Welcome to the “Turf Agriphone” sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. This message is being recorded for the week of May 5-12, 2006.
Probably one word could summarize the weather and that is dry. I know that a few showers rolled through southwestern Ontario yesterday, but they were spotty and missed Guelph completely. Temperatures have been above seasonal for most of last week and the forecast is for them to return to more seasonal temperatures next week. The day time highs are forecast to be around 15º give or take a degree or two and the night time temperatures will be going down to single digits. There is a chance of rain today and then again early next week. The long range forecast is for things to cool down the week after Mother’s Day.
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For the second week in a row, the only disease that was diagnosed at the GTI Turf Diagnostics was take-all patch. It is quite feasible that the disease was active last fall and earlier this spring when conditions were wet. Symptoms are showing up now because it has been so dry. The infected roots aren’t able to keep up with evapotranspiration rates and hence the early symptoms. Unfortunately, in Ontario, there is no fungicide that is currently registered for use on take-all patch. There are some cultural practices which can help with this disease. They are:
· Fertilize with acidifying fertilizers such as ammonium sulphate and avoid nitrate forms of nitrogen.
· Make sure that phosphorus and potash levels are adequate.
· Reduce thatch and promote deep rooting by aerating.
· Avoid excessive irrigation.
· If soils are low in manganese, apply manganese in April or October at a rate of 2.2kg/ha annually. Since temperatures are still cool, manganese can be applied during early May. The manganese should be applied in high spray volumes to get the manganese below the thatch. See the link below for more information on rates, manganese sources and timing.
I have seen a little active Fusarium patch on our pathology green here at GTI, probably due to some heavy dew formations and the cooler nights about 7-10 days ago. Also, some of our Kentucky bluegrass here at GTI has some white bleached leaf tips. This can happen when we get fluctuations of warm, humid days and cool nights. Another problem is localized dry spots on golf greens. These can be treated with wetting agents. If you do have disease samples that you want diagnosed, you can send them to the GTI Turf Diagnostics. Information on this service is available at www.uoguelph.ca/GTI/turf_diag.
One of the main problems this spring is still grub activity. What should you do if you find grubs this spring? Spring is not the ideal time for grub control. The grubs are very large and will be pupating soon, which makes them much less susceptible to the insecticides. Make note of the damaged areas and apply Merit in June or July or parasitic nematodes in August or September. At this point in the spring, it is best to rake up areas where grub damage has occurred and re-seed the areas. Sodding the damaged areas is also an option.
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On this subject, I have been in contact with a few of the companies that are looking to do some insecticide trials on European chafer. If you are aware of golf courses, sod farms or other large areas with grub infestations and you are interested in cooperating please give me a call at (519) 824-4120 x 52597.
Here in the Guelph area the leatherjackets are continuing to grow. So far there is no damage evident. The damage usually becomes evident in the beginning to middle of May. They feed on the crowns and roots and sometimes turf can be lifted back as with grub damage. Secondly, they also feed on the crown and shoots and the turf is chewed back to the ground. Thirdly, starlings will feed on the leatherjackets leaving holes in the turf similar to aeration holes. These are particularly unsightly on golf greens. There currently is no registered control for leatherjackets on home lawns. Consult OMAFRA Publication 384 Recommendations for Turf Management for control options. For more information on leatherjackets follow the link below.
On the leatherjacket front, we are interested to find out if we have the common crane fly (Tipula oleracea) here in Ontario. It has been reported in British Columbia, New York State and Quebec. So far we have not confirmed if it is present in Ontario. It can be distinguished from the European crane fly by its life cycle. Adult common crane flies fly in April and May. If you are seeing some adult crane flies this spring, please let me know and I can arrange to get a sample from you.
I have had reports of lawn care operators finding overwintered sod webworm larvae on lawns last week. These larvae will be pupating soon and there is no need to spray for them at the moment. Also, when we had the warm weather earlier this week there were reports of black turfgrass ataenius flying on golf greens. For details on Merit timing and rates consult OMAFRA Publication 384, Recommendations for Turfgrass Management. See the link below for ordering information.
On the weed front, forsythia is blooming in the Guelph area. Now is the time to apply pre-emergence crabgrass control. Remember now two corn gluten meal products registered for crabgrass control from Nutrite and Environmental Factor. The industry standard for pre and early post-emergence crabgrass control is Dimension. We encourage that pre-emergence crabgrass products only be used in areas with a history of crabgrass infestation.
As far as broad leaf weeds are concerned, it is too early to spray. I know that dandelions are in full bloom in many areas now, but the spring annual weeds have not germinated yet. To get the best bang for your buck you should wait a week or two before you treat.
For those with extensive damage from either last summer or winter, re-seeding can be done anytime now. Try to establish good seed to soil contact by raking or aerating. Broadcast the seed in two directions to insure good coverage and water frequently if we don’t get regular showers.
Because it is drier than normal, now is a good time to core aerate. This will help turf root growth and hopefully help turf stand up to summer stress and summer turf root diseases such as summer patch.
We highly recommend refraining from fertilizing unless you are over-seeding, re-seeding or trying to speed up recovery from snow mould. Turf that was fertilized in the late fall will have enough nitrogen nutrition in it to survive until the end of May. If it is fertilized now, it will probably put out a flush of very lush growth. What you want is the plant to be growing roots now and to slowly grow shoots. If it is fertilized, it will put all of those resources into forming shoots instead of roots.
Again, thanks for phoning the turf agriphone message for this week. The next agriphone message will be recorded on Friday May 12.
– See more at: https://lawnsavers.com/turf-hotline-2006/turfgrass-management-agriphone-for-may-5-2006.html#sthash.wQCTCEWK.dpuf
