Microbiological Products for Control of Microdochium nivale on Golf Greens

Abstract

Microdochium nivale (Fries) Samuels & Hallett is an important turfgrass pathogen on golf courses. Our objective was to evaluate Gliocladium catenulatum Gilman & Abbott and/or Streptomyces species for biological control of M. nivale on golf greens. The microbial agents were tested relative to fungicides and an untreated control in vitro and in five field trials from 2011 to 2014. G. catenulatum (Turf G+/WPG, Verdera OY, Finland) was applied from October to December and in March–April, while Streptomyces species (Turf S+/WPS, same manufacturer) was applied from May to October, both at four week intervals. In vitro, Streptomyces species suppressed the growth of M. nivale at 6 and 16°C, while G. catenulatum suppressed growth of M. nivale at 16°C only. In contrast, neither product, nor their combination, had any consistent effect in the field trials. A statistically significant reduction in Microdochium patch (from 3 to 2% of plot area) was seen in a trial on a green dominated by Festuca rubra L., but this reduction was deemed to be of little practical interest to the greenkeeper. Despite multiple applications over 3 yr to build up an antagonistic microflora, only fungicides reduced M. nivale significantly on greens dominated by Poa annua L. or Agrostis capillaris L., which generally had more disease. In conclusion, this research showed no potential of G. catenulatum or Streptomyces species to replace fungicides for control of M. nivale on northern‐latitude golf greens.

In vitro fungicide sensitivity of Clarireedia, Fusarium, and Microdochium isolates from grasses

“…In that study, tebuconazole also had the lowest efficacy among four DMI fungicides, including prochloraz, epoxiconazole, and metaconazole. However, in earlier tests of alternative plant protection products in the field where Folicur was used as a positive control (in Denmark), two applications of tebuconazole at 250 g ha –1 (in October and in November) reduced Microdochium patch by 92% (from 36 to 3%) at Rungsted Golfklub and reduced winter damage (a combination of frost and Microdochium patch) by 74% (from 43 to 11%) at Sydsjælland Golfklub (Aamlid, Espevig, et al., 2013). The high efficacy of tebuconazole in the field versus the in vitro experiments is unclear but might be because the in vitro experiments were conducted at higher temperatures (both ours and the Czech experiments were conducted at room temperature) than in the field experiments, which were conducted in the fall.…”

“…The use of fungicides to control Microdochium patch on golf courses in the region depends on the disease pressure, which is in turn dependent on climate conditions such as temperature and air humidity (Dwyer et al., 2017) and the presence/absence of snow cover (Årsvoll, 1973). Research shows that on golf courses with Microdochium patch, one application of a systemic fungicide at the first sign of disease followed by one or two applications of a systemic and/or contact fungicide provides sufficient disease control, depending on the temperature and existing or predicted snow cover (Aamlid, Paaske, et al., 2013; Aamlid et al., 2015; Espevig & Aamlid, 2018; Espevig, Pettersen, et al., 2020).…”

Identification and fungicide sensitivity of Microdochium chrysopogonis (Ascomycota, Amphisphaeriaceae), a new species causing tar spot of Chrysopogon zizanioides in southern China

“…Currently, research on fungicide sensitivity within Microdochium mainly focuses on three species: M. panattonianum , M. majus and M. nivale . Six groups of fungicides, namely, MBCs, DMIs, QoIs, SDHIs, PPs , and dicarboximides, have been shown to have significant inhibitory activity ( Kaneko and Ishii 2009 ; Aamlid et al 2017 , 2018 ; Matušinsky et al 2017 ; Gagkaeva et al 2022 ). In this study, consistent with previous findings, four DMI fungicides (difenoconazole, propiconazole, flusilazole and tebuconazole) and one MBC fungicide (carbendazim) exhibited significant inhibitory effects on the growth of M. chrysopogonis , with mean EC 50 values of 0.077, 0.011, 0.004, 0.024 and 0.007 μg/ml, respectively (Table 4 ).…”

“…Notably, compounds such as prochloraz, difenoconazole, propiconazole, metconazole, myclobutanil, tebuconazole and triticonazole have shown substantial antifungal efficacy against M. panattonianum , M. majus and M. nivale ( Wicks et al 1994 ; Debieu et al 2000 ; Glynn et al 2008 ; Mao et al 2023 ). Additionally, fungicide subgroups, including phenylpyrrole ( PP ) fungicides, such as fludioxonil, dicarboximides, such as iprodione and quinone outside inhibitors (QoIs), such as trifloxystrobin, have demonstrated noteworthy efficacy in the management of diseases induced by M. nivale ( Glynn et al 2008 ; Koch et al 2015 ; Aamlid et al 2017 ). Therefore, to promote effective control against tar spot of C. zizanioides , it is necessary to determine the sensitivity of the pathogen to fungicides.…”

The Lack of Knowledge on the Microbiome of Golf Turfgrasses Impedes the Development of Successful Microbial Products

“…Different soil treatments using organic material containing mixed microbial communities have shown efficacy to suppress different diseases in turfgrass. Among those, compost has been used very successfully [94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102]. While adding compost might have positive effects, results can be irreproducible due to its microbial and chemical diversity and complexity.…”