Printable Version - University of Missouri

GettingItchy...
Weather
EventhoughthecalendarhasyettoturnfromFebruary,springhasbeenintheairoverthe
lasttwoweeksinMissouri.Overthepast30days,thewesternportionofthestateisnearly
6degreesabovenormal,themiddle4degreesabove,andtheeastis2-3degreesabove.
Althoughthefinaltallyisn’tcomplete,ourstateclimatologistDr.PatGuinanestimateswe
willrankinthetop10warmestDecember–Februaryspans,andthiswinterwillbethe
mildestsince2011-2012.Goingbackthroughthereports,Irecallobservingbrownpatch
ontallfescueanddollarspotonbentgrassinmid-lateMarchof2012,aswellasavery,very
longandsevereseasonforlargepatchoccurrence(Clickheretoseethe3/29/12report).
Somehavereportedquiteafewmowingsofputtinggreensalready,andtheforecastseems
toindicatespringtimetemperatureswillholdatleastthroughearlyMarch.
BothJanuaryandFebruaryhavehadbelownormalsnow/rainfalltotalswithJanuarybeing
approximately1”belownormalandFebruarybeing1.5”belownormalinmostportionsof
thestate.ThedryJanuaryhasfollowedatrendofdryJanuariesoverthepastfewdecades.
Abadyearforthosesupplementingincomefromsnowremoval,butagoodyearforcities
tosavemoneyonsnowremovalservices.Ontheturfside,Iwouldbeworriedwiththelack
ofacozysnowblanketonbermudagrass,butwehaven’thadasustainedcoldsnapof
temperaturestodrawtoomuchconcern.Newlyestablishedareasornorthfacingslopes
mayhavesomewinterkill,butmostoftheextremetemperaturedipswereaccompaniedby
alittlesnowcoverwhichshouldmitigatesomeoftheloss.
GettingItchy...
QuickHits:
•
PinkSnowMold/MicrodochiumPatch:Pinksnowmolddamagehasbeenreported
onagolfcoursegreennearKansasCity.Althoughlackingthesustainedsnowcoverof
ournorthernneighbors,pinksnowmoldisacommonoccurrenceinmiddleMOon
puttinggreens,andshouldbedealtwithineitheralatefallapplicationorhoppedon
veryquicklyinacurativesituation.Thepinkcolorationonthepatchmarginsisthe
sporodochia,orsporeproducingstructureofthepathogen.Whenobserved,thismeans
thousandsmoresporesarebeingproducedwhichwillfacilitatediseasespread.
Medallion(fludioxonil)oratank-mixof26GT(iprodione)+DaconilUltrex
(chlorothalonil)shouldbeappliedonsymptomaticareas.Ifnot,acoolspringrainor
GettingItchy...
irrigationcanmovesporesquicklyandcausegreaterareasofinfection.Areasmaybe
treatedwithaSprayHawkorotherhand-heldboomsprayertoreducetrafficimpact
acrossawakeningbentgrass.
•
•
MissouriPesticideCollection:Ifyouhavedonesomepre-springcleaningandhave
unusedpesticidewastethatneedstobedisposedof,theMissouriDepartmentof
NaturalResourceshasainformationalfactsheet(ClickHeretoView).Non-business
entitiessuchasfarmersandhouseholdsmaytakepartintheMissouriPesticide
CollectionProgram.
Late2015FloodinginSt.Louis:InlateJanuary,IborewitnesstomyfirstSt.Louis
floodingevent,andtheaweofMotherNature’swrathhasneverbeenmoreapparent.
GregParkinson,coursesuperintendentatTapawingoNationalGolfClub,gavemea
brieftouroftheaftermathwhichincluded1.5-2”siltdepositson17holes,including
greensandtees,anda7-8footdepositofsandonholesalongtheMeramecriver’sedge.
