This is the first extensive investigation that quantifies natural
mycoparasitic relationships in the phyllosphere. The
presence of Ampelomyces spp. was quantified in naturally occurring
powdery mildew fungi collected in Hungary
and Romania between 1992 and 1995. A total of 570 samples was studied representing
27 species (nine genera) of
the Erysiphaceae infecting 41 host plant genera. The incidence of Ampelomyces
spp., determined as the proportion
of samples in which intracellular pycnidia were present, varied between
4.3 and 68.8% in the host fungal genera
studied. The intensity of mycoparasitism, defined as a percentage of the
powdery mildew mycelia parasitized by
Ampelomyces, ranged from 0.15 to 65%. Both the incidence and the
intensity of mycoparasitism showed the lowest
values in Blumeria graminis (DC.) Speer collected from wild and
cultivated monocotyledons, while the highest
values were found in Arthrocladiella mougeotii (Lév.) Vassilkov
infecting Lycium halimifolium Mill. plants. The
paper reports for the first time the natural occurrence of Ampelomyces
in Sawadaea bicornis (Wallr.[ratio ]Fr.) Homma
on maple.