2026/06/10 by Samuel Kreinberg, Jason Davis, Michael D. Richardson +2 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Plant Disease Resistance and Genetics #Turfgrass Adaptation and Management #Plant Pathogens and Resistance
paper · doi:10.21273/hortsci19360-26
openalex publication_date 2026/06/10 · openalex created_date 2026/06/11 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
Large patch ( Rhizoctonia solani AG 2-2 LP) is a detrimental disease to warm-season turfgrasses, specifically zoysiagrass ( Zoysia spp.). The epidemiology of the disease on zoysiagrass has not been widely studied and warrants further research. The objective of our study was to investigate the spatial and temporal dynamics of large patch and to highlight potential factors that affect the epidemiology of the disease. To analyze large patch epidemics, drone imagery was collected over four trial locations consisting of 25 quadrats during May 2024 and May 2025. The percentage of patch area (i.e., disease severity) within each quadrat was determined. Soil and environmental parameters such as soil nutrient concentrations, soil pH, thatch depth, organic matter content, volumetric water content, and topography were measured in May 2024 to complement the epidemiological patterns of large patch severity. From correlation analysis, thatch depth was the factor most correlated with disease severity among the four locations ( r = 0.26). At one location, copper and zinc soil levels were correlated with disease severity at the α = 0.05 level ( r = 0.46 and r = 0.53, respectively). Large patch was classified as an aggregated disease from the index of dispersion and was dynamic from year to year. This study aided in the characterization of large patch epidemics, which will help develop a large patch prediction model in the future.