Source: NCSU COLLEGE OF AG & LIFE SCIENCES, 3/29/21


“It’s the highest honor for a graduate student studying turfgrass science to be recognized by this award,” 2021 Musser Foundation Award of Excellence winner Cameron Stephens said. “It’s like the Heisman for turfgrass science graduate students.”  Stephens is a recent NC State Plant Pathology and Crop and Soil Sciences alumnus with deep expertise on a growing problem for golf courses – take-all root rot (TARR).

An Emerging Disease In Play
TARR is a fungal disease affecting ultradwarf bermudagrass, commonly used on southeastern U.S. golf putting greens. The disease appears throughout the growing season and manifesting itself as white to off-color patches that may decline under stressful abiotic conditions due to the severely compromised root system. 

It’s an emerging disease, one of the most frequently diagnosed in NC State’s Turf Diagnostic Lab. TARR is of agronomic and economic importance. It impacts golf course aesthetics and playability but is frequently confused with nematode damage and Pythium root rot, both of which are managed differently. Misdiagnosis can lead to improper management strategies which may result in economic loss, along with unnecessary chemical use.

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