Common Names of Plant Diseases

Diseases of Turfgrasses

Richard W. Smiley, primary collator* (last update 7/18/05)

Abbreviations of names for turfgrass species are:

• A = Agrostis canina L. (velvet bentgrass), A. stolonifera L. (creeping bentgrass), and A. capillaris L. (colonial bentgrass)
• Ag = Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn. (crested wheatgrass)
• Ax = Axonopus fissifolius (Raddi) Kuhlm. (common carpetgrass)
• B = Buchloë dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm. (buffalograss)
• C = Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. or Cynodon hybrids (bermudagrass)
• C3 = cool-season turfgrass genera [A, Ag, F, L, P]
• C4 = warm-season turfgrass genera [Ax, B, C, E, Pa, Pe, S, Z]
• E = Eremochloa ophiuroides (Munro) Hack. (centipedegrass)
• F = Festuca arundinacea Schreb. (tall fescue), F. brevipila R. Tracey (hard fescue), F. ovina L. (sheep fescue), F. rubra L. subsp. fallax (Thuill.) Nyman (chewings fescue), and F. rubra L. subsp. rubra (strong creeping red fescue)
• L = Lolium multiflorum Lam. (Italian ‘annual’ ryegrass) and L. perenne L. (perennial ryegrass)
• P = Poa annua L. (annual bluegrass), P. pratensis L. (Kentucky bluegrass), and P. trivialis L. (rough bluegrass)
• Pa = Paspalum notatum Fluegge (bahiagrass)
• Ph = Phleum bertolonii DC. (turf timothy)
• Pe = Pennisetum clandestinum Hochst. ex Chiov. (kikuyugrass)
• S = Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walter) Kuntze (St. Augustinegrass)
• Z = Zoysia matrella (L.) Merr. (Manilagrass), Z. japonica Steud. (Japanese lawngrass), and Z. tenuifolia Willd. ex Thiele (Mascarenegrass)

Bacterial wilt : A,C,P

Xanthomonas translucens Vauterin et al.

Black Layer :: See section on Miscellaneous Diseases and Disorders

Anthracnose : C3,C4

Colletotrichum graminicola (Ces.) G. W. Wils.

    Glomerella graminicola Politis [teleomorph]

: Microdochium bolleyi (R. Sprague) De Hoog &

    Hermanides-Nijhof

= Gloeosporium bolleyi R. Sprague

: Volutella colletotrichoides J. E. Chilton

Ascochyta leaf blight : C3,C4

Ascochyta avenae (Petr.) R. Sprague & A. G. Johnson

L : A. desmazieresii Cavara

Ag, F : A. hordei K. Hara

P : A. hordeicola Punithalingam

A,F,L : A. leptospora (Trail) K. Hara

F,P : A. phleina R. Sprague

P : A. poagena Punithalingam

C : A. graminea (Sacc.) R. Sprague & A. G. Johnson

Pa : A. paspali (Syd.) Punithalingam

Bermudagrass decline :: See Root decline of warm-season

    grasses

Bipolaris and Exserohilum leaf spot and crown and root rot:

    C3,C4

Bipolaris sorokiniana (Sacc.) Shoemaker

    Cochliobolus sativus (Ito & Kuribayashi) Drechs. ex

    Dastur [teleomorph]

C : B. cynodontis (Marignoni) Shoemaker

    Cochliobolus cynodontis R. R. Nelson [teleomorph]

Pe : B. australiensis (M. B. Ellis) Tsuda & Ueyama

    Cochliobolus australiensis (Tsuda & Ueyama)

    Alcorn [teleomorph]

B : B. buchloës (Lefebvre & A. G. Johnson) Shoemaker

C : B. hawaiiensis (M. B. Ellis) Uchida & Aragaki

Pa : B. micropus (Drechs.) Shoemaker

C,Z : B. spicifera (Bainier) Subramanian

    Cochliobolus spicifer R. R. Nelson [teleomorph]

C : B. stenospila (Drechs.) Shoemaker

    Cochliobolus stenospilus Matsumoto & W. Yamamoto

    [teleomorph]

Ag,C,S : Exserohilum rostratum (Drechs.) K. J. Leonard & E. G. Suggs

    Setosphaeria rostrata K. J. Leonard [teleomorph]

Blister smut : C3

Entyloma dactylidis (Pass.) Cif.