Thecrewhadbeenworking7-day,10-12hourshiftssincefloodanditshowedasall
greenswereclearbylateJanuary,and7holesremainedwithsilt.Ican’timaginea
worsetimeforthisfloodingtooccur,asseasonalmaintenancecrewsareattheirlowest,
wintersunlightisfleeting,andfreezingtemperaturescausedelays.
Inthepictureabove,notetheirrigationheadsrunning,whichboggledmepriorto
Greg’sexplanationthatthesiltcouldn’tbepushedeffectivelywithoutsomemoisture.
ManyothercoursesneartheMeramecsuchastheQuarryatCrystalSpringswerealso
affected,andmykudosgoouttothecrewsrestoringtheseproperties,andthe
collaborativeSTLsuperintendentcommunitywhocontinuetolendequipmentand
laborsupporttoaidintherecuperativeeffort.Duringmyvisit,themaintenancecrew
fromBelleriveCountryClubwasonsitetohelp,alongwithMikeMunieandhisstaff
(PerfectPlay&Links)showninthepictureabove.
Wherepestsareconcernedonthesefloodedsites,thereisnotmuchscientificdatato
GettingItchy...
•
•
drawfromonhowprevalenttheywillbeafterthecleanup.Myinclinationistheflood
wasahugeresetbutton,andallpesticideapplicationsfromthepreviousfallwillhave
reducedornoeffectiveness.Aconflictingviewisthepestsrolledawaywiththeflood,
butmanypathogens,atleast,overwintersafeandsoundininfestedplantmaterialor
tightlyboundthatch,sothediseasesshouldrecurjustfinein2016.Atleastonespring
applicationforlargepatch(whichourresearchshowsshouldbeintheplananyway)
shouldbemade,andintensemonitoringinearlyspringforMicrodochiumpatchon
greensshouldbeconducted.Additionally,puttinginaprogramforPythiumrootroton
thesesitesinmidspringwouldbewise,sinceincidenceandseverityofthisdisease
increasesgreatlyinasaturatedsoilsituation.
DormantSeeding:Ifyouhavesomebareareasandmissedthatimportantfallseeding
windowforcoolseasonturfgrasses,nowisagreattimeto“dormantseed”andput
somecompetitorsouttofighttheweedseedsthisspring.Bothcool-seasonandwarmseasongrassesalikecanbenefitfromalatewinterseeding,sinceitallowsthemtotake
advantageofthefirstpossiblegerminationenvironmenttobeginestablishmentand
maturebeforethestressandpathogensofsummerarrives.Formoreinformation,see
ourarticlehere.
BuildingUpdate:Thefinishingfewinsidetouchesarebeingputonournewofficeand
storagespacefortheMUTurfgrassProgram.Thisconstructioneffort,ledbyDaniel
EarlywineandthegreatcrewatSouthFarms,wasfundedthroughdonationstoour
TurfgrassBuildingFund.Thissmallerbuildinghelpsusgetoutofthecurrent“house”
whichwasofficiallycondemnedlastyearduetoasinkingfoundationandgeneral
unsafeconditions.WehopetostartmovinginaroundthebeginningofAprilandget
aheadoftheupcomingfieldseason,whichasnotedbelowisapproachingwithalarming
pace.
GettingItchy...
PartI:SpringApplicationTiming:Resources
Asthespring,withakickstartfromamildlatewinter,approaches,weareallgettingitchy
togetstarted.Formethisstatementisliteral,withallergiesalreadycausingissueswith
itchyeyesandnose,(couldbeabadpollenseason).I’vealsohadsomeinquiries,
particularlyfromsouthernMO,abouttheneedtostartearlyonpesticideapplications.It’s
nottimetoscratchthatitchyet,butinthisPartIofaseriesI’dliketobeginwithsomeof
theresourcesIusetogetreadyforandtimespringpesticideapplications.
1. SprayerCalibration:Morethanlikely,youhavealreadydonethis,butthereis
someinformationthatmayhelpkeepthesprayerproperlycalibratedthroughout
theseason.Ifyouarenotusingthe128Rule,thenIstronglyadvisethatyoushould.
