Fairy ring is a common turf disease found on golf courses, but is poorly understood in terms of its epidemiology and control. An online questionnaire was emailed to every golf course in the UK and Ireland (equating to 3,849 recipients) in order to gather information on incidence, distribution and severity of fairy ring. Greenkeepers reported that type-2 fairy ring, where growth of the turf is stimulated, occurred the most frequently and that the impact was predominantly aesthetic. Disease symptoms were at their worst in July and August and were considered more of a problem when occurring on putting greens than any other part of the golf course. Links golf courses had a higher incidence of severe fairy ring than other golf course types and the south-east of Great Britain appeared to be more badly affected than the north-west.
A mycelial growth assay in vitro found that propiconazole was significantly more effective at inhibiting growth of some common fairy ring species than fungicides flutolanil, azoxystrobin and pyraclostrobin, and simple salt potassium bicarbonate. Experiments on Marasmius oreades and Agaricus campestris fairy rings in the field did not provide evidence that any of these chemicals controlled symptoms in situ.
The active zones of fairy rings at two golf courses were monitored using a soil moisture meter and a test to detect soil hydrophobicity, a condition whereby water fails to absorb into the soil. A significant moisture deficit and presence of hydrophobicity was detected as early in the year as March. Hydrophobicity was found to be absent from all tested fairy rings by October.
Overall, the project has produced a number of novel and interesting findings that have advanced understanding of fairy ring epidemiology and offer some practical solutions for greenkeepers trying to manage fairy ring symptoms on golf courses
