Source: UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI submitted to
INTEGRATED DISEASE MANAGEMENT FOR TURFGRASSES IN MISSOURI
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1011422
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Nov 1, 2016
Project End Date
Oct 31, 2021
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Project Director
Miller, GE, LE.
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
(N/A)
COLUMBIA,MO 65211
Performing Department
Plant Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Spring dead spot of bermudagrass and large patch of zoysiagrass are the two most limiting disease issues of warm season turfgrasses worldwide. This project will investigate fertility, cultivation and fungicide application strategies to reduce overall inputs for controlling these two diseases, and allow for more widespread use and utility of these drought and pest tolerant turfgrasses. Additionally, both bermudagrass and zoysiagrass varieties will be screened for potential resistance or tolerance to these two diseases. The second major portion of this project investigates the impact of low doses of fungicide on pathogen metabolism to determine if an increase in plant disease severity may occur when a fungicide degrades to a sublethal level.
Animal Health Component
90%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
10%
Applied
90%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2162130116050%
2122130110250%
Knowledge Area
212 - Pathogens and Nematodes Affecting Plants; 216 - Integrated Pest Management Systems;

Subject Of Investigation
2130 - Turf;

Field Of Science
1160 - Pathology; 1102 - Mycology;
Goals / Objectives
Assess the impact of fertilization strategies, fungicide timing, and post-application irrigation on the severity of large patch of zoysiagrass.Investigate the impact of fraze mowing on the occurrence and severity of spring dead spot of bermudagrass, and assess its potential for integration into a disease management strategy.Determine the host resistance of zoysiagrass and bermudagrass cultivars to large patch and spring dead spot, respectively.Evaluate hormesis in Sclerotinia homoeocarpa isolates to the DMI fungicides, and determine the potential for increased pathogen aggressiveness due to these hormetic responses.
Project Methods
Objective 1In vitro Nitrogen Source Impact on Rhizoctonia solani AG2-2 LP: Approximately 100-200 samples of zoysia infested with large patch will be collected from golf fairway sites located in Missouri, Kansas, and other Midwestern states.Nitrogen Source and Spring & Fall Fertilizer Timing: A 3-year field study will be carried out on 'Meyer' zoysiagrass mowed at ¾ inch at the University of Missouri Turf Research Farm in Columbia, MO with a similar trial planned at the Rocky Ford Turfgrass Research Center in Manhattan, KS.Post-Irrigation Application Effects on Fungicide Efficacy: The experimental area will consist of 'Meyer' zoysiagrass on a Mexico silt loam with pH ranging from 5.5 -5.7. Plots will be inoculated in early October by placing 30 cc of rye grain (Secale cereale L.) infested with Rhizoctonia solani AG2-2 LP in the center of each plot under a metal plate. Plots are 5 ft × 10 ft and arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replicates of fungicide and post-application treatment combinations. Azoxystrobin (Heritage TL: 1.5 fl oz/1000 ft2) and tebuconazole (Torque: 0.6 oz/1000 ft2 and Mirage: 1.08 fl oz/1000 ft2) will be applied in early April - prior to greenup and late April - after 2 mowings. Fungicides will be unirrigated for 24 hours or watered-in immediately with 0.1" or 0.25" of post-application irrigation (3.1 or 7.8 gallons H20/50 ft2 plot respectively). To accurately this apply post-irrigation, a system combining flow and shut off valves, 8 overhead irrigation heads, and a flow meter (to measure irrigation output) has been designed and tested. Digital images will be taken every 14 days from initial fungicide application to assess green zoysiagrass coverage and disease severity using a Nikon D90 camera. Images will be analyzed in SigmaScan Pro 5.0 utilizing the macro designed by Karcher and Richardson (1). Plant chlorophyll and canopy reflectance will be measured with either/both the CM-1000 (Spectrum technologies) and the ACS430 (Holland Scientific). Data will be subjected to analysis of variance in the Proc MIXED procedure in SAS 9.2 with least square means separated with Fishers Protected LSD at the 0.05 significance level.Objective 2Fraze Mowing for Reduction of Spring Dead Spot: A trial will be initiated at the MU Turfgrass Research Farm on a block of 'Patriot' bermudagrass.Objective 3Evaluation of bermudagrass cultivars for spring dead spot resistance: Thirty-five bermudagrass