Mycoherbicide
A mycoherbicide is a herbicide based on a fungus. As a biological agent, these "mycoherbicides... work by producing toxic compounds that dissolve the cell walls of targeted plants". Unlike traditional herbicides, mycoherbicides can reproduce themselves and linger in the soil for many years to destroy replanted crops.
These include:Alter naria destruens, to control dodderChondrostereum purpureum, to control Prunus & Populus spp. in parts of Europe and CanadaColletotrichum acutatum, to control Silky hakeaColletotrichum gloeosporioides f. sp. aeschynomene: isolated from Northern joint vetch for rice & soybeansCylindrobasidium laeve to control Acacia mearnsii in S. AfricaPhytophthora palmivora: isolated from strangler vine Puccinia canaliculate, to control Yellow nutsedgePuccinia thalaspeos, to control Dyer's woadSclerotinia minor, to control Dandelion
In the United States House of Representatives, the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006 passed with the inclusion of language to initiate research into the use of mycoherbicides against drug crops in foreign countries. In particular, the U.S. is considering using Fusarium oxysporum as a mycoherbicide against coca plants in Colombia. The United States Senate is currently drafting its own version of the bill.