Brown patch and large patch : C3,C4

Rhizoctonia solani Kühn AG 1

    Thanatephorus cucumeris (A. B. Frank) Donk

    [teleomorph]

: R. solani Kühn AG 2,2

Brown stripe : C3,C4

Cercosporidium graminis (Fuckel) Deighton

Cephalosporium stripe : L,P

Cephalosporium gramineum Nisikada & Ikata in Nisikado

    et al.

= Hymenula cerealis Ellis & Everh.

Cercospora leaf spot : A,B,C,F,S

Cercospora agrostidis Atk.

: C. festucae Hardison

: C. seminalis Ellis & Everh.

: Phaeoramularia fusimaculans (Atk.) X. Liu & Guo

= C. fusimaculans Atk.

Cladosporium eyespot : Ph

Cladosporium phlei (C. T. Gregory) G. A. De Vries

Copper spot : A,C

Gloeocercospora sorghi Bain & Edgerton ex Deighton

Coprinus snow mold : C3

Coprinus psychromorbidus Redhead & J. A. Traquair

Crown rust : C3

Puccinia coronata Corda

Curvularia blight : C3,C4

Curvularia eragrostidis (Henn.) J. A. Meyer

    Pseudocochliobolus eragrostidis (Tsuda & Ueyama)

    Sivanesan [teleomorph]

: C. geniculata (Tracy & Earle) Boedijn

    Cochliobolus geniculatus R. R. Nelson [teleomorph]

: C. intermedia Boedijn

    Cochliobolus intermedius R. R. Nelson [teleomorph]

: C. lunata (Wakk.) Boedijn

    Cochliobolus lunatus (R. R. Nelson & Haasis) Tsuda,

    Ueyama, & Nishih. [teleomorph]

: C. penniseti (M. Mitra) Boedijn

: C. protuberata R. R. Nelson & C. S. Hodges

: C. senegalensis (Speg.) Subramanian

: C. trifolii (Kauffm.) Boedijn

Dead spot : A,C

Ophiosphaerella agrostis Dernoeden et al.

Dollar spot : C3,C4

Undetermined members of the family Rutstroemiaceae, such as

    a Poculum or Rutstroemia spp.

= Sclerotinia homoeocarpa F. T. Bennett

Downy mildew :: See yellow tuft

Drechslera and Marielliottia leaf spots and melting-out : C3

A : Drechslera erythrospila (Drechs.) Shoemaker

L : D. catenaria (Drechs.) Ito

D. nobleae D. Matthews & E. McKenzie

P : D. poae (Baudys) Shoemaker

F,L : D. dictyoides (Drechs.) Shoemaker

    Pyrenophora dictyoides Paul and Parberry [teleomorph]

D. siccans (Drechs.) Shoemaker

    Pyrenophora lolii Dovaston [teleomorph]

Ph : D. phlei (J. H. Graham) Shoemaker

P : D. gigantea (Heald & F. A. Wolf) Ito

Marielliottia triseptata (Drechs.) Shoemaker

Endophytic fungi : C3 :

Neotyphodium coenophialum Morgan-Jones & W. Gams)

    Glenn, Bacon, & Hanlin

: N. lolii (Latch, Christensen, & Samuels) Glenn, Bacon,

    & Hanlin

: N. typhinum (Morgan-Jones & W. Gams) Glenn, Bacon,

        & Hanlin

    Epichloe typhina (Pers.:Fr.) Tul. & C. Tul. [teleomorph]

Fairy ring

C3,C4 : Species of Agraricales and Gastromycetales, mostly in the genera Agaricus, Calvatia, Chlorophyllum, Clitocybe, Lepiota, Lycoperdon, Marasmius, Scleroderma, and Tricholoma.

Flag smut : C3

Urocystis agropyri (G. Preuss) J. Schröt.

Frost scorch : A,F,P

Sclerotium rhizodes Auersw.

Fusarium leaf spot, crown and root rot : P

Fusarium acuminatum Ellis & Everh.

