The A-Word, R-Word and S-Word

Just a few quick notes from the road - I'm somewhere between Jim and Megan's territory in St. Louis, Missouri on my way from St. Paul, Minnesota to Alexandria, Virginia today.

I talked a lot about anthracnose in last week's posting and the "A-Word" has been on alot of people's lips this last week in the West.

The "R-word" (Rapid Blight) also was pretty popular on Poa greens in California last week, especially in coastal locations.

The "S-word" (Summer patch) has not been super rampant, but continues to annoy superintendents here, magnifying any heat or stress damage.

Expect more of the same this next week on Poa greens for hot inland areas (anthracnose & summer patch) and moderate coastal locations (anthracnose, summer patch & rapid blight). The Central Valley (Fresno ) area is still staying warm at night and Pythium on cool season turf is likely there.

As for Rapid Blight: If you have TDS readings above 2.5 dS/m (0.5 on the Oakton TDS-4), you are likely at risk for rapid blight development. Applications of Compass, Insignia and Fore will suppress the disease but it will keep coming back until you get your sodium levels down. Nothing beats a good leach for Rapid Blight control, but it's also a pain in the butt to do properly.

Just a few more weeks until the end of summer – if you can hold out for another 4 weeks, life will likely get much easier!