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This article comes to us from Ty McClellan, USGA Green Section Record Mid-Continent Region Agronomist. Ty provides his thoughts about the hot temperatures most have experienced this summer and the toll is has taken on cool-season grasses.

Although the summer of 2010 was one of the hottest on record and widely publicized for the wake of destruction in the turf industry, it looks as though we’ve jumped out of the oven and right into the fire in 2011. Popular phrases that include ‘the perfect storm’, ‘equal opportunity destroyer’, and ‘turf loss of epic proportions’ are being bantered about once again, as Mother Nature turns up the heat and tries to roast the cool-season turfgrasses found on many golf courses beyond well done.

Managing turf during June and July in the upper Mid-Continent Region has been anything but easy, given the persistent heat wave. For much of Kansas and Missouri, nearly every other day during the past nine weeks has exceeded 100°F, and nighttime lows have rarely dropped below 80°F. Even though it is hard to imagine, 2011 may surpass 2010 for record heat. Some superintendents are already stretched, as this summer has dealt them an even worse set of circumstances. August conditions may leave some to wonder how they will have any turf to manage as putting green soil temperatures may continue to exceed 90 degrees.

Somewhat surprisingly, education and communication efforts that were effective last year are not providing the same understanding ears this year. Course officials and golfers seem to be less receptive to the news about heat stress. This is a good time to revisit some fundamental principles of turf management:

Creeping bentgrass root dieback begins when soil temperatures exceed 86°F at a 2-inch depth.

Portions of putting greens that suffer from poor air movement, poor drainage, and concentrated traffic (particularly the collars) are the most difficult to maintain and the first to decline.

To survive the heat and maintain turf health until the fire is extinguished with the onset of cooler temperatures, some of the most effective strategies include:

Supplement automatic irrigation as much as possible with hand watering.

Use large oscillating fans to improve air circulation and assist the transpirational cooling of the turf. The fans may be needed continuously for 24 hours of the day.

Vent the greens when possible via non-disruptive aeration techniques.

Reduce traffic on the putting greens via temporary closure, if necessary, or cancelling / rescheduling large outings.

Cool-season turfgrasses are in a fragile state, and superintendents and their staffs are feeling the effects of long hours and touch-and-go conditions. Now is the time to support them as they work to maintain the turf. Expectations for exceptional playability simply must be put on hold until temperatures cool off…and hopefully that is soon.

If you would like more information about a Turf Advisory Service visit, do not hesitate to contact either of the Mid-Continent regional offices: Ty McClellan at tmcclellan@usga.org or (630) 340-5853 or Bud White at budwhite@usga.org or (972) 662-1138.

Above normal daytime temperatures of 90+ degrees have been accumulating quickly (now up to 11 days in Lemont, IL), and the combination of high nighttime temps and high dew points has created a precarious situation for the rapid appearance of brown patch. This soilborne fungal disease is caused by the pathogen Rhizoctonia solani. Recent weather has been fairly dry since July 4th, and although it has been much needed for superintendents, it has added further
environmental stress to any previously weakened turfgrass plants. Damage by Rhizoctonia is now obvious (Figure 1).

Research trials on Sunshine Golf Course have been providing excellent data on product testing for dollar spot. In addition, the exceptionally conducive environmental conditions for development of brown patch have allowed us to monitor effects of the products on both diseases. Untreated plots in all replications on July 15 showed greatest disease pressures at 40% brown patch and 15% dollar spot. Visible symptoms for brown patch were most severe on untreated plots as expected (Figure 2).

Of fungicides, the 21 day interval of the Emerald treatment at 0.18 oz had highest brown patch visibility at 20%, which when compared to the control was still far less. Other treatments that showed amounts of brown patch were Chipco26GT (dicarboximide family), Insignia (QoI), and the 14d low rate of Reserve (chlorothalonil + DMI). The fungicides that performed well with no visible symptoms of brown patch disease have been Daconil Ultrex (chlorothalonil), Honor (QoI
+ carboximide), Concert (chlorothalonil + DMI), Insignia, Renown (chlorothalonil + QoI) and Reserve (chlorothalonil + DMI) at both the 21d and the 14d high rates.

