Preliminary evaluation of turfgrass (perennial ryegrass and red fescue) cultivars for resistance to red thread disease using artificial infection

Abstract

Selection of main cool‐season turfgrasses (perennial ryegrass and red fescue) for resistance to red thread disease caused by Laetisaria fuciformis has not progressed during the last 30 years because of low reproducibility of experiments carried out under natural infection. In this study, evaluation of a set of the turfgrass cultivars, including non‐host fodder grasses as control, was performed in a climatic chamber, a cold house and in the field using three types of artificial inoculum, and correlations between trials were analysed. In general, cultivars of Festuca rubra were more susceptible to the disease but differentiated better than cultivars of Lolium perenne. Significant interactions between cultivars of L. perenne and F. rubra and isolates of L. fuciformis were found. The fungus was also able to colonize leaves of sow thistle and wheat seedlings. In field conditions and in the glass cold‐house Dactylis glomerata was found to be relatively resistant to red thread disease. A possible selection programme is proposed.

The Epichloë festucae antifungal protein has activity against the plant pathogen Sclerotinia homoeocarpa, the causal agent of dollar spot disease

“…Burdsall, the causal agent of red thread disease, and Sclerotinia homoeocarpa Bennett, the causal agent of dollar spot disease, has been well established in the fine fescues 6 , 7 . Both diseases are serious management problems for Festuca rubra 7 , 11 . Current breeding efforts include incorporation of E .…”

Impact of fertilisers on five turfgrass mixtures for football pitches under natural conditions

“…The use of turfgrass mixtures for sport pitches is also important for its health and care, and this was also confirmed in our study. Red thread disease caused by the fungus Laetisaria fuciformis occurs on turfgrasses under favourable conditions of mild temperatures (15-25 °C) and high humidity (Berestetski et al 2002). During the period of occurrence in our experiment in both years, the weather conditions (air temperature of 24 °C and RH 85%) were favourable for the spread of red thread disease.…”

“…Average % of infection of red thread (Laetisaria fuciformis). The average % infection by red thread (Laetisaria fuciformis) was evaluated per specific treatment as the % of infected natural grass area per plot (Berestetski et al 2002). According to the NTEP recommendation, we used a 1 to 9 rating scale with 1 = 100 % injury and 9 = no injury, resulting in a % (Morris 2019).…”

“…In recent years, this fungus has become more common and widespread in Europe (Berestetski et al 2002). The turfgrass species most susceptible to red thread disease are the perennial ryegrass (Cagaš et al 2010;Curk et al 2017), Kentucky bluegrass and red fescue (Berestetski et al 2002). According to known data, the fungus most commonly occurs on older and poorly maintained turfgrass (Cagaš et al 2010).…”

“…The disease severely injures turfgrass leaves, resulting in patches with characteristic symptoms of coral-red mycelium tendrils. Red thread disease can spread over the pitch very quickly with the use of cutting machines and other mechanical actions (Berestetski et al 2002).…”