Crop Science 43:1395-1398 (2003)
© 2003 Crop Science Society of America
TURFGRASS SCIENCE
Optimizing Manganese Fertilization for the Suppression of Take-All Patch Disease on Creeping Bentgrass
J. R. Heckman*,
B. B. Clarke and
J. A. Murphy
Dep. of Plant Biology and Pathology, 59 Dudley Rd., Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8520
* Corresponding author (heckman{at}aesop.rutgers.edu)
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ABSTRACT
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Take-all patch, caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis (Sacc.) Arx. & D. Olivier var. avenae (E.M. Turner) Dennis, is a destructive disease of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.). Previous research has shown that Mn fertilization can reduce the severity of take-all patch, but further research is needed to assess the impact of Mn rate and the time of its application on disease development and on the extended residual impact of Mn fertilization on disease suppression. The objective of the current study was to determine the best rate and time of Mn application for the suppression of foliar symptoms of take-all patch on creeping bentgrass. On a golf course fairway naturally infested with G. graminis var. avenae, Mn (as MnSO4) treatments were applied as single applications in either October or April of 1998, 1999, or 2000 at 0, 2.25, 4.50, 6.75, or 9.00 kg ha-1 of Mn. The severity of take-all patch was assessed each year during May and June when foliar symptoms were apparent. Throughout the study, compared with untreated turf, Mn effectively reduced disease severity when applied either in April or in October. Moreover, the 2.25 kg ha-1 Mn application rate was generally as effective in suppressing the disease as were higher application rates, except in the third year of the study when higher rates were more effective. Findings also suggest that across time previous applications of Mn fertilizer were less effective in suppressing take-all patch than were the most recent applications of Mn.
Abbreviations: M3MnAI, Mn Mehlich-3 availability index
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INTRODUCTION
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TAKE-ALL PATCH in creeping bentgrass is caused by the fungus Gaeumannomyces graminis (Sacc.) Arx. & D. Olivier var. avenae (E.M. Turner) Dennis. A related organism, G. graminis (Sacc.) Arx & D. Olivier var. tritici J. Walker causes take-all disease in wheat. A soil pH of 7.0 is optimum for the growth of G. graminis var. tritici (Marschner, 1995), and G. graminis var. avenae has been reported to grow best between 5.5 and 7.5 (Smith, 1956, 1957). Soil management practices that lower soil pH have been shown to suppress both diseases (Smith, 1956, 1957; Jackson, 1958; Anonymous, 1962; Garrett, 1981, Mayland and Wilkinson, 1996). Manganese deficiency is common in crops grown on Atlantic Coastal Plain soils with pH values > 6.2 (Mehlich, 1957; Heckman et al., 1993, 1999). The severity of the disease on wheat is influenced by the availability of Mn in the rhizosphere and the Mn concentration in roots (Huber and Wilhelm, 1988). Increased susceptibility of bentgrass to take-all patch due to Mn deficiency may be related to the role of Mn in lignin biosynthesis and the importance of lignification of cell walls as a defense mechanism against this disease (Brown et al., 1984; Marschner, 1995; Carrow et al., 2001). The application of Mn fertilizer can suppress take-all on wheat (Graham and Rovira, 1984; Huber and Wilhelm, 1988). Moreover, Hill et al., (1999) reported that the severity of take-all patch on creeping bentgrass was reduced by monthly applications of Mn at 2 kg ha-1, but foliar symptoms of the disease were not completely eliminated.
Because Mn fertilizer may be rapidly converted to unavailable forms in soils by microorganisms, the rate of Mn application and the longer-term residual effects of infrequent Mn fertilization may be important factors affecting the management of take-all patch on creeping bentgrass. This experiment investigated the impact of Mn application rate, timing (i.e., single applications in either April or October), and the residual effect of applied Mn on the development of take-all patch disease.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS
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An experiment was conducted on a fairway at the Metedeconk National Golf Course in Jackson, NJ, where the creeping bentgrass cultivars Penncross and Penneagle turf was naturally infested with G. graminis var. avenae. The pathogen was isolated on oat bran agar in 1997 from necrotic roots of bentgrass that exhibited foliar symptoms of take-all patch before the initiation of the study. Perithecia were induced on bentgrass seedlings in a growth chamber (at 25°C and 200 µmol m-2 s-1) to confirm the identity of G. graminis var. avenae using the method of Dernoeden and O'Neil (1983). This procedure was repeated for each experimental unit in May of 1998, 1999, and 2000. The fairway was established on a modified Lakehurst sand (mesic, coated Aquodic Quartzipsamments) 13 yr before the initiation of the study. The experimental area was maintained at a mowing height of 11 mm and clippings were removed. Applications of a 16-2-7 (N-P-K) fertilizer which contained ammonium phosphate, ammonium sulfate, potassium chloride, iron sulfate, and iron oxide as nutrient sources were made on a monthly basis for a yearly total of 146 kg ha-1 of N. Soil pH ranged from 6.1 to 6.9 across the site before initiation of the study.
