Welcome to the “Turf Management Updates” sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. This message is for the week of Aug. 23-30, 2007.
Weather
We are back to our hot, hazy, humid conditions again. These conditions are forecast to last until Aug. 30th when the temperatures are supposed to fall to the mid teens and then return to the mid-twenties. At this point, thundershowers are in the forecast for this weekend and some rain is also in the forecast for mid-week next week.
Again, the water availability in some watersheds in the southwestern part of the province has not improved over the last week. Most of the rain that fell last week was in the form of thundershowers and is the case with thundershowers, they are always spotty. Many have issued level I low water response alerts which calls for a 10% voluntary reduction of water taking for large water users such as golf courses and sod farmers. Some watersheds have moved to a level II low water response alert which calls for a 20% voluntary reduction in water taking. One watershed is getting close to a Level III low level response which is declared when the conservation efforts put in place in a Level II low water alert have not resulted in averting the severity of the low water conditions. During these times when there is much attention paid to water takers, it is very important to have all the required paperwork in order, such as Permits to Take Water. The Ministry of the Environment may also be looking for water use records of each permit holder. It is also important that water takers follow water conservation principles during times like this.
Diseases
The disease problems this week have been pretty much the same as last week. Annual bluegrass is very weak now from the high air temperatures and high soil temperatures. As a result, it is very prone to the stress diseases. As result, the GTI Turf Diagnostics has found anthracnose (both foliar and basal rot) on annual bluegrass. They have also had cases of take-all patch and summer patch. Rust, which began two weeks ago, is mostly on perennial ryegrass but has been found on Kentucky bluegrass as well. The GTI Turf Diagnostics is ready and waiting to help you diagnose your turf problems.
Insects
With the little bit of rain that some areas have had, the turf is greening up. The extent of turf damage from hairy chinch bugs and bluegrass billbugs is now evident. At this point, treating for hairy chinch bug would still be warranted, but bluegrass billbug damage has peaked and there will be no new damage.
European chafer grubs are starting to develop now. We are still only finding the first instars at the moment. I saw my first European crane fly adult this week. This is an indication that the leatherjackets are starting to pupate now and the peak adult European crane fly emergence period should be in about 3 weeks.
Sports Turf Association Annual Field Day
The Sports Turf Association is holding their annual field day in the City of Hamilton on Thursday, September 13, 2007. This is always a very informative day and this year the feature speaker is Pamela Sherratt, Sports Turf Extension Specialist at Ohio State University.
Again, thanks for phoning the turf management update for this week. The next report will be recorded on Thurs. Aug. 30, 2007.
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