• Asian Journal of Turfgrass Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.177-183
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• 2011

The susceptibility of cultivars of three bentgrass species (creeping, colonial, and velvet bentgrass) was evaluated on detached leaves assays with pink snow mold 9 isolates caused by Microdochum nivale in Petri dishes and whole plants under controlled conditions. The pink snow mold isolates obtained from infected turfgrasses on golf courses in Wisconsin were tested on response of fungicides and temperature. Detached leaf assay and susceptibility of bentgrass cultivars were evaluated with potted adult seeding during 80 days. Nine isolates were susceptible to two fungicides and were significantly different among isolates. Mycelial growth was varied in response of temperatures among isolates. There were significant differences in development and colonization of the fungus on detached leaf assay among bentgrass species include culvitars. There were significant differences on whole plants in disease severities among the three bentgrass species, particularly between tetraploids (creeping and colonial) and diploid (velvet) species, and among cultivars within each species, indicating that there are varying levels of susceptibility in species and cultivars to M. nivale. This study could be applied to evaluate the susceptibility of bentgrass to pink snow mold and also to predict a prospective evaluation of bentgrass cultivars to pink snow mold in fields in a breeding program.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.232-341
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• 2011

Pink snow mold, caused by Microdochium nivale, is a major disease on cool season turfgrasses in golf courses in northern Unites States. The relative susceptibility of 17 commercial cultivars of three bentgrass species (creeping, colonial and velvet bentgrass) to Microdochium nivale and the aggressiveness of M. nivale eight isolates obtained from infected turfgrasses on golf courses in Wisconsin were evaluated under controlled conditions. For the field trial, susceptibility of 2 year-old 12 commercial bentgrass cultivars was evaluated after inoculating three M. nivale isolates in the fields. There were significant differences in disease severities among the three bentgrass species, particularly between tetraploids (creeping and colonial) and diploid (velvet) species, and among cultivars within each species, indicating that there are varying levels of susceptibility in species and cultivars to M. nivale. Host resistance by days of cold hardening was confirmed, by detecting the resistance by 30 days of cold hardening treatments. In field trial, susceptibility of 12 bentgrass cultivars was highly correlated to the results obtained from growth chamber experiments. The positive correlation of the susceptibility between growth chamber experiments and field trials demonstrates that the growth chamber method is a useful technique for saving time, space and labor to evaluate efficiently pink snow mold susceptibility of bentgrass cultivars. This study could be applied to evaluating susceptibility of bentgrass to pink snow mold and also predicting a prospective evaluation of bentgrass cultivars to pink snow mold in fields in a breeding program.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.6-12
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• 2009

Snow molds are the most important winter diseases of turfgrass in the United States and Canada. Eight isolates of three snow mold fungal species (three isolates of Typhula ishikariensis, three of T. incarnata, and two of Microdochium nivale) were collected from infected turfgrasses on golf courses. The isolates were evaluated for their relative aggressiveness on three cultivars (L-93, Penncross, and Providence) of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis palustris) under the same controlled conditions. Four plant ages (15, 19, 23 and 27 week-old plants from germination to inoculation) were evaluated for their susceptibility to the three pathogens and for the recovery of the plants. Regardless of age or cultivar of the host plant, M. nivale was found to be more aggressive and faster to infect and colonize than Typhula species. After three weeks recovery, M. nivale-inoculated plants showed higher disease severity than plants inoculated with the two Typhula species. Plants infected by Typhula species displayed no significant difference in disease severity. As creeping bentgrass plants get older, the severity of disease caused by three snow molds gradually decreases. This effect was observed in all cultivars tested, suggesting expression of age-related resistance as the bentgrass plants matured.

• Asian Journal of Turfgrass Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.147-154
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• 2007

In March of 2004, gray snow mold (Typhula blight) caused by Typhula spp. occurred on perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and Kentucky bluegrass (Poo pratensis L.) at MuJu golf courses in Jeonbuk Province. Leaves in the affected areas were matted together and frequently covered with white to grayish mycelia. Sclerotia were formed on the leaf blade, leaf sheath, or crown regions. The fungus isolated from the diseased leaf formed whitish mycelium, clamp connections, and light pink to brown, irregular-shaped small sclerotia of less than 1.4 mm in diameter, which are characteristic to Typhula incarnata. Optimum temperature ranges for mycelial growth were $5^{\circ}C$ to $15^{\circ}C$. The causal organism was confirmed to be T. incarnata as the partial sequence of its ribosomal RNA ITS1 (internal transcribed spacer) region was 91% homologous to those of T. incarnata in GenBank database. Out of the 14 fungicides tested fur antifungal activity in vitro, 10 fungicides including iprodione, tebuconazole, polyoxin D, flutolanil, hexaconazole, tolclofos-methyl, fosetyl-Al, mepronil, pencycuron+tebuconazole, and fenarimol completely inhibited fungal growth at their recommended concentrations. In the field test, these fungicides and others such as thifluzamide and thiram effectively controlled the gray snow mold of turfgrass with some variable degrees of control efficacies.