[APWG] Microstegium question

[ForestRuss at aol.com]

APWG:
 
I am a forester in central WV and have been involved with fighting the  
spread of Japanese stiltgrass for most of the past decade.
 
Everything I have read about stiltgrass indicates that there are no known  
diseases of  the plant that have an impact on its health or spread.
 
A couple of years ago I started to notice that in some places the  
stiltgrass was dying.
 
This year in some portions of WV there is a massive die off of stiltgrass  
with 100% of some populations dying.  My thought it that it could be a  
virus of some sort.
 
I have taken a tremendous amount of photos of the changes in the stiltgrass 
 plants and below are a few images.  When the plants die the thatch is  
different and the stiltgrass is decomposing much more rapidly than when they go 
 their full life cycle.  There are many areas where there will be no seed  
produced this year.
 
Samples of the grass were taken to WVU in Morgantown, WV last week to see  
what was killing the plants.
 
Below are a couple of photos.
 
Thank you for your thoughts or comments.
 
Russ Richardson, Certified Forester
Crummies Creek Tree Farm
PO Box 207
Arnoldsburg, WV 25234
 

Spots on the leaves is the first sign that the plants are sick.
 

It moves pretty quickly once lesions show up on the leaves.

Most of the straw on the ground is stiltgrass that died already.

The tan area in the center of the photo is dead and dying stiltgrass.

The last plants in an area that was almost waist high a month  ago.
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