    Gibberella acuminata Wollenweb. [teleomorph]

: F. avenaceum (Fr.:Fr.) Sacc.

    G. avenacea R. J. Cook [teleomorph]

: F. crookwellense L. W. Burgess, P. E. Nelson &

    T. A. Toussoun

: F. culmorum (Wm. G. Sm.) Sacc.

: F. equiseti (Corda) Sacc.

    G. intricans Wollenweb. [teleomorph] 

: F. graminearum Schwabe

    G. zeae (Schwein.) Petch [teleomorph]

: F. heterosporum Nees:Fr.

    G. gordonia C. Booth [teleomorph]

: F. poae (Peck) Wollenweb.

: F. pseudograminearum O’Donnell & T. Aoki

    G. coronicola T. Aoki & O’Donnell [teleomorph]

: F. semitectum Berk. & Ravenel

Fusarium patch :: See Microdochium patch

Gray leaf spot : C3,C4

Pyricularia grisea (Cooke) Sacc.

= P. oryzae Cavara

    Magnaporthe grisea (Hebert) Barr [teleomorph]

Large patch :: See brown patch and large patch

Leaf blotch : C3

Rhynchosporium orthosporum R. M. Caldwell

: R. secalis (Oudem.) J. J. Davis

Leaf rust : C3

Puccinia brachypodii G. Otth var. poae-nemoralis (G. Otth)

    Cummins & H. C. Greene

C : P. cynodontis Lacr. ex Desmaz.

C3 : P. recondita Roberge ex Desmaz.

S : P. stenotaphricola J. Walker

Z : P. zoysiae Dietel

F,P : Uromyces dactylidis G. Otth

Leptosphaerulina leaf blight : C3

Leptosphaerulina trifolii (Rostr.) Petr.

= L. australis McAlpine

Mastigosporium leaf spot (leaf fleck) : A, Ph

Mastigosporium rubricosum (Dearn. & Barth.) Nannf.

M. kitzebergense Schlosser

Microdochium patch : C3

Microdochium nivale (Fr.) Samuels and I. C. Hallett

= Fusarium nivale Ces. ex Berl. & Voglino

= Gerlachia nivalis (Ces. ex Berl. & Voglino) W. Gams &

        E. Müller

    Monographella nivalis (Schaffnit) E. Müller [teleomorph]

= Calonectria nivalis Schaffnit

= Micronectriella nivalis (Schaffnit) C. Booth)

Necrotic ring spot : C3

Ophiosphaerella korrae (J. Walker & A. M. Sm.)

    Shoemaker & Babcock

= Leptosphaeria korrae J. Walker & A. M. Smith

Net blotch :: See Drechslera and Marielliottia diseases

Nigrospora blight : F,L,P,S

Nigrospora sphaerica (Sacc.) E. Mason

Phyllosticta leaf blight : C3,C4

Species of Phyllosticta Pers.

    Guignardia Viala & Ravaz [teleomorph]

Physoderma leaf spot and leaf streak : C3,C4

Physoderma graminis (Busgen) De Wild

P. paspali Stevenson

Pink patch and cream leaf blight : C,C3

Limonomyces roseipellis Stalpers & Loerakker

Pink snow mold :: See Microdochium patch

Powdery mildew : C3

Blumeria graminis (DC.) E. O. Speer

Pseudoseptoria leaf spot : C3

Pseudoseptoria stomaticola (Bäumler) Sutton

= Selenophoma donacis (Pass.) R. Sprague & A. G. Johnson

    var. stomaticola (Baumler) R. Sprague & A. G. Johnson)

: P. donacis (Pass.) Sutton

= S. donacis (Pass.) R. Sprague & A. G. Johnson)

: P. everhartii (Sacc. & Syd.) Sutton

= S. everhartii (Sacc. & Syd.) R. Sprague & A. G. Johnson

Pythium foliar blight and root rot: C,C3

Pythium aphanidermatum (Edson) Fitzp.

: P. graminicola Subramanian

: P. myriotylum Drechs.

