Welcome back to the “Turf Management Report” sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. This message is being recorded for the week of April 10-17, 2009. This service will continue until October and the messages will be updated weekly. These messages are available in three forms now. You can listen to a recorded message by telephoning the local number 519-826-3414 or 1-888-290-4441. The reports are also available online. They are available as a text document and also as a podcast. The easiest way to get these weekly reports is to go to the subscribe/unsubscribe button at the Turf Management Report web site and subscribe. That way you will get an email and a link each time a new Turf Management Report is posted. If you are interested in subscribing to the podcast, simply click on the podcast button and follow the instructions.
Cosmetic Pesticides Ban Act and Regulation 63-09
At the fore front of everyone’s mind is The Pesticides Act, which has been amended by the Cosmetic Pesticides Ban Act, 2008 and Ontario Regulation 63-09 that will take effect on April 22, 2009. There are numerous ways to get more information on the legislation. You can go to the Ministry of the Environment’s banning pesticides web site. This web site has the Act and the Regulations, the new 11 pesticide classes the warning signs and the new notice sign and fact sheets for each of the sectors that are impacted by this legislation. You can also telephone the Ministry of the Environment at 1-800-565-4923. This will get you to their Public Information Centre and you can dial 0 to speak to an Information Officer. They will direct you to a Regional Pesticide Information Officer. If you know the telephone number of your Regional MOE Office, you can telephone them directly and ask to speak to the Pesticide Information Officer. A list of all the regional offices and the 1-800 numbers are listed on the MOE web site. For information specific to the golf courses there is a golf course fact sheet under the “What you need to know” section. Information specific to the Golf Course IPM Accreditation can be obtained by contacting the IPM-PHC Council of Canada at tyamada@ipmphccanada.org
GTI Turf Diagnostics
The GTI Turf Diagnostics is up and running again for the season. Erica Gunn and Dr. Katerina Jordan are back in the lab ready for turf samples to come pouring in. Information on this service is available at theGTI web site. You can email them at diagnostics@guelphturfgrass.ca or telephone at (519) 824-4120 x 58873. The diseases that you can expect to see on golf courses in the next couple of weeks are Fusarium or Microdochium patch and maybe some anthracnose basal rot that started last fall.
General Comments about Turf
The early snow melt saw golf courses and lawn care swing into action in late March and early April. The snow the first week of April has ground all of that activity to a halt. Once Easter is over, the snow should be gone and the forecast is for a return to more seasonal weather.
Some general comments about the turf coming into the spring – on home lawns there was a lot of snow mould as a result of the long period of snow cover. It was mainly pink snow mould with a touch of gray snow mould out there as well. Surprisingly, there was not a whole lot of vole damage. The pink snow mould scars are still very evident, but once the grass greens up and starts growing and once regular mowing begins, the snow mould damage will disappear quickly. To encourage this to happen, rake the areas to help remove the matted dead leaf blades to make way for the new spring growth. Try to hold off on fertilizing until late May, especially in areas that received a late fall fertilization.
Winter Injury
On golf greens there has been some winter injury reported. It seems to be localized and not too extensive. If you bring a plug of turf indoors and place in on a window sill you can determine how extensive the winterkill is. It is critical to determine quickly if overseeding is necessary. For successful overseeding, closing the area to play is best. To get good seed to soil contact, aggressively aerate with small shallow tines, verticut or use a slit seeder. Broadcast an improved cultivar of bentgrass that is suited to the site. Keep seed bed moist until seedlings are well established. If possible, cover the greens at night to help maintain the elevated soil temperatures that result from sunny days. Once seeds have germinated, raise the height of cut to reduce stress on new seedlings and keep a close eye out for diseases such as damping off.
Overseeding
Overseeding is one of the key cultural practices to help keep home lawns thick and healthy. The ideal time to seed these damaged areas would have been last fall. Many of them did not get overseeded last fall and will need attention this spring. On home lawns, seeding can begin in mid- April to early June. The seed will not germinate until soils warm up, but it isn’t a bad idea to have the seed in place before then. Good seed to soil contact is essential. If areas still have some turf cover, aerating or power raking or regular raking will disturb the soil to ensure good contact. A layer of compost can be incorporated into the surface of the turf as well. Seed can be applied with a drop spreader or a slit seeder. If using a drop spreader, a light rolling or raking will also help insure good seed to soil contact. The seedbed needs to be kept moist (this may involve watering three to four times daily).
Insects
Before the snow fell earlier this week, the grubs were up at the soil thatch interface. In general, not a lot of new grub damage occurs in the spring. It is mainly the secondary damage from starlings, crows, skunks and raccoons that causes the problems. The problem is that grub control is not effective in the spring. This is true whether we are talking about control with entomopathogenic nematodes or pesticides. For golf courses, sod farms and other excepted areas make a note of areas with grub problems and consult OMAFRA Pub. 384, Turfgrass Management Recommendation at the related link below. This publication has a list of pesticides registered for use against grubs and plan to apply those products preventatively against grubs to control the next generation of grubs. For home lawns, sports fields and other non-excepted areas, make a note of the areas with grub problems and apply entomopathogenic nematodes in the late summer to early fall.
Leatherjacket feeding has been going on through most of the spring. Conditions last fall were excellent for leatherjacket hatch and survival. For areas on golf courses, sod farms and other excepted areas, consult OMAFRA Pub. 384, Turfgrass Management Recommendation at the related link below. This publication has a list of pesticides registered for use against leatherjackets. The preventative products are best applied in the fall, but there are some curative products that can be used in the spring. For home lawns, sports fields and other non-excepted areas, entomopathogenic nematodes can be applied to control leatherjackets, however research trials utilizing Steinernema feltiae in late spring and late October/early November did not provide control in one research trial conducted at the Guelph Turfgrass Institute. There is a need for more work in this area to find the best nematode species and the proper timing for leatherjacket control.
Biopesticides
I have had quite a few inquiries about replacement product for three way mix broadleaf herbicides and glyphosate under the new act and regulations. The list of actives that can be used can be found on the web under the Class 11 pesticides. Currently there is one selective broadleaf active ingredient, Sclerotinia minor. There is one pre-emergent herbicide active ingredient, corn gluten meal. For non-selective weed control there are two actives, acetic acid and fatty acid. There are also non-selective weeding tools that rely on super-heated water or propane flames that can kill weeds. There are also hand-weeding tools available.
As far as weeds are concerned on home lawns, sports fields, etc., it is more important than ever to maximize turf health through proper mowing, fertilizing, watering, aerating and overseeding. A five year study at the GTI showed that by fertilizing regularly four times a year, percent weed cover in turfgrass maintained as a home lawn could be reduced to between 5-10%. – See more at: https://lawnsavers.com/turf-hotline-2009/turfgrass-management-agriphone-for-april-8-2009.html#sthash.tHMc0WoN.dpuf