Manganese sulfate treatments were sprayed on the surface of the turf as a single application on 1 Apr. 1998, 1 Oct. 1998, 1 Apr. 1999, 1 Oct. 1999, or 1 Apr. 2000 at rates of 0, 2.25, 4.50, 6.75, and 9.00 kg ha-1 Mn. Thus, each experimental unit received only one application of Mn fertilizer throughout the course of the study. The various rates of Mn were dissolved in 1 L of water and applied using a backpack sprayer calibrated to deliver 374 L of solution ha-1. Irrigation was withheld after each Mn application for a period of 24 h, and was applied thereafter to avoid drought stress. Summer applications of Mn were avoided because of the potential for foliar injury during hot weather (Hill et al., 1999). The experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replications. Experimental units were 1.0- by 3.0-m and were assigned to Mn treatments based on a prior assessment of disease severity at the test site on May 1997. On that date, the entire fairway was divided into experimental units and only those units exhibiting a moderate level of disease (e.g., 30 to 50% turf area with foliar symptoms of take-all patch) were randomly assigned to Mn treatments. This resulted in a statistically similar level of disease for all Mn treatments and the untreated control at the inception of the study.
Composite soil samples consisting of five cores (0- to 5-cm depth) and the thatch were collected from each experimental unit on 27 Mar. 1998 just before the application of Mn treatments. Soil samples were also collected on 14 Nov. 1998, 21 June 1999, and 15 Apr. 2000. Soil samples were analyzed for Mehlich-3 (Mehlich, 1984) extractable Mn and soil pH was determined using a 1 soil:1 H2O (by volume) ratio. The Mn Mehlich-3 availability index (M3MnAI) was calculated to determine the Mn status of the soil (Mascagni and Cox, 1985). The M3MnAI is a function of both soil pH and Mn (mg kg-1) extracted by the Mehlich-3 extractant: M3MnAI = 101.7 - 15.2 (pH) + 3.75 M3Mn.
Plant tissue samples were collected from mower clippings on 25 Apr. 1998 and 25 May 1999. Tissue samples were dried at 70°C and digested with perchloric/nitric acid. Manganese concentrations were determined with an inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometer.
Foliar symptoms associated with take-all patch were recorded in May and June of 1998 to 2000. Disease severity was determined for each experimental unit using a 1- by 3-m grid with 256 intersections. The foliar area exhibiting disease symptoms was calculated for each experimental unit by dividing the total number of intersections observed over necrotic foliage by 256, and then multiplying the quotient by 100. Severity is reported as the percentage foliage damaged by the disease. All data were subjected to ANOVA performed with Statistical Analysis Software (SAS Institute, 1995). Data were analyzed by the GLM procedure of SAS. Single degree of freedom contrasts were evaluated to test treatment effects. Linear, quadratic, and cubic responses to Mn rate were examined by excluding the untreated experimental units. Mean separation was performed by Fisher's LSD (Little and Hills, 1978).
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
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Compared with untreated turf, the application of Mn fertilizer markedly reduced the severity of take-all patch in every year of the study (Tables 1, 2, and 3). The 2.25 kg ha-1 rate of Mn was usually as effective in suppressing the disease as were higher application rates of Mn, except for the two final disease assessments in the third year of study when the main effect of Mn rate was significant (Table 3). The Mn rate of 6.75 kg ha-1 was required to achieve maximum reduction in foliar symptoms as disease severity increased in May 2000. The higher Mn rate required for maximum suppression in 2000 may be attributable to the very low soil M3MnAI values for that growing season. The M3MnAI of soil in untreated plots declined from 45.1 in November 1998 to 21.3 in April 2000, indicating that very low availability levels of Mn were present in 2000 (Table 4). Thus, it is congruent that higher rates of Mn treatment were required for maximum response as M3MnAI decreased during the study.
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Table 1. Influence of Mn fertilizer rate applied on 1 Apr. 1998 on the severity of take-all patch on a bentgrass fairway.
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Table 2. Influence of Mn fertilizer rate and time of application on the severity of take-all patch on a bentgrass fairway treated with Mn on 1 Apr. 1998, 1 Oct. 1998, or 1 Apr. 1999.
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Table 3. Influence of Mn fertilizer rate and time of application on the severity of take-all patch on a bentgrass fairway treated with Mn on 1 Apr. 1998, 1 Oct. 1998, 1 Apr. 1999, 1 Oct. 1999, or 1 Apr. 2000.
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Table 4. Effect of Mn fertilizer rate and time of application on the Mehlich-3 extractable Mn and Mehlich-3 Mn availability index (M3MnAI) at soil sampling dates of November 1998, June 1999, and April 2000.
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Time of Mn application was also significant on two rating dates in 2000 (Table 3). On 19 and 30 May 2000, the most recent applications of Mn were more effective at suppressing foliar symptoms of take-all patch than older applications (Table 5). Manganese fertilizer applied one or more years before disease evaluation was less effective in suppressing foliar symptoms of take-all than were Mn applications made <1 yr before data were obtained.
