2025 Turf Diagnostics Lab Review
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Collapse ▲Overall, total turfgrass samples submitted in 2025 to the NC State Turf Diagnostics Lab were 6% higher than samples submitted in 2024 and 13% above our 18-year running average (2008-2025). As expected, most (71%) of our samples came from golf course putting greens, down 3% from 2024. We always combine creeping bentgrass and annual bluegrass data because most of these samples are pure creeping bentgrass, and they typically have the same disease issues as annual bluegrass.
Below is information regarding all golf course putting green samples submitted in 2025. Enjoy!
Client distribution for 2025
ATTENTION! – These charts only indicate the samples we have received in our lab here at NC State. The following post focuses mainly on data collected from golf course putting green samples (creeping bentgrass/annual bluegrass, and bermudagrass).
41% of all turfgrass samples came from North Carolina. 71% of all turfgrass samples came from the SE United States. The top five states were NC, FL, SC, TX, and CA.
22% of all creeping bentgrass/Poa putting green samples came from NC. 32% of all creeping bentgrass/Poa putting green samples came from the SE United States. The top five states were NC, CA, VA, NV, and TX.
34% of all bermudagrass putting green samples came from NC. 81% of all bermudagrass putting green samples came from the SE United States. The top five states were NC, FL, SC, TX, and GA.
We typically receive samples from cases that are hard to diagnose in the field alone. Therefore, these charts don’t necessarily represent all primary disease outbreaks but illustrate issues requiring a microscope and/or expert confirmation. This is why you will see little to no diagnoses of diseases that are relatively easier to diagnose in person, such as dollar spot, brown patch, etc.
Distribution of all samples submitted to our lab in 2025.
Bermudagrass putting green samples were up 16%, creeping bentgrass was down 25%, and Poa annua was down 28% when compared to 2024. Seashore paspalum samples had no change compared to 2024.
Now, let’s look at which cultivars and varieties we receive the most. This does NOT indicate that one is more susceptible to disease or more problematic than another. This was compiled from all samples submitted in 2025 and would likely resemble any survey that asks, “What do you have planted?” Remember, 32% of creeping bentgrass/Poa samples and 81% of bermudagrass samples are from the southeastern United States.
Putting green cultivar/variety distribution for samples submitted in 2025.
Next, let’s take a look at actual disease diagnoses. If you remember from an earlier post, ~50% of the time, we do not find any active pathogens in samples. This could be due to several factors: it was never a disease; it was a disease, but the damage was done too long ago to detect; or it was a disease, and you’ve suppressed it with your fungicide program. This is why collecting your samples for disease diagnosis is very important before they are sprayed (please and thank you!).
Creeping bentgrass/annual bluegrass (Poa annua) putting greens submissions since 2010.
As the industry in our area shifted towards ultradwarf bermudagrass putting greens over the past 15 years or so, creeping bentgrass samples have now dipped below 30% for the first time since we began tracking these data in 2008.
Creeping bentgrass and annual bluegrass (Poa annua) samples from 2025 versus the 15-year average of (2008 – 2022).
Bent/Poa samples followed a relatively normal monthly distribution, with most occurring during the summer. This is best illustrated in the graph above compared to the 15-year average.
Top 10 diagnoses from creeping bentgrass and annual bluegrass (Poa annua) putting green samples in 2025.
Most interesting in 2025 was that the top two issues outside of “no pathogen found” were both abiotic: high salinity or black layer. The majority of the samples diagnosed with high salinity were from the Western half of the United States, whereas black layer was diagnosed in all regions. The most common turfgrass disease diagnosed was Pythium root rot, for which we diagnosed zero samples in North Carolina.
It should be noted that while we do not offer a nematode assay service, we report root-knot and lance nematodes. They are easy to see because they are endoparasites (inside the roots) and don’t get washed away like ectoparasites (outside the roots) when we rinse soil away from roots to detect fungal pathogens. We have observed a steady rise in issues with root-knot nematodes over the past several years in both creeping bentgrass and bermudagrass putting greens.
Also, receiving a diagnosis of “no pathogen found” is equally valuable as receiving a disease diagnosis. Many things cause turfgrass quality to decline, so don’t assume it has to be a disease.
Chronology of the top 10 creeping bentgrass and annual bluegrass (Poa annua) putting green diseases in 2025.
The chart above shows when each disease was diagnosed in bent/Poa and in putting green samples. The smallest bars usually indicate only a handful of confirmed cases, whereas the larger bars represent many confirmed cases through that time period.
All of the diagnoses made on creeping bentgrass and annual bluegrass (Poa annua) putting green samples in 2025.
As with last year’s report, we have added all the diagnoses we made throughout the year to illustrate what we saw, including those that didn’t make the top 10 list above. There were 16 different diagnoses in 2025 on creeping bent/Poa samples. The percentage in the upper right corner of each box indicates the proportion of bent/Poa putting green samples diagnosed with that disease.
Bermudagrass putting greens submissions since 2010.
While this is the inverse of the bent/Poa chart above, this graph shows the rise in bermudagrass putting green samples over the past several years, driven by the industry shift toward these grasses for putting green surfaces. In 2025, we reached a new high with 68% of our samples being bermudagrass across all putting green samples.
Bermudagrass samples from 2025 versus the 15-year average of (2008 – 2022).
Bermudagrass samples in 2025 roughly followed the 15-year average, with a dip in early summer and a slight spike in mid-fall. Based on the 15-year average, we see roughly three distinct times when bermudagrass samples are submitted to our lab for biotic and abiotic reasons. The first wave is at green-up in the spring, the second wave is late summer, and the third wave is during the onset of dormancy.
Top 10 diagnoses from bermudagrass putting green samples in 2025.
Unfortunately, take-all root rot (TARR) remains at the top of the list year after year. Soilborne diseases can be associated with nematode feeding and may not always be the primary causal agent. In many cases where I diagnose TARR or Pythium root rot, I encourage clients to submit samples to a nematode lab for an assay. It is very common for me to see severely stunted root systems associated with these diseases in bermudagrass samples. Either way, we often see improved turf quality when effective fungicides are used in these situations.
Like bentgrass diseases, many of these can look alike and require a microscope to make an accurate diagnosis. It should be noted that while we do not offer a service for a nematode assay, we do report root-knot and lance nematodes because they are endoparasites (inside the roots) and easy to see/don’t get washed away like ectoparasites (outside the roots).
Chronology of the top 10 bermudagrass putting green diseases in 2025.
The chart above shows when each disease was diagnosed for bermudagrass, putting green samples. The smallest bars usually indicate only a handful of confirmed cases, whereas the larger bars represent many confirmed cases through that time period.
All of the diagnoses made on bermudagrass putting green samples in 2025.
Above are all the diagnoses we made throughout the year to illustrate what we saw, including those that didn’t make the top 10 list above. There were 14 different disease diagnoses in 2025 on bermudagrass samples. The percentage in the upper-right corner of each box indicates the proportion of bermudagrass putting-green samples diagnosed with that disease.
If you would like to see this same information from recent years, please click the links below :