Tools of our trade

Golf Course Superintendents use a lot of different tools while doing their jobs. A tool that I like to use is a field microscope. This particular tool allows me to view grass plants at 40X. Certain plant diseases can only be properly identified with a microscope. The pictures below show what this tool looks like and what I can see while using it.



Anthracnose on an old Poa annua leaf
40X Field Microscope


The photo on the right shows black fruiting bodies called acervuli of the fungal disease anthracnose. Active acervuli produce fungal spores called Conidia that can only be viewed at 400X and a compound microscope is needed for that.