Take-All Patch

Bent Grass

• Small, light brown dead patches appear on turf.
• Established patches continually spread.
• Stressed grass appears bronze to reddish brown and then fades to a dull brown.
• During winter affected patches turn grey.
• In pure Bent Grass stands, circular dead spots occur.
• Patches may enlarge (up to 15 cm a year) to reach diameter of 1 m or more or may appear briefly and then cease to spread.
• Affected patches do not usually heal rapidly and the centres are invaded/taken over by Fesuce and weeds.
• Stolons, rhizomes, roots and bases of shoots become dark brown to black before they are killed.
• Less severely infected tissues often bear dark strands of mycelium oriented primarily parallel to the root axis.

• Severe during cool, wet years and in poorly drained turf.
• Greatly enhanced on turf grown in soils with high pH.
• Increasing acidity tends to suppress this disease.
• Soil conditions favouring the disease include, light texture, low organic content, low or unbalance fertility, soil pH above 5.5.

• Use acidifying fertilisers.
• Apply moderate to high levels of phosphorous, potassium and minor elements where these nutrients are depleted from the soil.
• Improve drainage of turf.
• When liming apply the coarsest grades of lime to avoid rapid changes in pH.
• Removal of diseases patches and resodding where small areas are affected.
• Preventative systemic fungicide applications.

Take-All Patch predominately affects newly sown Bent Grass golf greens. In mixed stands, the Bent Grass appears yellow-brown to brown, leaving a thinned overall stand dominated by Winter Grass or Fescue.