Just a brief update

It has been tough to give an update since things have been so busy, but I thought that I would at least give a summary of what I have been seeing in the Northeast either while I was in the field or in the lab.

Typical diseases:
Dollar spot, anthracnose, brown patch and Pythium blight have been working on turf for a few weeks.  Gray leaf spot has also been reported by some in the region, although I am not sure if this has been confirmed by any diagnostic lab.  Also, many courses have been either excessively wet or more likely excessively dry.  The dry conditions have been particularly noticeable around the NJ/NY region.  At this point, it is just about keeping things alive and getting through the summer until conditions change to favor turf growth.

All the talk:
For the last few weeks there have been two unusual diseases that are causing a lot of scare around the region.  One is the issue of bacterial wilt potentially being a problem on creeping bentgrass.  This issue is one that is going to take some time to resolve, but I don't think that it is nearly as widespread as many think.  The second issue is the one dealing with what I refer to as Pythium patch.  This is not a defined disease as I have not really had the ability to put a major effort into researching it, but the bottom line is that there seems to be a Pythium that selectively impacts annual bluegrass that is not suppressed by the typical Signature applications. My experience with this problem is that you should continue your Signature applications for the more virulent Pythium species and for summer stress, but you should supplement a more traditional Pythium fungicide into your program during conditions like we are experiencing now.

Field Days:
This is a tough time of the year to visit with your local research institutions since the weather is not cooperating, but remember that you can learn a lot of the latest and greatest in terms of management recommendations by attending these events and talking with the University researchers as well as your peers.  This week will see Field Day's by both UConn (July 21) and UMD (July 22).  In the coming week, Rutgers will also be hosting their field day.  Please make any effort that you can to attend these events if you can get away from your course for the day!