Compendium of Turfgrass Diseases - Third Edition

 

The AGCSA often fields calls from industry practitioners wanting to know which books are considered the ‘must haves’ for their turf maintenance library collection. While Beard’s two seminal texts Turfgrass Science and Culture and Turf Management for Golf Courses top the annual best-seller lists, this book can also be considered as one of turf’s top texts.

Now in its third incarnation, Compendium of Turfgrass Diseases by respected US-based turf scientists Richard W. Smiley, Peter H. Dernoeden and Bruce B. Clarke intends to provide a general and practical reference for all those involved in the culture of fine turf.

Devoted entirely to the diagnosis and control of about 80 diseases affecting grasses maintained for fine turfs on residential and commercial lawns, sod farms, golf courses, sports fields, bowling greens, cemeteries and other areas, it is designed to be of use to those just starting out in the industry as well as those who have been in the industry long enough to have probably seen most of the entires contained within the book.
Since the first edition was published back in 1983, 40,000 copies of Compendium of Turfgrass Diseases have found their way into many turf management facilities across the globe and as the authors proudly claim in the opening pages, their creation has been distributed to countries on all continents – with the exception of Antarctica! 

The third edition was published in 2005 (a second printing of the third edition was conducted in 2007) and the authors have made some serious revision of the contents contained in the second edition which was released back in 1992. Each section has undergone extensive amendment with the authors benefiting from more than 40 turf industry scientists who have examined the existing material and recommended changes. Each section was reviewed by three authors and around half of the sections were sent off to specialists who reviewed and in some cases provided complete revisions.

The book is presented in six parts – non-infectious diseases; infectious diseases caused by fungi; diseases and disorders caused by other pathogens and biotic agents; ecology and taxonomy of pathogenic fungi; disease control strategy and disease diagnosis. There is also an extensive glossary and index. 
Within the sections diseases are presented alphabetically with each entry containing a brief description of the disease followed by subheadings which relate specifically to symptoms, causal agents, disease cycle, epidemiology and methods of control. Where possible the authors have ensured that photos of each disease are included and this edition contains a wealth of colour images to aid in diagnosis. In fact, this edition contains 35 per cent more illustrations than the previous edition.

The AGCSA currently has a handful of copies of Compendium of Turfgrass Diseases (Third Edition) for the special sale price of $98 for AGCSA members (normally $178) or $110 for non-members (normally $205). If you would like to take advantage of this sale price contact the AGCSA on (03) 9548 8600.