Basal Rot Anthracnose

We are currently dealing with some basal rot anthracnose on our greens.  Our greens previously experienced an anthracnose infection back in the summer of 2008.  Once turf is initially infected by anthracnose, the fungal pathogen is forever present.  It overwinters in the soil and waits for conditions to be just right to rear its ugly head.  Preventative fungicide programs must be in place to keep the pathogen from affecting turf.  Unfortunately, it seems as though our preventative program, which includes only products that have continually proven to be among the best at preventing anthracnose, has failed to keep the pathogen in check this spring.  We are currently working along with the fungicide manufacturer and plant pathologists to determine exactly what the underlying cause was that resulted in the crack in our traditionally bulletproof program.  I suspect it has a lot to do with the soil makeup and thatch buildup of our greens that prevent them from draining well.  Compacted soil and saturated turf are key elements in disease development.

Now that anthracnose is present, we must be careful not to stress the turf in order to allow the unaffected grass plants to fight off any spreading of the disease.  Additional fungicide applications have been made, and we will continue to apply them as necessary to protect against it spreading.  We will also be spoon feeding the greens additional nitrogen in order to help in the recovery by continually strengthening the turf.  We will be reducing our mowing frequency as mowing is essentially injuring the grass blades as they are cut, resulting in an open wound that is more susceptible to infection.  Another rule of thumb with turf disease is to raise the mowing heights to allow the turf to better recover.  We have not even reached our summertime mowing heights yet, so this is not a concern for us at this time.  We will continue to mow at our current height of cut.  Green speed should not be a concern as we will continue to roll the greens on a regular basis.  In other words, the greens should continue to roll well, they just might look a bit sickly during the recovery process.

Here is a photo of what the disease looks like on the putting surface:

 

We are already seeing some recovery from the anthracnose and will continue to provide the greens with all they need to bounce back from this disease stress.  Please check back here often for regular updates on the health of the greens.