Welcome to the “Turf Hotline” sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for the week of Sept.1- 8, 2000.
The last weekend of the summer is here and the weather forecast is for nice weather. The hot, hazy weather is supposed to come to an end by the end of today and it will be followed by temperatures in the mid twenties again with the nights cooling to the mid teens. This has been the weather pattern that we have had for the better part of four weeks now, with the occasional rise in temperature for a couple of days.
Lots of necrotic ring spot or take-all patch again this week with more dry conditions. There was a flare up of dollar spot over the last couple of days with the return of the hot weather. I have not had any confirmed reports of Pythium Blight, brown patch or anthracnose over the last couple of days, but the conditions were favourable for those three diseases. At this time of year it is safe to say that we will probably not see those diseases again this year. Rust is still active on Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass.
On the insect front, the European chafer grubs continue to develop. They are in second instar now. Japanese beetle grubs are developing quickly now. The other insect to look out for over the next couple of weeks is the sod webworm. When damage from this caterpillar does occur, it is usually toward the end of August to mid-September.
There is still time to apply the first of the fall fertilizer treatments. This first treatment will help the turf recover from any summer damage and green it up. The second fall fertilization application can go on in late October – early November.
Now is still a great time to seed new lawns or to seed damaged turf areas. Soil temperatures are still warm enough to get good seed germination at this time. It is also an excellent time for core aeration.
This has been Pam Charbonneau. The next hotline message will be recorded on Fri. Sept. 8, 2000. – See more at: https://lawnsavers.com/turf-hotline-2000/turf-agrifax-week-23-2000-september-1-2000.html#sthash.2wQ6OI7k.dpuf
