Dollar spot is one of the most economically important diseases of turfgrasses. Recent taxonomic revisions have placed the dollar spot fungal pathogens in the new genus Clarireedia, with five species described. The main goal of this study was to develop a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) molecular detection assay based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of the ribosomal RNA genes to quantify the abundance of Clarireedia species from environmental (field) samples. The qPCR assay was able to detect isolates of the four tested Clarireedia species but did not cross react with non-target fungi, including closely related taxa, other turfgrass pathogens, or other fungal species commonly isolated from turfgrass. The assay is capable of detecting as little as 38.0 fg (3.8 x10-14 g) of Clarireedia genomic DNA in three hours. The qPCR assay detected Clarireedia in both symptomatic and asymptomatic creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) foliar tissue. Clarireedia species were rarely detected in the thatch or soil, indicating that these pathogens are not widely distributed in these areas of the environment. The fact that the pathogen was detected in asymptomatic tissue suggests that creeping bentgrass may be able to tolerate a certain quantity of the pathogens in leaves before disease symptoms appear; however, further research is needed to validate this hypothesis.
This study was conducted to investigate whether several composted liquid manures (CLMs) are useful for biological control of large patch on zoysiagrass and investigate the chemical and biological factors to suppress large patch in soil treated with CLMs. The CLMs were produced at 4 different facilities for livestock excretion treatments located in Korea. Field experiments were carried out at 5 golf courses located near each facility. CLM and Chemical fertilizer (CF: water soluble fertilizer, 20-20-20) were applied four and three times with N at 12 g m -2 per year, respectively. There was significant increase of concentration of K, Na, and Cu of soil treated with CLM compared to CF treatment. Among experimental plots, CN and GG2 plot sites were shown significant higher effect of biological control 80% and 50% respectively against large patch disease. The number of bacteria, Actinomycetes, and fungi in soil at these sites significantly increased and fluorescein diacetate hydrolytic activity was enhanced, while the soil was treated with CLM. The results of this study demonstrated that CLM application has effect on soil to suppress large patch and reduce the use of fungicide in environment-friendly turf management.
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