Online disease prediction: Can greencast be used to optimise fungicidal control of microdochium patch?

摘要

Predicting when pathogens will attack turf is a learned art. Once you have been caught out and suffered the consequences of widespread angry patches of microdochium (fusarium) patch during a mild and wet autumn, you learn to 'feel' the right weather conditions as you walk out the door. I often state that we are experiencing 'good fusarium weather' and everyone knows what I mean. Added to this, the application time for most fungicides to achieve good disease control can be crucial, especially with thenewer fungicides that have come onto the amenity market in the last couple of years. Strobilurins (e.g. azoxystrobin) and DMIs (e.g. myclobutanil) should be applied before Microdochium nivale has extensively colonised the grass plant to provide the bestcontrol. In reality, this means applying them before the first sign of disease. In the case of golf, an 'indicator' green can be a good way of establishing when to treat all of the other greens as it will develop disease first. As soon as disease is observed on the indicator green,