cultivars will be established by either seed (n=17) or vegetatively with plugs (n=18) in accordance with the national turfgrass evaluation program (NTEP) program guidelines. Plots will measure 5 ft × 8 ft and be arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Plots will be maintained according to "SCHEDULE A" per NTEP guidelines, except no fungicides and presumably no insecticides will be applied to the plot area. Inoculation will be conducted with rye grain infested with a blend of 3-4 isolates of Ophiosphaerella herpotricha of Missouri origin. Inoculum will be spread uniformly at a 2" depth in a hole created with a 4" diameter cup cutter in early September. Inoculation sites will be 30" from each border to allow for adequate patch expansion. An uninfested check of sterile rye grain will be placed within the plot to determine if any injury occurs from the inoculation procedure. Along with typical NTEP evaluation parameters (i.e. turfgrass density and quality), disease severity will be assessed as a visual estimate of % diseased area, and with digital photos and subsequent image analysis. Data will be subjected to analysis of variance and means will be separated with Tukey's HSD. Significant occurrence of disease symptoms in the plot area may be expected in 18 months after inoculation.Evaluation of zoysiagrass cultivars for large patch resistance: Thirty-five zoysiagrass cultivars will be established vegetatively with plugs on June 27, 2013 according to NTEP guidelines. Plots measure 5 ft × 8 ft and are arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Plots will be maintained according to "SCHEDULE A" per NTEP guidelines, except no fungicides and presumably no insecticides will be applied to the plot area. Inoculation will be conducted with rye grain infested with a blend of 3-4 isolates of Rhizoctonia solani AG2-2 LP of Missouri origin. Plots will be inoculated in early September by placing 1.52-in.3 (25 cc) of infested rye grain under a metal plate until early spring of the following year. Inoculation sites will be 30" from each border to allow for adequate patch expansion. An uninfested sterile rye grain check will be placed with the same methods to determine if any injury occurs from the inoculation procedure. Along with typical NTEP evaluation parameters (i.e. turfgrass density and quality), disease severity will be assessed as a visual estimate of % diseased area, and with digital photos and subsequent image analysis. Data will be subjected to analysis of variance and means will be separated with Tukey's HSD. Significant occurrence of disease symptoms in the plot area should be expected in 6-12 months following inoculation.Objective 4Detection & Quantification of Hormesis in vitro: Thirty isolates of S. homoeocarpa with varying sensitivity to the DMI fungicide propiconazole (0.0005 - 0.0208 ug a.i. ml-1) have been obtained from previous studies (3, 30). Additional isolates from Missouri with varying fungicide exposure but unknown fungicide sensitivity will also be collected and assayed.Sub-lethal Dose Impact on Pathogenicity Factor: Subsequent evaluation of oxalic acid (OAA) production in a subset of isolates with and without characterized hormetic induced mycelial growth will be conducted in both solid and liquid media.Impact of sub-lethal fungicide doses on dollar spot severity in planta. Creeping bentgrass ('Penncross') will be seeded at 3.66 g m-2 in a calcined clay medium for six weeks in 3.8 cm× 21 cm Cone-tainer™ pots. A subset of four isolates of S. homoeocarpa will be selected, with two exhibiting in vitro hormetic responses to the selected fungicide and two without detectable hormesis. The experiment will be designed as a split plot, with fungicides applied to main plots, and seven replications of each isolate randomized within each main plot. Fungicide treatments will include no fungicide control or fungicide applied preventively at the full label rate or at dilutions of 1/10, 1/100, and 1/1000 of that rate. Fungicides will be applied preventively 24 h prior to pathogen inoculation. Inoculum preparation, inoculation procedures, and disease assessments will be conducted as previously described (33). Thiophanate-methyl will be utilized in preliminary greenhouse experiments.

Progress 11/01/16 to 10/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Dr. Miller is no longer with the University of Missouri Agriculture Experiment Station and did not write a final report for this project before leaving.

Publications


    Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20

    Outputs
    Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? Dr. Miller is no longer with the Missouri Agriculture Experiment Station and did not write reports before leaving.

