The dirty half-dozen (creeping bentgrass diseases) A multitude
of fungal pathogens attack creeping bentgrass (CBG). However,
the types of diseases that occur and their severity vary
considerably among regions. For example, snow molds and yellow
patch (synonymous with cool-temperature brown patch) are
commonplace on golf courses in Northern states, while southern
blight and copper spot are relatively rare and generally only
occur in more Southern regions. Other diseases, such as dollar
spot, yellow tuft and fairy ring are ubiquitous. Thus, to rank
the top six CBG diseases for every region would be difficult.
Nevertheless, some diseases are definitely more widespread and
destructive than others. Overall, the most damaging or
intractable diseases in the United States are dollar spot, pink
snow mold (synonyms include Microdochium patch and Fusarium
patch), anthracnose, Pythium diseases (including Pythium blight
and Pythium root rot or dysfunction), localized dry spot and
take-all. Other CBG diseases such as Pythi