. This paper reviews the evidence for this phenomenon, considering impacts of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and ozone, mainly on fungal pathogens and aphid pests. Field observations in polluted areas have indicated changes in abundance of pests and pathogens and in some cases a causal link has been demonstrated in controlled experiments. A major study is described in which consistent marked positive impacts of SO2 and NO2 have been shown on a range of British agricultural aphid pests, using four different approaches: fumigations, nitration studies, exposure along air pollution gradients and a nation-wide field survey. Ozone, in contrast, produces a more complex range of responses. These effects are apparently mediated via chemical changes in the plant. Fungal pathogens show both positive and negative responses to air pollutants. A study is described in which these opposite responses in two different fungal species were observed in a field SO2–fumigation system and confirmed in controlled laboratory fumigations. Models are presented to describe the complex pathways by which air pollutants could influence host plant performance via impacts on pests and pathogens.

Where one or a few tree species reach local high abundance, different ecological factors may variously facilitate or hinder their regeneration. Plant pathogens are thought to be one of those possible agents which drive intraspecific density-dependent mortality of tree seedlings in tropical forests. Experimental evidence for this is scarce, however. In an African rain forest at Korup, we manipulated the density of recently established seedlings (~5–8 wk old; low vs. high-density) of two dominant species of contrasting recruitment potential, and altered their exposure to pathogens using a broad-spectrum fungicide. Seedling mortality of the abundantly recruiting subcanopy tree Oubanguia alata was strongly density-dependent after 7 mo, yet fungicide-treated seedlings had slightly higher mortality than controls. By contrast, seedling mortality of the poorly recruiting large canopy-emergent tree Microberlinia bisulcata was unaffected by density or fungicide. Ectomycorrhizal colonization of M. bisulcata was not affected by density or fungicide either. For O. alata, adverse effects of fungicide on its vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizas may have offset any possible benefit of pathogen removal. We tentatively conclude that fungal pathogens are not a likely major cause of density dependence in O. alata, or of early post-establishment mortality in M. bisulcata. They do not explain the latter's currently very low recruitment rate at Korup.