First report of rapid blight in bermudagrass

Rapid blight has been the scourge of many Poa annua greens and many overseeded greens, tees, fairways and roughs for several years. But until now, its occurence in warm-season turf has not been observed. In a report recently published on PACE's Super Journal website, Dr. Mary Olsen of the University of Arizona documents for the first time the occurrence of the rapid blight organism, Labyrinthula terrestris, in bermudagrass. The kicker is — the bermudagrass exhibits no symptoms whatsoever.

Olsen theorizes…