A volumetric spore trap for sampling pastures

Abstract

When it was established that the fungus Sporidesmium bakeri Syd. can cause the disease of sheep known as facial eczema (Thornton and Percival 1959), the need arose for a method of estimating the amount of this fungus in a pasture. The rapid sporulation of S. bakeri and the case with which the conidia are detached suggested that assessment of spore numbers should give a fair measure of the abundance of the fungus.