Gaeumannomyces graminis Associated with Spring Dead Spot of Bermudagrass in the Southeastern United States

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Abstract
Three isolates of a dark-gray, slow-growing fungus isolated from bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) cultivar Tifway with spring dead spot (SDS) symptoms were tested for pathogenicity on bermudagrass. One isolate produced typical SDS symptoms on bermudagrass when potted plants were inoculated in the fall and grown outside during the winter. Of plants inoculated with isolate B, top weight was 92% and root weight was 71% less than for the control. Of those inoculated with isolate A, top weight was 55% and root weight was 42% less than for the control. Isolate B produced asci and ascospores in perithecia on the dead stolons and was identified as Gaeumannomyces graminis var. graminis. The same fungus was identified from perithecia and ascospores on naturally SDS-infected bermudagrass from North Carolina and Alabama in May 1987. This is the first report of an association of G. graminis as a causal agent of SDS on bermudagrass.

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