Resistance of Creeping Bentgrass to Biotic and Abiotic Stresses: A Model System for Grass Stress Biology

Agrostis stolonifera L., commonly known as creeping bentgrass, is an important cool-season turfgrass used in landscaping and sports fields. However, creeping bentgrass is prone to various diseases, including dollar spot, brown patch, and bacterial yellowing, during its maintenance, leading to significant degradation in turf quality, esthetics, and greening functions, resulting in substantial losses in turfgrass production and management. On the other hand, extreme environmental conditions such as high temperatures, drought, and salinity have also caused a decline in the quality of creeping bentgrass. Moreover, creeping bentgrass has a moderately sized genome and is easy to genetically transform, making it an ideal model system for studying grass stress biology. This article provides an overview of the major diseases and stressors in the management of creeping bentgrass and proposes future research directions for the disease resistance and stress tolerance of creeping bentgrass.