Initiated in summer 1998, in vitro and in vivo research has been conducted at University of Missouri, Columbia to determine the efficacy of Effective Microorganisms (EM) for controlling the common turf grass pathogen Sclerotinia homeoecarpa.
During the in vitro stage of the research, S. homeoecarpa was isolated from bent, blue and rye, and competitive exclusion experiments were carried out using EM-1 microbial inoculate. The first stage of in vivo research involved greenhouse pot trials. Standard golf course soil substrate was used in addition to treatments where EM bokashi made with local organic wastes were added. Other treatments included varying rates of Anaerobic EM bokashi. The results from these experiments suggest that EM can inhibit the in vitro and in vivo growth of S. homeoecarpa. Currently, turfgrass research at UMC is ongoing with the cooperation of Dr. Erik H. Ervin, Director of the Turf Grass Reasearch Center.
