This is the 7th edition of the OMAFRA Turf Management Update for June 13, 2008.
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.
Another drastic change from last weekend. The forecast from Environment Canada is calling for unseasonably cool temperatures for all of next week. The highs are going to only be in the high teens with quite a few days of rain in the forecast.
All the heat last weekend resulted in a flurry of activity at GTI Turf Diagnostics. The diseases that were diagnosed ranged from some lingering Fusarium patch to yellow patch to take-all patch. This is a confusing time of year where diseases are concerned when we get a combination of cool and wet and hot and humid back to back. There could be almost any disease active out there. Dollar spot has begun and treating it early will definitely help control this disease. The risk of brown patch and Pythium blight are over and there is no chance of them developing over the next week. In fact, there could easily be a flare up of Fusarium patch again. Just a reminder to send any unknown turf problems to the GTI Turf Diagnostics. Information on this service is available at the link below. You can email them at
diagnostics@guelphturfgrass.ca or telephone at (519) 824-4120 x 58873.
There is an excellent article on water volume recommendations for fungicide application on turf on the University of Massachusetts web site written by Dr. Geunhwa Jung that takes a lot of the mystery out of how much water to use depending on whether you are applying a contact or a systemic and whether you are targeting a foliar disease or a crown or root disease. Just follow the link below for the University of Massachusetts Management Updates.
I think we have seen the last of the adult black turfgrass ataenius until the next generation emerge. This also means that it is probably too late to apply imidacloprid to control them.
There have been a few more June beetles flying again this week. They have not been abundant, only one or two flying. They can be seen at night bumping into lamp posts and such. They are pretty clumsy, fly at night and are attracted to lights.
Leatherjackets have almost reached full size and there have been very few reports about damage on home lawns. We are seeing damage on our research greens from leatherjacket feeding so there may be some damage occurring on other golf course turf as well. Options for control for this time of year are chlorpyrifos and carbaryl for sod farms and golf courses.
Turfgrass ants are probably going to be a problem from now on and throughout the summer. They do not eat the turf but feed on other insects present in the turf and soil beneath the turf. The reason that they are a problem is that they form sandy mounds in golf course greens, tees and fairways. These mounds can suffocate the turf, they increase maintenance costs by dulling mower blades and on greens they can disrupt the playing surface. They tend to be more of a problem on new golf courses that have never been treated with the persistent organochlorine insecticides that were used on older golf courses in the past. They are usually within 1-2 m of the edge of a green. Chlorpyrifos, carbaryl and lambda-cyhalothrin are registered to control ants in Ontario.
The crabgrass plants are still pretty small. There is still plenty of chance to have success with a product like dithiopyr or fenoxaprop-ethyl. It is no longer recommended to apply corn gluten meal. The cool weather next week will extend the window for broadleaf herbicide treatment. Temperatures are cool enough that there still is active weed growth.
Kentucky bluegrass has been producing a flush of seedheads at the moment. At this point it is important to keep your mower sharp because the seed stalks are very tough to mow and can make turf unsightly. Many superintendents are reporting more annual bluegrass than normal this spring. This is certainly true of our greens here at GTI. Annual bluegrass is still flowering profusely and as a result many golf greens are looking very patchy at the moment. Remember that after flowering there is some tiller dieback and general thinning of annual bluegrass.
The rain in the form of thundershowers last weekend did a lot of damage on golf courses and it also brought a flush of much needed turf growth and the warmer temperatures have improved the colour of creeping bentgrass.
– See more at: https://lawnsavers.com/turf-hotline-2008/turfgrass-management-agriphone-for-june-14-2008.html#sthash.7PwA90NT.dpuf
