Pink snow mold is common on which turf types?

Pink snow mold is common on which turf types?

• A. Bentgrass putting greens
• B. Bermudagrass lawns
• C. Zoysiagrass fairways
• D. St. Augustine lawns

Answer: (A)

Pink snow mold thrives in cool, wet conditions on fine-textured cool-season grasses that stay active under winter weather. Creeping bentgrass, the turf commonly used on putting greens, provides the perfect habitat with its very fine leaves and dense, slow-drying canopy. When snow cover lingers and leaf wetness persists during freezing to above-freezing temperatures, the fungus Microdochium nivale can colonize patches, producing pinkish growth and turf damage. Warm-season grasses like Bermudagrass, Zoysiagrass, and St. Augustine tend to go dormant in winter and don’t offer the same favorable environment for this disease, so pink snow mold is not commonly seen on them.

Pink snow mold thrives in cool, wet conditions on fine-textured cool-season grasses that stay active under winter weather. Creeping bentgrass, the turf commonly used on putting greens, provides the perfect habitat with its very fine leaves and dense, slow-drying canopy. When snow cover lingers and leaf wetness persists during freezing to above-freezing temperatures, the fungus Microdochium nivale can colonize patches, producing pinkish growth and turf damage. Warm-season grasses like Bermudagrass, Zoysiagrass, and St. Augustine tend to go dormant in winter and don’t offer the same favorable environment for this disease, so pink snow mold is not commonly seen on them.