Gray Snow Mold
Gray Snow Mold
Photo courtesy of North Carolina State University
Gray snow mold is caused by the fungi Typhula incarnata and Typhula ishikariensis. It affects all cool-season grasses: bent grass, ryegrass, fine fescue and bluegrass. From winter to spring, it becomes more noticeable as the snow melts.
Signs and Symptoms
Gray Snow Mold begins as yellow-green spots. This infected turf becomes bleached and matted. Affected areas often run together forming large irregular patches. Hard yellowish-brown to reddish-brown seed-like structures are present on leaves and crowns. These fungal bodies are pin-head size to three-sixteenths in diameter.
Favorable Conditions:
Abundant moisture and temperatures between thirty and forty degrees favor disease. Disease can also occur under snow cover or melting snow, or on unfrozen turf.
Cultural Prevention and Control
There is nothing to prevent disease occurrence from a cultural standpoint.