Treatments that have provided the best dollar spot disease control so far include: Daconil Ultrex, Chipco26GT, Heritage + Daconil, Insignia, Concert and Reserve at 21d (high rate). Treatments of Emerald, Honor, Renown and Reserve at 14d (high and low rates) all provided good levels of disease control. All fungicide treatments provided acceptable levels of quality except for Concert, appearing off-color (due to the DMI-propizole) and with coarser visible leaves.

Tim Sibicky
TSibicky@cdga.org
Chicago District Golf Association
11855 Archer Avenue
Lemont, IL 60439

This article comes to us from Ty McClellan, USGA Green Section Record Mid-Continent Region Agronomist.

In this case, the ‘battle’ is playability, i.e. putting green smoothness and speed, and the ‘war’ is turfgrass survival. With the summer’s weather challenges, some courses have already lost major portions of rough and fairways to natural physiological decline or flooding. Reports of greens being lost are on the rise and these facilities are now faced with re-grassing this fall. For others, the fight continues.

Root depth on greens is generally two inches or less, and heat indexes in recent weeks have exceeded 115°F with average daily relative humidities just shy of 100%. Soil temperatures are frequently in the mid-90s and above. (Note: Bentgrass root dieback begins when soil temperatures reach about 86°F.) Most of the weaker species that possess lower thresholds to environmental extremes, such as Poa annua, have long disappeared from greens and surrounds. Arguably the most difficult to manage area of the golf course, even during favorable conditions, putting green collars have been decimated regardless of species. For many, the only objective now is to preserve what bentgrass remains on the greens and what Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass and tall fescue continues to hang on in the surrounds.

Given continuing weather extremes, golfers should forego high expectations for their bentgrass greens for the sake of preserving turf that remains. Look beyond today (August) so that golf can be enjoyed tomorrow (this fall).

Since my last USGA Regional Update in early July titled "Feeling the Heat", extreme conditions have only intensified with even more heat and rain. The perfect storm for turfgrass decline continues and on a devastating path. Areas in the upper Mid-Continent Region are still in the midst of record-breaking rainfall totals and heat waves. For most of the region, 10- and 30-day forecasts are not encouraging. Fortunately, it is August meaning day lengths are getting shorter and September is around the corner. We just have to get there.

Given the harshness of environmental extremes across several geographic regions this summer, some great resources have been generated and can be found below:

- Many recent USGA Regional Updates discuss summer struggles and outline excellent recommendations for survival. (http://www.usga.org/Content.aspx?id=26223)

- USGA Senior Agronomist Chris Hartwiger developed a webcast, “Bad to Worse for Creeping Bentgrass - Seven Steps to Help Your Greens Make it Through the Summer” that includes seven survival recommendations: 1) proper and continuous use of fans (i.e. 24 hours/day), 2) venting the greens when possible via non-disruptive aeration, 3) raising the mowing height and using solid front rollers, 4) mowing less frequently and rolling instead, 5) increasing the use of fungicides, 6) taking irrigation management to the highest level possible, and 7) reducing traffic on the greens. http://webcast.usga.org/usga/Bentgrass_greens_survival_Hartwiger.wmv

- Virtually every disease known, and even a few new ones, have been prevalent on cool-season turfgrasses under duress this summer. For instance, there have been a few titles on turf diseases over the last two weeks, and a daily blog by five contributing university turfgrass pathologists nationwide states, “Dead Bentgrass Makes Headlines”, “Heat + Rain = Dead Grass”, “No Wind = Dead Grass”, “Heat Wreaking Havoc on Courses Nationwide”, “Relentless Heat and Humidity” and “Stress, Stress, Stress.” http://turfdiseases.blogspot.com

This has been a trying summer for all. Cool-season turfgrass are in a fragile state and superintendents and their staffs are feeling the effects of long hours and touch-and-go circumstances. Now is the time to rely on the wisdom of your superintendent and support the recommendations from professionals. Slower greens are still quite playable and enjoyable. If nothing else, it’s an opportunity to enjoy hole locations in areas of the green that otherwise are not available when greens are fast. Respect course closure and cart restriction policies when saturated course conditions exist.

