You Are Here: Management Updates 2002 Archive June 13, 2002

Date: June 13, 2002
Category: Diseases
Subject: Dollar Spot vs. Bentgrass Dead Spot, Anthracnose

Dollar spot often begins as widely separated spots that might be confused with bentgrass dead spot (BDS). Two simple methods can help distinguish these diseases. BDS does not affect Poa annua. BDS does not produce the white, cottony mycelium of dollar spot. If you put a turf plug in a plastic bag with moist paper towels overnight, the mycelium is usually abundant by the next morning with dollar spot. BDS is primarily a disease of young bentgrass.

Anthracnose continues to plague a number of golf courses where stress factors make plants vulnerable. Take-all patch is common in bentgrass. Anthracnose may move into affected plants after they are weakened by take-all. Several cases of bacterial wilt have been diagnosed. In each case, the disease is restricted to Poa annua that is severely compromised by a poor soil profile or, in one case, recent severe reduction in mowing height for green expansion. Copper sulfate, which is often phytotoxic, is strictly a contact/protectant material which will not cure infected plants.

- Submitted by: Dr. Gail Schumann