Invasive cheatgrass has taken over native desert ecosystems and worsened wildfires across the West. To reverse that trend, researchers are studying the potential of a seed-killing pathogen called the "Black Fingers of Death.”
Cheatgrass starts to sprout in rainy autumns like this one. But not all of the seeds wake up. Some carry over in the soil for the following year. Those dormant seeds can become prey to a sinister-looking fungus — the Black Fingers of Death.
“The Black Fingers of Death is a seed pathogen,” said Susan Meyer, research ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service. “Its usefulness is that it can kill seeds that haven’t germinated. There are no herbicides that can do that.”
Meyer wants to pair the Black Fingers of Death with another pathogen that kills germinated seeds. That could decimate cheatgrass, and make sure no carryover seeds pop up later.
One obstacle to the idea is that cheatgrass can develop resistance to the Black Fingers of Death. Meyer hopes to create a delivery system for the pathogen that overcomes this problem.
She said taking out cheatgrass can make room for ecologists to replant native species. Right now cheatgrass covers millions of acres in the West. It forms thick mats when it dies each summer, leading to bigger and more frequent wildfires.