: P. torulosum Coker & F. Patterson

: P. ultimum Trow

: P. vanterpoolii V. Kouyeas & H. Kouyeas

Pythium root and crown rot : C3

Pythium aristosporum Vanterpool

: P. arrhenomanes Drechs.

: P. catenulatum Matthews

: P. debaryanum Hesse

: P. irregulare Buisman

: P. myriotylum Drechs.

: P. periplocum Drechs.

: P. rostratum E. J. Butler

: P. tardicrescens Vanterpool

: P. vexans deBary

: P. volutum Vanterpool & Truscott

Pythium snow blight : C3

Pythium aristosporum Vanterpool

: P. horinouchiense Hirane

: P. iwayamai S. Ito

: P. graminicola Subramanian

: P. paddicum Hirane

Ramularia leaf spot : A,Ag,L,P

Ramularia pusilla Unger

= Ovularia pulchella (Ces.) Sacc.

= O. pusilla (Unger) Sacc.

= Ramularia pulchella Ces.

: Ramulaspera holci-lanati (Cavara) Lindr.

Rapid blight : A,P

Labyrinthula sp.

Red leaf spot :: See Drechslera and Marielliottia diseases

Red thread : C3

Laetisaria fuciformis (McAlpine)

    : Isaria fuciformis Berk. [anamorph]

Rusts :: See leaf rust, crown rust, and stripe rust

Rhizoctonia leaf and sheath spot : C3,C4

Rhizoctonia oryzae Ryker and Gooch

    W. circinata Warcup & Talbot AG O [teleomorph]

: R. zeae Voorhees

    W. circinata Warcup & Talbot AG Z [teleomorph]

Root decline of warm-season grasses: C4

Gaeumannomyces graminis (Sacc.) Arx & D. Olivier var.

    graminis

: G. incrustans Landschoot & Jackson

: G. wongoonoo P. Wong

Seedling diseases : C3, C4

Species of Pythium, Fusarium, Microdochium, and Rhizoctonia; less often, species of Bipolaris, Colletotrichum, Curvularia, Drechslera and others

Septoria leaf spot : C3

Septoria agropyrina Lobik

: S. calamagrostidis (Lib.) Sacc.

: S. cynodontis Fuckel

: S. elymi Ellis & Everh.

: S. loligena R. Sprague

: S. macropoda Pass.

: S. macropoda Pass. var. grandis R. Sprague

: S. macropoda Pass. var. septulata (Gonz. & Frag.)

    R. Sprague

: S. oudemansii Sacc.

: S. secalis Prill. & Delacr. var. stipae R. Sprague

: S. tenella Cooke & Ellis

: S. triseti Speg

: S. tritici Roberge in Desmaz. var. lolicola R. Sprague

    & A. G. Johnson

Smuts :: See blister smut, flag smut, and stripe smut

Snow scald : C3

Myriosclerotinia borealis (Bubák & Vleugel) L. M. Kohn

= Sclerotinia borealis Bubák & Vleugel)

Southern blight : C3, C4

Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc.

    Athelia rolfsii (Curzi) Tu and Kimbrough [teleomorph]

Spermospora leaf spot : C3

Spermospora ciliata (R. Sprague) Deighton

: S. lolii MacGarvie & O'Rourke

: S. poagena (R. Sprague) MacGarvie & O'Rourke

= Cercosporella poagena R. Sprague

Spring dead spot : C4

Gaeumannomyces graminis (Sacc.) Arx & D. Olivier

    var. graminis

: Ophiosphaerella narmari J. Walker & A. M. Sm.) Wetzel,

    Hulbert, & Tisserat

= Leptosphaeria narmari J. Walker & A. M. Smith

: O. korrae (J. Walker & A. M. Sm.) Shoemaker & Babcock

= L. korrae J. C. Walker & A. M. Smith

: Ophiosphaerella herpotricha (Fr.:Fr.) J. Walker

Stagonospora leaf spot : C3

Stagonospora arenaria (Sacc.) Sacc.

