Improved types of bermudagrass are used for home lawns, commercial sites, and other areas requiring attractive turf. It is also used on golf course fairways, tees, and rough areas, and in other athletic settings because of its wear tolerance, recuperative potential, and appearance. Seed varieties are becoming more available and can produce a durable play surface for summer recreation activities.

Seeding (1 lb/1000 sq.ft.), sodding, plugs, sprigs, and stolons (2 - 4 bushels of stolons/1000 sq. ft.)

Refer to the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) website (www.ntep.org) for additional varieties and performance data atvarious locations. Look for trial sites and maintenance levels most similar to your own.

Animal Damage

• Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
• Eastern Mole [Turfgrass] (Scalopus aquaticus)
• Voles (Microtus spp.)

Environmental Damage

• Drought
• Drowning and Edema

Fungal Disease

• Brown Patch [Turfgrass] (Rhizoctonia solani)
• Dollar Spot [Turfgrass] (Rutstroemia floccosum syn. Sclerotinia homoeocarpa)
• Fairy Rings [Turfgrass] (various Basidiomycete fungi)
• Helminthosporium Leaf, Crown, and Root Diseases [Turfgrass] (Several related genera)
• Mushrooms and Puffballs (various Basidiomycete fungi)
• Pink Snow Mold [Turfgrass] (Microdochium nivale)
• Powdery Mildew [Turfgrass] (Blumeria graminis [formerly Erysiphe graminis])
• Pythium Blight [Turfgrass] (Pythium spp. [water molds])
• Red Thread [Turfgrass] (Laetisaria fuciformis)
• Rust [Turfgrass] (Puccinia spp. and Uromyces spp.)
• Slime Molds (Mucilago, Didymium, Physarum, and Fuligo species)

Insect Damage

• Ants [Turfgrass] (Formicidae)
• Japanese Beetle (Popilla japonica)
• Sod Webworms [Turfgrass] (Crambus spp. and other Pyralidae)
• Thrips (Many)
• White Grubs [Turfgrass] (Ataenius spretulus, Popilla japonica, Cyclocephala spp., Phyllophaga spp.)

Additional pests and problems that may affect this plant:

Limited insect and weed problems in the Midwest.