Usinganounceasameasure(sinceit’s128thofagallon),andthetimetocoveran
areaof128thofanacre(dependingonyournozzlespacing&speed),youcanusea
simplecollectioncuptocalibratetheoutputinGPSfromyourspraynozzle.During
theseasonyoucangoback,andcheckeachspraynozzletomakesuretheoutputis
withinanacceptablerange.Ifnot,itmayindicateacloudyscreenorneedtochange
thenozzle.Methodologyforthe128rulecanbefoundhere.Onanothernote,
givethesprayernozzlesandscreensaonceover,andchangeifthey’vebeenused
forawholeseason.Agoodruleofthumbfornozzlesistochangethemwhenyou
grindorchangethemowerbladesonarotarymower.
2. Daylength:Ikeepaneyeondailyphotoperiodlengthtogetanideaofwhatahigh
temperaturereallymeansinregardstooverallimpactontheecosystem.A75
degreedaywillresultinamuchhigherimpactonaveragedailysoiltemperature,
plant,andpathogenmetabolisminMaywhenthephotoperiodis14+hourslong
thanitwillinFebruarywhenthephotoperiodis11hoursorless.TheAstronomical
ApplicationsDepartmentoftheUSNavalObservatoryprovidesaneasytouseform
herethatcanshowtheannualdurationofdaylightforanyU.S.orworldwidecity.A
moreuserfriendlyinterfaceshowingphotoperiodbymonthcanalsobefoundhere.
3. GrowingDegreeDays:Otherthancalculatinggrowingdegreedaysyourselfby
usingyourdailyhighandlowtemperaturesintheformula[(high–low)/2]–the
base(i.e.50or32),thegrowingdegreedaytrackeroperatedbyMichiganState
University(http://www.gddtracker.net)givesanexcellentoverallmapofthe
degreedaystatusandcorrespondingpestbiologyformuchoftheMidwestregion.
Inaddition,youcansignupbyzipcodetoreceivepestalertsfromthenearest
weatherstationintheirnetwork.IfyoualsouseGDDsforPGRscheduling,Dr.Bill
KreuserfromU.ofNebraskaalsohasadownloadableExcelspreadsheetembedded
withmacrostohelptrackPGRusageandGDDs(formoreinformationclickhere).
4. SoilTemperature:Servicesvarysomewhatfromstatetostate,butinMissouriI
relyheavilyonHorizonPointreportsforsoiltemperatureandotherweather
information.Thisfreesubscriptionservicesendsweatherreportsdailyintoyour
GettingItchy...
emailinboxfromthenearestreportingweatherstationtoyourzipcode.Onecan
tailorthereportstowhattheyneed,butataminimumIrecommendthewind
forecasttoplanfutureapplicationsandreducedriftpotential,thespringplanting
soiltemperaturechartwhichshowsagraphof2”soiltemperatures,andtheWeed
ScoutingAid.
CurrentStatus:SomeforsythiagottrickeddowninSpringfieldandconcernedsome,but
it’sstillabittooearlytousethatitchytriggerfingeronpreventiveapplications.Although
wehadafewbrieftemperaturespikesinlateJanuaryandlateFebruary,soiltemperatures
inthe55–60degreeFthresholdhavenotoccurred.Rememberalsothatforsoilborne
diseaseprevention,soiltemperaturesareoftenaveragedovera3or5dayspantoaccount
forspringtimevariability.Thisneedforsustainedmildtemperaturesoftenleadstoan
earlytomidApriltimeframeinMissouriforfairyringprevention,butthewaythisyearis
goingperhapswewillbeaweekortwoearlier.Remember2011-2012…
LeeMiller
FollowonTwitter!@muturfpath
LikeonFacebook!MizzouTurfgrass
ExtensionTurfgrassPathologist-UniversityofMissouri