Bermudagrass mite

An eriophyid mite so small (creamy white, elongate) that it requires 15-20x magnification to see; diagnosis relies on its distinctive damage rather than the mite itself. Affected bermudagrass shows shortened internodes, swollen leaf sheaths, and tufted, rosetted growth often described as a witch's broom. It feeds and lives hidden beneath the leaf sheaths and is host-specific to bermudagrass.

Stunted, yellowing patches that fail to green up normally, with shortened internodes and swollen, tufted leaf sheaths producing the characteristic witch's-broom or rosette appearance; severely affected turf thins out and dies back to the stems.

The bermudagrass mite completes its entire life cycle (egg, two nymphal stages, adult) under the leaf sheath, where it sucks sap from the stem. Generations are very short — about 7 to 10 days under warm conditions — so populations build explosively during hot weather. It overwinters on living bermudagrass, with damage emerging as plants resume growth in spring.

Damage becomes noticeable in late spring and intensifies through hot summer weather, worsened by drought stress and excessive nitrogen. Common bermudagrass cultivars are highly susceptible, while hybrids with African bermudagrass parentage (e.g., Tifway, Tifgreen, Tifdwarf) are more resistant. Mites spread to new areas on clippings and equipment.