The distribution of opaline silica bodies in the leaf sheaths of two perennial ryegrass cultivars differing in their susceptibility to attack by dipterous stem-borers

Leaf sheaths of two cultivars of perennial ryegrass were prepared by chemical oxidation so that the silica bodies in the tissues could be studied. The cultivar Fortis, which is relatively resistant to stem-borer attack, contained many-intercostal silica bodies in the leaf sheath but the more susceptible cultivar S24 contained few. If the pattern of silica bodies affects levels of stem-borer infestation, it may be possible to breed for this characteristic.