: S. nodorum (Berk.) Castellani & E. G. Germano

= Septoria nodorum (Berk.) Berk. in Berk. & Broome

    Phaeosphaeria nodorum (E. Müller) Hedjaroude

    [teleomorph]

: Stagonospora avenae (A. B. Frank) Bissett

= Septoria avenae A. B. Frank

: St. paspali

Stem rust : C3,C4

Puccinia graminis Pers.:Pers.

P. graminis Pers.:Pers. subsp. graminicola Z. Urban

Stripe rust : P

Puccinia striiformis Westend.

Stripe smut : C3

Ustilago striiformis (Westend.) Niessl

String of pearls :: See frost scorch

Summer patch

C3 : Magnaporthe poae Landschoot & Jackson

Superficial fairy ring : C3

Coprinus kubickae Pilát and Svrcek

: Trechispora cohaerens (Schwein.) Julich & Stalpers

: T. farinacea (Pers.:Fr.) Liberta

Take-all patch : A

Gaeumannomyces graminis (Sacc.) Arx & D. Olivier var. avenae (E. M. Turner) Dennis

Tar spot : C3,C4

Phyllachora spp.

: P. cynodontis (Sacc.) Niessl

: P. dactylidis Delacr.

: P. graminis (Pers.:Fr.) Nitschke

: P. minutissima (Welw. & Curr.) G. W. Sm.

: P. pennisetina Syd.

: P. sylvatica Sacc. & Speg.

Typhula blight : C3

Typhula incarnata Fr.

: T. ishikariensis Imai var. canadensis J. D. Smith & Årsvoll

: T. ishikariensis Imai var. idahoensis Årsvoll & J. D. Smith

: T. ishikariensis Imai var. ishikariensis Årsvoll & J. D. Smith

White blight : C3

Melanotus phillipsii (Berk. & Broome) Singer

Yellow patch : C3

Rhizoctonia cerealis Van der Hoeven

    Ceratobasidium cereale D. Murray & L. L. Burpee

    [teleomorph]

Yellow tuft (downy mildew) : A,P,S

Sclerophthora macrospora (Sacc.) Thirumalachar,

C. G. Shaw, & Narasimhan

Yellow ring : C3

Trechispora alnicola (Bourd. & Galzin) Liberta

Yellow tuft :: See downy mildew

Zonate leaf spot :: See Drechslera and Marielliottia diseases

Zoysia patch :: See Root decline of warm-season grasses

• Awl :: Dolichodorus spp. Cobb
• Cyst :: Heterodera spp. Schmidt
• Dagger :: Xiphinema spp. Cobb
• Lance :: Hoplolaimus spp. Daday
• Lesion :: Pratylenchus spp. Filipjev
• Needle :: Longidorus spp. (Micoletzky) Thorne & Swanger
• Pin :: Paratylenchus spp.
• Pseudo-root knot :: Hypsoperine spp. Sledge & Golden
• Ring :: Criconemella, Criconemoides, Macroposthonia, and
      Mesocriconema spp.
• Root gall :: Subanguina spp.
• Root knot :: Meloidogyne spp. Goeldi
• Sheath :: Hemicycliophora spp.
• Sheathoid :: Hemicriconemoides spp.
• Spiral :: Helicotylenchus spp. Steiner
• Sting :: Belonolaimus spp. Steiner
• Stubby root :: Paratrichodorus and Trichodorus spp.
• Stylet or stunt :: Tylenchorhynchus spp. Cobb

Centipedegrass mosaic : E

Panicum mosaic virus

St. Augustine decline : S

Panicum mosaic virus

Aster Yellows : aster yellows phytoplasma

White leaf : bermudagrass white leaf phtoplasma

Yellow dwarf : unknown mollicute

Black Layer : A

Anaerobic soil plus blue-green algae and/or sulfate-reducing bacteria

Slime Molds (superficial, not pathogenic) : C3,C4

Mucilago crustacea A. Wigg.

: Didymium squamulosum (Alb. & Schwein.) Fr.

: Physarum cinereum (Batsch) Pers.

: Species of Physarum and Fuligo

 

*Collated from: Smiley, R. W., Dernoeden, P. H., and Clarke, B. B. (eds.). 2005. Compendium of Turfgrass Diseases, 3rd Ed. Amer. Phytopathol. Soc., St. Paul, MN.