1 Citation
Approximately 40 tall fescue tillers were randomly collected and frozen from each of the 20 treatment plots.
Tillers were cut at 7.6 cm above ground level and tested for the presence of the Epichloe endophyte using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Tillers from each plot were sorted into 'infected' vs 'uninfected' groups, lyophilized, and ground through a 1mm screen using a Cyclotec 1093 mill.
Ground material from the endophyte infected tillers was analyzed for ergot and loline alkaloids in the lab of Lowell Bush at the University of Kentucky, Plant and Soil Sciences Dept.
For details on alkaloid analyses see: McCulley et al. Oct. 2014. Frontiers in Chemistry, Volume 2, Article 88 (www.frontiersin.org -- doi: 10.3389/fchem.2014.00088)