Turf Disease Detection I: Bacterial Wilt

Turfgrass disease, commonly known as Bacterial Wilt, is one of the few diseases caused by gram-negative bacteria in turfgrass. Its scientific records brings us back to 1917 (Jones et al 1917). It appears during warm weather and long periods of hign leaf wetness, its outbreaks are more frequent with agronomic practices that aim for fast greens such as low cutting heights, low nitrogen fertilization or intense use of the groomer.

Its symptoms start with small yellow spots on the grass and thinner leaves, ending with wilting and death of the plant. The bacterium is spread by the movement of water between leaves and through mowing.

The symptom of leaf elongation and yellowing is called ethylation and wilting is due to infection of the vascular system.

The bacterium responsible for Bacterial Wilt disease is Xanthomonas translucens pv. graminis. Ref: Egli, T. & Schmidt, D., Pathogenic variation among the causal agents of bacterial wilt of forage grasses (Phytopathol. Z., 1982. 104, 138-150). It develops in grasses stressed by waterlogging, shade or heavy traffic. Add to this practices to improve the quality of the green or football pitches and the risk is increased.

Mowing wounds are a gateway for bacteria, excellent maintenance of mowing machines is recommended to avoid tearing of the blades.

Some tips for disease management are to mow with a dry leaf, increase cutting height and decrease mowing frequency. Minimise maintenance stress in that area as much as possible.

If you have doubts about the disease affecting your lawn, Tiloom offers through its partner Microgaia Biotech (a technology-based company, spin off of CEBAS-CSIC) the accurate diagnosis of the most common diseases of lawns through qPCR analysis. Contact us at info@tiloom.com and we will take care of collecting your samples so that you can diagnose the incidence of diseases in your greens, football pitches, etc.

Accurate knowledge of the potential diseases affecting your lawn will enable you to act preventively and manage it in the most sustainable and efficient way possible.