Know what is at stake and adjust your expectations of playability now in order to fight another day. Your fall golf season may just depend on it.

If you would like more information about a Turf Advisory Service visit, do not hesitate to contact either of the Mid-Continent regional offices: Ty McClellan at tmcclellan@usga.org or (630) 340-5853 or Bud White at budwhite@usga.org or (972) 662-1138.

We are just past the halfway point in October and some parts of the state have yet to receive any considerable rainfall this month. After being bombarded with rain during the summer months, the Des Moines area has received a measly 0.03 inches of rainfall so far in October. Their last considerable rainfall event took place on September 25. Depending on what happens the remaining 14 days of the month, October could go down as one of the driest on record. Irrigation systems that didn’t get much use during the rainy summer months are surely being used during this stretch of dry weather. The picture below from the National Weather Service shows that a good chunk of the Midwest is experiencing below average rainfall for October.
 

There hasn’t been too much activity (as far as stresses go) at the research station. We still have dollar spot working in some areas and rust and powdery mildew are showing up on Kentucky bluegrass. Grub damage at the station seems to be less this year compared to years past.

Other than the droughty conditions, the fall months have been conducive for turfgrass growth and recovery. Soil temperatures are holding steady in the high 50’s low 60’s. Those putting down natural organic fertilizers yet this fall, remember that those products require microbial activity to release the nitrogen contained in the product. Microbial activity usually ceases at 50 degrees. The dry conditions could also affect post-emergent herbicide applications as uptake and translocation are not as effective on drought stressed weeds.

I’ll leave you with some pictures of fall.

Regardless of the weather conditions, poa always seems to find a way to thrive.

This maple provides brilliant fall color on the north side of the ISU campus

On the heels of a major winter storm that just pummeled the state and most of the country it’s fitting that today is Groundhog Day. The crowd that gathered at Gobler’s Knob in Punxutawney, Pennsylvania this morning witnessed Punxsutawney Phil make perhaps the most celebrated weather prognostication of the year.

Phil’s prediction this year you ask? You will be happy to know that Phil is predicting an early spring. Let’s hope he’s right. Now, when I was doing my background work on Groundhog Day, I was surprised to learn that there are other groundhog forecasters all across the U.S. While Phil may be the most notable, other furry forecasters include General Beauregard Lee, Buckeye Chuck, Wiarton Willie, Sir Walter Wally, Birmingham Bill, and Shubenacadie Sam, just to name a few.

Now, onto the winter weather update. A relatively mild fall gave way to snow during November and December. As of the end of January, central Iowa had received 27.5 inches of snowfall. That is 8 inches above the normal snowfall level at this point in the season. The month of January has accounted for 12.8 inches of our total snowfall this year and over half of that fell during a two day stretch during the 10-11th of the month. Although our year to date snowfall totals are above average we have experienced periods of melting in between the snowfall (See the graph below).

Whenever snowcover goes through melting and refreezing our turf can be subject to crown hydration. Crown hydration is one of the winter injury stresses that can damage our turf and unfortunately this process and measures to prevent it are not completely understood. A number of factors combine to cause this type of injury. In my experience shade and drainage are two important factors. There also seems to be agreement that annual bluegrass is more susceptible to crown hydration compared with creeping bentgrass.

If you are in doubt about the health of your turf, try to harvest some plugs and bring them into a warm environment. Incubate them for a week and evaluate the overall turf health. The picture below shows a couple of plugs I brought in from a golf course back in 2008. Notice how the plug on the right responded favorably to proper growing conditions. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the plug on the left. While this was not necessarily the best of news, at least the golf course staff had a better idea what they might expect come spring and was able to begin planning.

Next week I’ll be on the road reporting from the GCSAA Educational Conference and the Golf Industry Show in Orlando, Florida. Hopefully, I won’t have to worry about snow down there.