    Publications


      Progress 10/01/18 to 09/30/19

      Outputs
      Target Audience:Turfgrass managers in Missouri and similar environments who maintain lawns, sod farms, sports fields, golf courses, or public recreational areas. These managers include commercial lawn care operators, golf superintendents, sports field managers, sod farm managers, and homeowners. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Currently advising Clayton Rushford, M.S. student and have two undergraduate research assistants learning phytopathological methods and field experimental design. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Within the state, I coordinated the 2019 MU Turfgrass and Landscape Field Day in Columbia, MO on 7/30. The event had approximately 200 participants, who attended 12 morning talks and an afternoon workshop focused on lawn care - https://turf.missouri.edu/research/2019_Field_Day_Booklet.pdf. In 2019, I also conducted in-person training events in Missouri (i.e. Missouri Green Industry Conference, SIGCSA/MVGCSA Golf, Ozark Sports Turf Managers) and nationally (Indiana Professional Lawn Care Winter Meeting, New England Turfgrass Conference, Southern Illinois Golf Superintendents Meeting). The MU turfgrass pathology website (www.turfpath.missouri.edu) is also a conduit for program information with 105k pageviews in 2019. The website has 741 subscribers to a listserve (up ~10% per year since 311 in 2011) that are alerted to disease reports throughout the season. Wrote 13 reports in 2019 with most viewed 600+ times. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In 2020, we will be preparing two manuscripts for the upcoming 2021 International Turfgrass Research Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. "Integration of fraise mowing into a management program for spring dead spot of bermudagrass" is targeted for publication as a full research article in Crop Science. "Investigation into Cyanotoxins in Golf Course Irrigation Water & Potential Impact on Putting Green Health" will serve as a technical paper in the published conference proceedings. Clayton Rushford should be completing his M.S. in summer 2020. We anticipate one or two publications from his thesis research. Submission for publication of our research on hormesis of the dollar spot pathogen and implications for management.

      Impacts
      What was accomplished under these goals? 1. Published journal article in Crop Science regarding the impact of nitrogen application, source, and fungicide application on large patch disease. 2. Completed the third year of study on the impact of fraze mowing on spring dead spot. 3. Completed the first five year experiment investigating new bermudagrass and zoysigrass cultivars for use in Missouri. Due to consdierable winterkill in the first year, statistical separation of cultivars was not apparent. Established three new trials in summer 2019. Two of these will mirror the previous, with the third focusing on the use of low mow or "ultradwarf" warm season cultivars for golf putting green use in Missouri. 4. Graduated Kyle Robertson conducting hormesis work late last year.

      Publications

      • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Koehler, J.F., and Miller, G.L. 2019. Impact of nitrogen application, nitrogen source, and a single fungicide application on large patch of zoysiagrass. Crop Science 59:1-9.
      • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Rushford, C.A. and Miller, G.L. Pythium dissemination through golf course irrigation systems. ASA-CSSA International Annual Meetings, San Antonio, TX, 2019.
      • Type: Websites Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: The MU turfgrass pathology website (www.turfpath.missouri.edu) is also a conduit for program information with 105k pageviews in 2019. The website has 741 subscribers to a listserve (up ~10% per year since 311 in 2011) that are alerted to disease reports throughout the season. Wrote 13 reports in 2019 with most viewed 600+ times.


      Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18

      Outputs
      Target Audience:Turfgrass managers in Missouri and similar environments who maintain lawns, sod farms, sports fields, golf courses, or public recreational areas.These managers include commercial lawn care operators, golf superintendents, sports field managers, sod farm managers, and homeowners.? Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Graduated Kyle Robertson, M.S. and John Koehler, M.S. Currently advising Clayton Rushford, M.S., employ a research technician and several undergraduate students. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The Mizzou Turf Pathology website (www.turfpath.missouri.edu) was launched in spring 2011 concurrently with an email listserve which has grown to 581 subscribers. I have authored 130 online turfgrass disease and pest reports written from March 2011 - September 2018 every 2-3 weeks during the season. These reports update regional turfgrass managers of current pest issues and analyzes the forecast to determine what pests may occur in the future. During this time, the website was visited 54,363 times, with 88,183 page views from 28,769 unique visitors. Users in 15 different countries and 40 of the 50 states have visited the site more than 50 times. Results were also highlighed in presentations made at regional field day events and other commodity meetings. Selected Presentations International 2018 Sustainable Turfgrass Management in Asia Conference:Turfgrass Disease Identification and Management. Pattaya, Thailand. National and Regional 2015 - 2018 Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Annual Meeting:Getting to the root of managing soilborne turfgrass diseases,Orlando, FL. Turfgrass Disease Year in Review - 2018 Made Their Day Heartland Industry Green Industry Expo Heart of America GCS Fall 2018 Fall 2018 Common Diseases of Cool Season Turfgrasses; Is SDS Dazed by the Fraise?; Application Strategies to Maximize Fungicide Efficacy Kansas Turfgrass Conference Kansas Turfgrass Foundation Fall 2018 Fall 2018 Soilborne Disease Activity in 2018; 2018 Pesticide Recertification - Turfgrass Health Issues Missouri Green Industry Conference MoGIA, MVGCSA, others Fall 2018 Fall 2018 Low Down - n - Dirty Diseases of 2018 MN Golf Pesticide Recertification Winfield, MN Pesticide Safety Education Program Fall 2018 Fall 2018 Tricks to Prevent Turfgrass Diseases That Are No Treat Gateway STMA Fall Education Conference Gateway STMA Fall 2018 Fall 2018 Understanding Turfgrass Sustainability in the Context of the Missouri Climate Gateway Golf Summit Gateway PGA - St Louis, MO Fall 2018 Fall 2018 Curtailing the Common Diseases of Cool Season Lawns; Shrinking Large Problems on Zoysia & Devious Soilborne SDS on Bermuda IPLLA Summer Field Day Indiana Professional Lawn and Landscape Association Fall 2018 Fall 2018 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue work on Pythium detection in golf course irrigation water (Clayton Rushford project). Potentially get to submission of a manuscript. Complete data analysis and submit manuscript on 3 year field experiment examining fraise mowing impact on spring dead spot in bermudagrass. Potentially submit manuscript from Kyle Robertson thesis. Initiate investigation into blue green algae and cyanotoxin detection in golf course irrigation water. Acquire funding and potentially hire graduate student to lead project.

      Impacts
      What was accomplished under these goals? Published one journal article on hormesis with co-authors from Oklahoma State University in Plant Disease. Pradhan-Shresta, S.,Miller, L.,Grachet, N.G., Molineros, J.E., Walker, N., Melouk, H.A., Garzon, C. 2018. Hormetic effects of thiophanate-methyl in multiple isolates ofSclerotinia homoeocarpa. Plant Disease 103:89-94. Submitted and had an article accepted to Crop Science. Slated to be published in May - June 2019 issue. Koehler, J.F., andMiller, G.L.2018. Impact of nitrogen application, nitrogen source, and a single fungicide application on large patch of zoysiagrass. Crop Science.Accepted. XX.XXX doi: 10.2135/cropsci2018.09.0540 Graduated John Koehler, M.S. andKyle Robertson, M.S. Authored 10 Plant Disease Management Reports

      Publications

      • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Pradhan-Shresta, S., Miller, L., Grachet, N.G., Molineros, J.E., Walker, N., Melouk, H.A., Garzon, C. 2019. Hormetic effects of thiophanate-methyl in multiple isolates of Sclerotinia homoeocarpa. Plant Disease 103:89-94.
      • Type: Journal Articles Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2019 Citation: Koehler, J.F., and Miller, G.L. 2019. Impact of nitrogen application, nitrogen source, and a single fungicide application on large patch of zoysiagrass. Crop Science. Accepted. XX.XXX http://doi.org/10.2135/cropsci2018.09.0540
      • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Hosack, P.K., Sweets, L.E., Miller, G.L., Calcutt, M.J., and Arenz, B.E. 2016. First report of Gosss bacterial wilt and leaf blight on corn caused by Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. nebraskensis in Missouri. 100:2158.
      • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Robertson, K.G. and Miller, G.L. Characterizing hormesis and the in vitro effects of sublethal fungicide exposure in Sclerotinia homoeocarpa. ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meetings, Tampa, FL, 2017. 2nd place Graduate Student Poster Presentation  Industry.
      • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Rushford, C.A. and Miller, G.L. Detection of Pythium spp. in golf course irrigation systems. 9th International IPM Symposium, Baltimore, MD, 2018.
      • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Rushford, C.A. and Miller, G.L. Identifying golf course irrigation water as a source of pathogenic Pythium inoculum. ASA-CSSA International Annual Meetings, Baltimore, MD, 2018. 2nd place Graduate Student Oral Presentation  Golf Turf.


