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Weather Forecast for the upcoming week
Chatting with people this week, it seems like we have April and May weather mixed up. April felt more like May and May is feeling more like April. That being said, there is a warming trend next week and the day time highs are going to be in the mid-teens to low teens with rain forecast for late in the week. The 14 day trend is for cooler than normal weather for next week, followed by normal temperatures the following week. The cool weather over the last two weeks has slowed down the plant phenology and also the growth of the grass. We are no longer 2 weeks ahead of a normal year.
Ontario IPM Accreditation for Golf Courses
As you know the IPM accreditation program for golf courses became mandatory as of April 22, 2010. The final versions of the desk audit forms that are required are now posted on the IPM Accreditation program web site. Follow the related links below to view the most up to date forms
The GTI Turf Diagnostics lab has received samples with take-all patch, Microdochium or Fusarium patch, yellow patch and Pythium root dysfunction over the last week. They can be reached at
diagnostics@guelphturfgrass.ca or telephone at (519) 824-4120 x 58873. With all of the cold and wet weather, you can expect to see a flare up of Microdochium or Fusarium patch next week. The phenological indicators that signal the beginning of dollar spot are starting to flower. These are when iris and peony are in full bloom and when lilacs are in late bloom. Unless we get some warm weather next week, I don’t think we are going to see any sign of dollar spot for at least a couple of weeks however. Cool temperatures has caused discolouration or off colour of some of the annual bluegrass biotypes. The result can be patches of purple turf that may be mistaken for a disease.
Annual bluegrass weevil and BTA
According to our GTI Scout, Erica Gunn, the black turfgrass ataenius have gone back into hibernation. Seriously, there have been very few adult ataenius flying over the last two weeks. It has simply been too darn cold. We still have not seen peak adult flights of ataenius, but you can expect to see them next week Again, the phenological indicator for peak BTA flights is full bloom of bridal wreath spirea. A soap flush (15-30 mL of dishwashing liquid in 4 L of water) will work well to detect the adults.
Annual bluegrass weevil larvae will be showing up in annual bluegrass on golf course fairways sometime in the next couple of weeks. The larval stage can be detected by submerging a cup cutter sized plug into a bucket of a saturated salt solution which is roughly 36 grams of salt per 100 mL of water at room temperature and agitating it. The damage thresholds are considered to be 30-80 larvae/sq. ft for the spring generation. There is an excellent factsheet written by Dr. Dan Peck, Cornell University and you can get to it by following the related links below.
Grubs and Leatherjackets
If you are encountering grubs on a golf course, it is best to wait until June or July and apply one of the preventative products that are listed in OMAFRA Publication 384, Recommendations for Turfgrass Management. If you are a lawn care operator, municipal sports field manager or homeowner, you need to wait until Aug. or September and apply insect parasitic nematodes.
Leatherjackets are feeding at the moment and damage is starting to occur. Research results from spring trials conducted at the Guelph Turfgrass Institute gave 30% control using the Steinernema carpocapse . The timing of this treatment depends on soil temperature and should only be applied when soil temperature is > than 12ºC. Soil temperatures at GTI at the 5cm depth are now at about 8-10ºC. I would recommend waiting until at least one week before considering using nematodes. On the topic of leatherjackets, some people out in the field have reported seeing adult Tipula oleracea (common crane flies) in the field at the moment. I saw several flying around at GTI this weekend. This is the expected timing for their emergence. Not as much is known about this species, its biology and occurrence in Ontario.
Weed control products and timing
In most areas dandelions have finished blooming just in time for the new iron chelate product Fiesta™ to be available. It obtained full registration on April 30, 2010 and is supposed to be available next week to lawn care operators in Ontario. Temperatures are still too cold to apply Sarritor, although it should be warm enough sometime in the next two. It works best when daytime temperatures range from 18-24ºC.
The window for applying corn gluten meal for crabgrass control is now over. Crabgrass has germinated in the open, sunny areas now.
– See more at: https://lawnsavers.com/turf-hotline-2010/turfgrass-management-agriphone-for-may-17-2010.html#sthash.5GYJThwu.dpuf
