Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Short-term Outcomes

This is the second year of the renewed NC1208 and the 7th year of the project overall. Collaborative research is focused on several strategic initiatives as described below that will increase the adoption of technology (i.e. host resistance), reduce the cost and increase the efficacy of dollar spot control, and reduce the impact of fungicide applications on the environment. The ability to utilize resistant cultivars and increased spray thresholds provides managers with more flexible, cost-effective disease management strategies, reducing their reliance on frequent fungicide applications. The adoption of autonomous mowing technologies, alternative practices such as leaf pH manipulation and biological controls can offer a method reducing dollar spot and labor costs. By facilitating a reduction in fungicide usage and promoting the use of biological and mechanical controls, this research contributes to decreased chemical exposure in the environment and promotes the long-term health of the soil microbiome.

• Improved Management Models: Research into improved cultivars has successfully demonstrated that spray thresholds can be significantly increased—to 60% or higher—on highly resistant cultivars. Integration of host resistance with dollar spot prediction models, autonomous mowing, nitrogen scheduling and other management practices that can build a framework for disease management with higher reductions in fungicide use.
• Autonomous Mowing & Disease Mitigation: Preliminary investigations into autonomous mowing have shown significant potential for disease management. Early data suggests that consistent maintenance schedules provided by autonomous robots can help manage disease levels and improve turf quality. Furthermore, the integration of autonomous mowers with dew-removal capabilities can reduce dollar spot severity compared to non-treated controls.
• Technological Advancement in Disease Assessment: The development of the "Dollarspotter" program, a machine learning model designed to identify and quantify dollar spot outbreaks in digital images, is nearing public availability. This tool will allow researchers and superintendents to more rapidly and accurately assess treatment effects.
• Microbiome & Resurgence Insights: Research has identified that the loss of bacterial-mediated pathogen suppression is a likely driver of dollar spot resurgence following intensive fungicide use.
• UV-C Efficacy: Investigation into UV-C radiation treatment has demonstrated potential to significantly reduce dollar spot severity while providing physiological enhancements.

Outputs

Research Publications & Manuscripts:

• Host Resistance Data: Ongoing analysis of the host resistance project to prepare manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication.
• Bentgrass Survey: Current outputs include survey data from superintendents regarding the adoption of resistant germplasm, highlighting evidence of why the market hasn’t broadly accepted use. Preparation of publication for the bentgrass cultivar survey results, led by assistant professors Quincy Law and Tyler Carr.
• Integrated Practices: Previous success with the publication "Efficacy of integrated cultural practices for dollar spot disease management on creeping bentgrass and bermudagrass" in the International Turfgrass Research Journal serves as a model for upcoming manuscripts.

Activities

• Annual Research Conference: The 2026 meeting was held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, facilitating collaboration between 12 research institutions and industry partners.
• Autonomous Mowing Research: A collaborative research project is underway involving six institutions to investigate the impact of autonomous mowing frequency and dew removal on disease severity. Autonomous mowers are at each site with data collection and treatments ongoing in the 2026 field season.
• Germplasm & Adoption Investigation: A central activity is investigating the research-to-industry gap. Superintendents at higher-end clubs often prioritize playability and turf quality over disease resistance and cost savings. Providing ROI motivation for superintendents is a key goal.
• Fungicide & Pathogen Research:
• Resistance Screening: Conducting high-throughput methods for quantifying fungicide resistance in field populations and researching molecular mechanisms of resistance in the dollar spot pathogen. 
• Clarireedia Biological Studies: Continued investigation into the characterization of Clarireedia species to understand the biological diversity of the pathogen in the context of fungicide resistance development and control.
• UV-C Treatment Trials: Research investigating the optimal doses of UV-C radiation required to reduce both dollar spot and Microdochium patch. 

Milestones

• Technological Integration & Deployment:  Establishing standardized protocols for autonomous mowing that can be target dollar spot reduction and be reliably integrated into turfgrass management practices that provide acceptable playing conditions.
• Closing the Adoption Gap: Developing and disseminating evidence-based management frameworks specifically designed for resistant cultivars. We aim to move past the hurdle of "status quo" management by providing superintendents with the economic and performance data necessary to justify transitioning to improved germplasm.
• Creation of Dollar Spot Resource: Plan and create a website to provide outreach of new and emerging research dedicated to dollar spot research, highlighting the efforts of this group.
• Expansion of Scope: Expand research into dollar spot management in other turfgrass systems including lawns (Kentucky bluegrass) and warm season species (seashore paspalum).

Future Plans

In the coming year, the NC1208 group will focus on the practical application of autonomous technology and the drivers of cultivar adoption. We aim to provide superintendents with clear, data-driven guidelines on how to integrate technology into their standard operating procedures to maximize disease suppression. Additionally, we will continue to delve into the biology of the system, further understanding the mechanisms of fungicide resistance development and

Another overall goal of the group is to develop a plan for the future of funding this important research in development of a broad USDA SCRI proposal that would build upon the projects and cover the important knowledge gaps that still remain in the dollar spot pathosystem.

Bochra, B., Chung, C., Jesperson, D., Martinez-Espinoza, A., Miller, L., Rivedal, H., Schmid, C., Trippe, K. 2026 USDA SCRI Program Proposal Submission under review. 

Kaminski, J., McCall, D., Dykema, N., Wang, R., Wu, S., Jung, G., Miller, L. 2026. Managing dollar spot with autonomous mower and altered management practices. USGA Mike Davis Program for Advancing Golf Course Management. Not funded.

Miller, L., Kaminski, J., McCall, D., Dykema, N., Wang, R., Wu, S. 2026. Autonomous mower strategies to reduce dollar spot severity on creeping bentgrass fairways. GCSAA Sustainable Golf Gourse Turfgrass & Other Managed Landscapes Program. Not funded. 

Chou. M.Y. 2025-27. Development of a disease risk evaluation tool using digital PCR for consistent dollar spot quantification and fungicide resistance screening. $188,730 awarded. 

Shahoveisi, F., Shah, K. K., Koch, P., Kaminski, J. E., Roberson, T., McCall, D., & Nangle, E. (2025). Efficacy of integrated cultural practices for dollar spot disease management on creeping bentgrass and bermudagrass. International Turfgrass Society Research Journal, 15(1), 387-396.

Miller, G.L., Carpenter, M.C., Earlywine, D.T. 2025. Control of dollar spot on golf putting greens following post-application irrigation of fungicides targeting soilborne diseases. Crop Protection 196:107270.

Ruwona, J. and Miller, G.L. 2025. Determining the optimal ratio of resistant to susceptible bentgrass cultivars to reduce dollar spot severity. International Turfgrass Society Research Journal 1-10. doi:10.1,002/its2.149.