Fusarium Patch - Hosts and Symptoms

Hosts and Symptoms

M. nivale can infect all cool-season turf grass species. Annual bluegrass (Poa annua), perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) are more susceptible. In the fall, M.nivale infection begins as small, orange to red-brown spots, circular and only a few centimeters in diameter. During the winter and into the spring seasons, well-defined, clustered, circular patches 10-20 cm in diameter, of necrotic leaf tissues form on mown turf. Microdochium nivale is mostly seen on grasses mown at heights of three inches or greater. On taller grass, patches often lack a circular pattern that is seen in shorter mown grass, On taller grass patches often lack a circular pattern that is seen in shorter mown grass. Pink snow mold patches usually follow drainage patterns since conidia spores are readily dislodged and transported by rainfall and water flowage. Under prolonged cool and wet conditions, white-pink mycelium can be observed along the circumference of diseased patches.