Antagonist

An organism, especially bacteria or fungi, which has a detrimental effect on another organism. Sand rootzones often have much less abundance and diversity of soil micro-organisms and this can lead to increased likelihood of infection and damage from turf diseases and pests (for example plant parasitic nematodes). In many constructed sports turf rootzones, there is an unnatural imbalance between the more desirable soil micro-organisms and those which can harm turf, and this typically results in the need for increased resource inputs to maintain these surface to the desired, often very high, standard.