Soil test levels for P, K, and most micronutrients were at acceptable levels for a golf course fairway (data not presented). Manganese, however, was probably deficient at the site based on soil samples collected from control plots in November 1998 (Table 4). In previous research (Hill et al., 1999), soils with M3MnAI values at 43 or below were found to be insufficient to control foliar symptoms of take-all patch on bentgrass. To provide perspective, M3MnAI values below 63 have been associated with Mn deficiency in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) (Heckman et al., 1993) and values below 25 are considered Mn-deficient for soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] (Mascagni and Cox, 1985).
Some of the applied Mn likely reached the soil surface and was taken up by roots. Soil tests in November 1998 and June 1999 performed on samples taken from Mn-treated experimental units did not, however, indicate a statistically significant increase in Mehlich-3 extractable Mn or in the M3MnAI, compared with untreated experimental units (Table 4). However, in the third year of the current study, soil test levels of Mn increased slightly in treated plots, compared with the untreated plots. These results, along with the findings of Hill et al. (1999), indicate that it is difficult to build up soil test levels of Mn with a single foliar application of up to 9.0 kg ha-1 of Mn.
No significant effect of Mn fertilization was observed on the Mn concentration in leaf tissue sampled 24 to 55 d after fertilization in 1998 and 1999, respectively. The mean Mn concentration in leaf tissue samples collected from untreated plots was 67 mg kg-1 (range of 51 to 80 mg kg-1), while the mean Mn concentration in leaf tissue collected from fertilized plots was 84 mg kg-1 (range of 47 to 257 mg kg-1). It is unclear whether leaf tissue Mn levels increased immediately after fertilization since samples were collected several weeks after fertilization and numerous mowings. It is plausible that a short-term increase in Mn concentration may have occurred, which was subsequently harvested through clipping removal. Manganese has a low mobility in plants once it is incorporated into shoot tissue (Marschner, 1995; Carrow et al., 2001). Therefore, a significant portion of a foliar application of Mn would likely be readily immobilized in the upper section of the verdure once foliar uptake occurs and would be harvested via clipping removal. Estimates of Mn removal via clippings range from 0.2 to 1.9 kg Mn ha-1 yr-1, assuming a bentgrass clipping dry matter yield range of 3400 to 7500 kg ha-1 yr-1 (1998, unpublished data) and a leaf tissue Mn concentration range of 47 to 257 mg kg-1. Thus, clipping removal has the potential to remove much of the applied Mn fertilizer across a period of time. As a result, clipping removal may be a significant factor that limits the buildup of soil test levels of Mn when the Mn fertilizer is applied as a foliar spray.
Manganese depletion by clipping removal, however, does not appear to fully explain the lack of change in soil test levels of Mn exhibited in soil samples collected in November 1998 (Table 4), only 6 wk after the application of Mn fertilizer. Assuming there was not a rapid depletion of Mn due to the removal of leaf tissue immediately after the foliar application, then additional factors must be involved. The ability of G. graminis var. avenae and other microorganisms to oxidize Mn into plant-unavailable Mn+3 and/or Mn+4 (Huber and McCay-Buis, 1993) may have also limited the buildup of soil test Mn in this study. Moreover, Mn oxidization by G. graminis var. tritici is a virulence factor that can enhance pathogenicity of wheat by reducing the amount of plant available Mn in the rhizosphere (Huber and Mccay-Buis, 1993). In a study of alfalfa where Mn fertilizer was applied at 22 kg ha-1 directly to the soil (Heckman et al., 1993), the residual availability of the Mn fertilizer was limited. The difficulty of maintaining sufficient plant available Mn in soil further suggests that reapplication of Mn may be needed to ensure that this nutrient is not limiting for the effective suppression of take-all patch. Additionally, soil pH adjustment and acidifying N fertilizers can be used to enhance Mn availability (Huber and McCay-Buis, 1993; Thompson et al., 1995), and this may also aid in disease suppression.
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CONCLUSION
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Manganese fertilization can effectively suppress the foliar symptoms of take-all patch on bentgrass turf. The 2.25 kg ha-1 rate of Mn fertilizer was generally as effective as higher rates of application; however, a higher rate (i.e., 6.75 kg ha-1) was more effective when the Mehlich-3 Mn availability index was very low (e.g., 21). Applied Mn became less effective in suppressing take-all patch across time presumably due to microbial oxidation to less available forms and clipping removal. Reapplication of Mn fertilizer every 12 to 18 mo appears to be sufficient to maintain maximum suppression of foliar symptoms of take-all patch on creeping bentgrass turf. The occurrence of the take-all patch at a Mehlich-3 soil test of 11.6 mg kg-1 Mn and a Mehlich-3 availability index of up to 45 suggest that these test levels on an Atlantic coastal plain soil are conducive to the disease.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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The authors thank Mr. Pradip Majumdar and Mr. Dennis Haines for their technical assistance, and the Rutgers Center for Turfgrass Science and the New Jersey Turfgrass Foundation for financial support.
Received for publication June 20, 2002.
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REFERENCES
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- Garrett, S.D. 1981. Introduction. p. 1–14. In M.J.C. Asher and P.J. Shipton (ed.) Biology and control of take-all. Academic Press, New York.
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ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