      Progress 11/01/16 to 09/30/17

      Outputs
      Target Audience:Turfgrass managers in Missouri and similar environments who maintain lawns, sod farms, sports fields, golf courses, or public recreational areas.These managers include commercial lawn care operators, golf superintendents, sports field managers, sod farm managers, and homeowners. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?John Koehler completed his M.S. work in December 2017, and is currently employed at the Scotts company in Maryville, OH. We are pursuing another publication from his Masters research. Kyle Robertson is finishing his M.S. research in spring 2018, investigating the hormetic effects of sub-lethal doses of DMI fungicides on the dollar spot pathogen Sclerotinia homoeocarpa. Clayton Rushford initiated his M.S. research in fall 2018. His project involves the detection of Pythium spp. in golf course irrigation water. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Yes. Within the scientific community we have published our research results in the International Turfgrass Society Research Journal. We have also presented our research at the International Turfgrass Research Conference and at theASA-CSSA-SSSA annual meeting. Within our target turfgrass management audience, we have presented this research through disease reports on the Missouri turfgrass pathology program website (https://turfpath.missouri.edu/reports/), popular trade magazines (i.e. SportsTurf and Golfdom), and in regional and nationalwebinars and presentations. This information was presented at the Golf Industry Show in Orlando in a seminar entitledGetting to the Root of Managing Soilborne Turfgrass diseases (co-taught with Jim Kerns at NC State University) to ~ 150 attendees. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Prepare and submit a manuscript from John Koehler's thesis workinvestigating cultural management practices for large patchmanagement. Finish Kyle Robertson's project determining the hormetic potential offungicide resistant and sensitive isolates to the DMI fungicides.Prepare and submit a manuscript. Finish data acquisition on field research determining the potentialfor fraze mowing and fungicide application timing on spring deadspot of bermudagrass. Complete third year of data collection for impact of post-application irrigation and spring fungicide timing on efficacy of fungicides for large patch control.

      Impacts
      What was accomplished under these goals? In 2017 , we had two, peer reviewed manuscripts accepted to theInternational Turfgrass Research Journal (ITRJ). The first article detailedJohn Koehler's work on the effect of nitrogen application and source onlarge patch severity of zoysiagrass. Prior to the associated meeting, Johnwon a travel award associated with the best manuscript submitted by agraduate student. At the International Turfgrass Society meeting, John wonthe best oral presentation award among graduate students for presenting this research. We also published an article in the ITRJ detailing our field researchinvestigating the impact of fraze mowing on spring dead spot of bermudagrass. This short communication provided information regardingthe first year of data which will be followed up with a full article in 2018.

      Publications

      • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Koehler JF, Miller Jr GL. Effect of nitrogen and spring fungicide application on large patch severity in zoysiagrass. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ November 2016. https://scisoc.confex.com/crops/2016am/webprogram/Paper100640.html
      • Type: Books Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Miller Jr GL, Fresenburg BS, Barrett BA. Pest Management for Home Lawns. 1st ed. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Extension; 2016. http://extension.missouri.edu/p/IPM1035
      • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Koehler, J. F., & Miller, G. L. 2017. Impact of nitrogen source and a pH buffer on the in vitro growth and morphology of Rhizoctonia solon AG2-2 LP. International Turfgrass Society Research Journal. 13:1:198-202.
      • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Miller Jr, G. L., Fresenburg, B. S., & Earlywine, D. T. (2017). Effect of fraze mowing on spring dead spot caused by Ophiosphaerella herpotricha of bermudagrass. International Turfgrass Society Research Journal. 13:1:225-228.
      • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Koehler, J.F. 2017. Integrating nitrogen source and application timing into large patch management on zoysiagrass. University of Missouri. 97 pp.