Welcome to the 12th edition of the “Turf Management Report” sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for Aug. 23, 2010.
Past weather and the forecast for the upcoming week
This past weekend, many of the surrounding areas received from 30-40 mm of rain. It was greatly needed because that was the first significant rainfall in the Guelph are since the first week in August. The temperatures are very moderate at the moment, but that will change for the weekend where the temperatures get back up to the high 20’s and low 30’s and the return of the humidex which is forecast to last until Sept. 1st. The saving grace will be the night temperatures. They are going down to the mid teens most nights so no more risk of the hot weather diseases.
Disease activity
Disease activity has slowed down. The active diseases at the moment are dollar spot, anthracnose and rust. There have been a few samples with Waitea patch submitted to the GTI Turf Diagnosticis. Symptoms of necrotic ring spot and take-all patch were very visible when the turf was really dry.
Make sure you check which products are registered for us in Ontario by consulting the OMAFRA Publication 384, Recommendations for Turfgrass Management. Also, if you are encountering diseases that you can not diagnose, please send a sample to the GTI Turf Diagnostics. You can email them at diagnostics@guelphturfgrass.ca or telephone them at (519) 824-4120 x 58873.
Insects
Just a few lingering Japanese beetle adults flying at the moment. We are finding first instar European chafer grubs during our regular scouting. As I mentioned in the last turf management update, we are just out of the window for preventative treatment of grubs on golf courses, so if you do treat now you may not get the control you expect. I am expecting this year to be a banner year for European chafer and Japanese beetle grubs. When conditions are dry in the mid-late summer, we usually see more than the normal amount of grub damage. We are moving toward the window where it is ideal to treat grubs with nematodes. Last weekend and Mon. were ideal with the cloudy, rainy, overcast weather. I would suspend nematode treatments now until after the next heat wave that is expected has passed. The long range forecast calls for a cooling of at the beginning of Sept. and that would be an ideal time to make those nematode treatments. Make sure that the area to be treated is well watered before the nematodes are applied. Do not store the diluted nematode mixtures for more than 3-4 hours. Apply on an overcast, cool day or apply in the early morning or early evening and water the nematodes in as soon as possible.
There is lots of hairy chinch bug damage visible now and still lots of adults present in lawns. As the days and nights cool off toward the end of Aug. they will start to migrate into their over-wintering sites. Dr. Michael Brownbridge and I managed to get a hairy chinch bug control trial in last week, so we are hopeful that we can find a product that has some efficacy against hairy chinch bugs. At the moment, the focus with chinch bugs should be over-seeding damaged areas. A perennial ryegrass that contains endophytes would be a good seed choice.
I think I jumped the gun on the last turf management update. The mating pair of crane flies were the common cranefly, (Tipula oleracea) and not the European crane fly. They European crane fly adults have not emerged yet, but I expect the y will start emerging sometime in the next three weeks. Traditionally, they emerge in the middle two weeks of September.
Weed control products
After this next blast of heat, it will probably be suitable weather for the application of weed control products like Fiesta and Sarritor. There is a new broadleaf herbicide which has been registered called Organo-sol. It is a bi-product of cheese making. Bacteria are added to the whey and they produce lactic and citric acid. It appears to be most effective on the leguminous weeds such as black medick, clover and bird’sfoot trefoil. To my knowledge it hasn’t been scheduled yet in Ontario by the Ontario Pesticide Advisory Committee yet.
Overseeding and fertilizing
Generally, from mid-Aug. to mid-September is the recommended time for overseeding damaged turf areas. If turf hasn’t had an application of fertilizer, now is a good time to apply a balanced fertilizer. This will be helpful for any areas that have thinned from chinch bug feeding. It is also a good time to aerate and fall is the best time to establish new turf.
I still keep getting feedback from those of you who subscribe to this update and I really do appreciate the calls and added information about pests. Keep the calls and emails coming at (519-824-4120 x 52597) or by email at pamela.charbonneau@ontario.ca.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who attended the GTI Summer Research Field Day. It was a good day, with good weather and hopefully a worthwhile experience for those of you who attended.
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