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TURFGRASS SCIENCE

Geostatistical Analysis of Dollar Spot Epidemics Occurring on a Mixed Sward of Creeping Bentgrass and Annual Bluegrass

^a Dep. of Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science, Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA 24061
^b Dep. of Plant Pathology, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI 48824
^c Dep. of Crop and Soil Sciences, Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI 48824. This work was supported by a Project GREEEN grant (GR00-037) from the Mich. Agric. Exp. Stn., East Lansing

^* Corresponding author (bhorvath{at}vt.edu).

Dollar spot (Sclerotinia homoeocarpa F.T. Bennett) causes one of the most important diseases faced by golf course superintendents throughout the USA. Fungicides are effective, but fungicide resistance and regulation have restricted their use. Site-specific application allows more judicious use of fungicides, but the spatial heterogeneity of dollar spot incidence has been unknown. An intensive study was designed to determine the spatial distribution of dollar spot incidence using geostatistical analysis. Dollar spot foci were manually counted every 2 to 3 d in 200 quadrats in 2000, and in 888 quadrats in 2001 and 2002. Variograms showed spatial aggregation of dollar spot foci on a small scale, and remained stable throughout the growing season despite increasing disease incidence. The range parameter of the variograms was stable within a season, with values ranging between 2.5 and 9.5, 1.3 and 1.9, and 1.2 and 2.2 m in 2000, 2001, and 2002, respectively. Kriged maps of dollar spot incidence also show a stable pattern of spatial aggregation remains throughout the growing season. The locations of dollar spot clusters changed between seasons, but the variograms from each season were similar, further suggesting stability of the spatial structure. It appears that limited secondary dispersal of S. homoeocarpa occurs during epidemics, as evidenced by the stable variograms observed throughout the three growing seasons. The underlying factors involved in the observed stability are unknown.

Abbreviations: PSV, proportion of structural variance • VCG, vegetative compatibility groups.