VIEW ARTICLE

The Role of Tylenchorhynchus dubius in the Development of Fusarium Blight of Merion Kentucky Bluegrass. J. M. Vargas, Jr.,, Assistant Professor, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology and Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48823; C. W. Laughlin, Assistant Professor, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology and Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48823. Phytopathology 62:1311-1314. Accepted for publication 24 May 1972. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-62-1311.

The possible role of Tylenchorhynchus dubius, a stylet nematode, in the development of Fusarium blight of turfgrasses on Poa pratensis ‘Merion’ was investigated. These studies suggest an interaction between the fungus Fusarium roseum and the stunt nematode T. dubius in development of symptoms associated with Fusarium blight of turfgrasses. T. dubius appeared to be the dominant pathogen in this relationship. The possibility of controlling the disease with nematicides and the effect of benomyl, a known control of Fusarium blight, on T. dubius are discussed.