This is the 4th edition of the 2008 OMAFRA Turf Management Update for May 23, 2008. 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 as text files or podcasts at www.ontario.ca/crops. To subscribe on line go to the subscribe button below.
Just a general note about the turf updates. There will sometimes be pesticide recommendations for controlling different turf pests. If you are in a municipality that currently has a pesticide by-law, it is important that you know all the restrictions on pesticide use in your particular municipality.
Environment Canada is calling for more seasonal temperatures beginning this weekend, but it still the high’s are only going to be in the very low 20’s or high teens. There is some rain in the forecast for the weekend.
Spring seems to have stalled, but hopefully we will get some nice weather next week. The weather has been good for grass growth and root growth and that will bode well for the summer months to come. With the cooler, wet temperatures Microdochium patch has flared up and this will probably subside now that there are both warmer and drier conditions on the way. Even though there has been none reported yet this year, we could still see some yellow patch. There could also be some anthracnose basal rot either present or developing. Just a reminder to send any unknown turf problems to the GTI Turf Diagnostics. Information on this service is available on line just click here. You can email them at
diagnostics@guelphturfgrass.ca or telephone at (519) 824-4120 x 58873.
Things have quieted down on the grub front. Many with grub infestations are planning to apply Merit sometime in June or July. Grub pupation might be a bit late this year because of all the cold weather, so many turf managers are planning to wait until mid-June before they apply their preventative grub control treatments.
The problem with all this spring is that we had warm weather followed by some very cold temperatures. This plays havoc with things like annual bluegrass weevil migration It makes it difficult to spray to control adults when they have several waves of migration. This could also mean that we get a long drawn out period of larval feeding and larval damage.
There have not been any new spottings of black turfgrass ataenius adults over the last week. It has simply been too cold. We could see some adult flights over the next couple of weeks. This should be occurring when bridal wreath spirea and horse chestnut are in bloom. Horse chestnut is just in early bloom here in the Guelph area.
There have been a couple of reports of some June beetle adults out and about. This is a bit early, but we can expect to see them in the next few weeks. They are mostly seen at night bumping into lamp posts and such. They are pretty clumsy, fly at night and are attracted to lights.
The warm weather has hairy chinch bug adults on the move. Spring is when mating occurs, so this will be happening over the next couple of weeks. Roughly two weeks after mating the female hairy chinch bug will start laying her eggs.
Leatherjackets are still growing rapidly, but no damage to speak of yet. Usually by this time of the year my phone is ringing off the hook with questions about leatherjackets. Either they are a bit late or people now know what they are and how to treat them. On the treatment front – leatherjackets have been added to the imidacloprid label, which now includes use on sod farms. The imidacloprid label however specifies treating leatherjackets in August and September during peak adult flights. Control options for this time of year are chlorpyrifos and carbaryl for sod farms and golf courses and carbaryl only for home lawns. For more information on leatherjackets click here:
Also on the leatherjacket front, we are interested to find out how widely distributed the common crane fly (Tipula oleracea) is here in Ontario. It can be distinguished from the European crane fly by its life cycle. Adult common crane flies fly in May and then again in September. If you are seeing some adult crane flies this spring, please let me know and I can arrange to get a sample from you. If you do find some, capture them, a Tupperware container works fine, and put them in the freezer until you can arrange to send them to me or until I can arrange to pick them up. The best way to reach me is by email. My email address is pamela.charbonneau@ontario.ca
We are coming up to the ideal window for crabgrass treatment. Corn gluten meal based products can go down anytime now. The cold weather over the last couple of weeks has extended the crabgrass pre-emergence window. We don’t recommend applying a product like Dimension until the forsythia blooms have just fallen off, which is now. Because it has the early post emergence activity, even if you have a few germinated crabgrass plants, you will still get good control if applied according to this timing. Hopefully, everyone made note of the areas with serious crabgrass problems last year so that only those areas need to be treated this spring. An alternative approach, especially if the turf has thickened up over the fall and spring, is to wait and apply a post-emergence herbicide like Acclaim, on the small crabgrass plants, once they have germinated. This might be the best approach for golf courses, especially in areas that may need to be overseeded sometime during the growing season. Post-emergence products are not residual the way the pre- and early post-emergence products are. Both of the above approaches fit nicely into an IPM program.
If you can hold off on treating dandelions for a few weeks that would be a good thing. Once all the summer annuals have germinated and the dandelions are in the puff ball stage is a better time to treat weeds.
That is also the ideal time for the first application of fertilizer for the season. Our research here at GTI has shown that proper fertility is key to keeping weeds in check. With fertilizer alone applied 4 times a season at 0.5 kg of N per 100m2 weed populations could be kept below 10%.
This message will be updated on Fri. May 30, 2008.
– See more at: https://lawnsavers.com/turf-hotline-2008/turfgrass-management-agriphone-for-may-23-2008.html#sthash.jBwcfbJB.dpuf
