[Starsail85]

Hi Mal

Thatch decomposition is always going to occur in turf as long as anaerobic conditions are avoided and excessive use of fungicides too. Thatch decomposition by Sphaerobolus s tends to occur at a higher rate than other fungi and leaves slightly sunken circular areas(not doughty like fairy rings) of beautiful healthy turf(that has a lower organic matter level and naturally released nitrates due to the decomposition processes) that is now a depression due to the OM disappearing . As SS feeds on lignin it is more damaging to finer grasses greens with fescues and bents being more susceptible . Your poa dominant greens (99% of all golf courses UK stereotypical parkland over watered over fed over fubgicided etc) are less susceptible due to poa thatch having a higher cellulose content. Most parkland courses due to high membership fees can afford to basically sterilise the soil with fubgicided and stop the damaging effects of some basidiomycetes , but this is not the goal on my course( a seaside links) as we appreciate the damaging effects of fungicides in general and how they can damage soil microbe/ grass relationships to the detriment of your sward botanical composition

The bones of my question were

1. How can we /can we evenly establish SS within the whole root zone

2. What would be the natural competitor in the soil food web to SS

We certainly have a lot of fungal activity on our golf greens and a lot of it is good. The normal thatch eating fungi and bacteria that contribute to gradual OM decomposition is great and we try to promote it through regular aeration and seaweed treatments as biostimulitive methods, low salt inputs in our feeding programs . Mycorrhizae fungi has a huge role to play in terms of giving the perennial grasses the competitive advantage over poa annua . Even the fungal pathogens play a role in improving the sward , as anthracnose and microdocium nivale tend to target the poa and reduce it. We have red thread and dollar spot that tend to arrive due to low fertility ( so increasing natural N input from fungal OM decomposition plays a role here too) . Take all patch is a problem on one green, and we are experimenting with alittle manganese to check it . We only spray a preventative fungicide in early September

Thatch fungus (cases point to SS being the culprit) is a relatively new phenomena on greens, with reports of it occurring coming about 2010 onwards. The real trouble is even the experts in the field of greenkeeping know very little about it , which is why I am trying to do alittle detective work on here

King regards

Tom

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