Slime mold (Physarum cinereum (Batsch) Pers.) on turfgrass

Abstract

Goal. To study the spread and severity of slime mold on turfgass in Ukraine.
 Methods. Field and laboratory methods were used. The research was conducted on two varieties of mixed with different percentage and species composition of cereal grasses. The survey of crops was performed during vegetation in the Polissya, Forest-steppe and Steppe areas. For the identification of pathogen, a selection of plant samples was carried out with further analysis in laboratory conditions. The observations were conducted according to generally accepted methods; spread and severity of disease were determined.
 Results. The first time in Ukraine revealed damage to the cereal grasses (Physarum cinereum (Batsch) Pers.). Symptoms and morphological characteristics of the pathogen are described. In the Kiev region, in terms of distribution and development, it exceeded other pathogens (30.6—39.0% and 15.4—21.2% correspondingly). In the Kirovograd region, slime mold was observed in 2016 and 2017 at a much lower degree. Its spread was 8.4—10.5% with severity within the range of 3.1—4.5%. In the Zhytomyr region during the period of research symptoms of this disease were not fixed. The most favorable for the development of Physarum cinereum was the growing season of 2017.
 Conclusions. For the first time in Ukraine, the appearance of disease caused by Physarum cinereum was detected on lawn grasses. The spread of this disease has been noted on both types of grass mixtures. The phytopathological analysis showed that slime mold was the most widespread diseases in the Forest-Steppe zone (Kyiv region), where it dominated in the complex of leaf diseases. In Steppe zone (Kirovograd region) in the period of 2016—2017 it's spread was much lower and in Polissya zone (Zhytomyr region) symptoms of slime mold was not revealed.