Night-time lows--cooler than the other side of the pillow

Earlier this week, Frank "expletive deleted" Wong** made some nice points about fungicide programs. While one or two diseases might dominate our thoughts during certain times of year, it's important to consider the whole spectrum of diseases. Winter is a good time to review fungicide programs, deduce when and why breakthroughs occurred, and develop strategies for the next year.

Then, as Jim was mentioning, it's also a good time to reflect on the physiological stress of 2010 and perhaps set some plans related to adjustments in agronomic practices, playability, etc. Summer 2010 was a beast, but there are things to learn from it that can help everyone in the future.

**You can read Frank's post in detail to see what I'm talking about :)


50's 50's 50's

Overnight lows in the 50's are continuing to alleviate stress problems from this summer. Jim said his phone has been fairly quiet, and mine has been too. It's nice to be thinking about things like fall renovations, overseeding, etc, instead of fighting for turf survival 24/7. In my region, those of you with zoysia or bermudagrass might start preparing for fall apps for large patch or spring dead spot. In Kansas, apps for SDS have been pretty inconsistent but a little farther south, in Oklahoma, there's been some recent research on timings for better efficacy. It's all summarized nicely in the August issue of Golf Course Management in an article by Nathan Walker.

More thoughts on summer stress, 2010


At this link you can find more info on the extreme stress conditions of 2010, including some comments and data posted by a Kansas City area superintendent that clearly demonstrate how wicked this summer was. It's always refreshing to hear directly from guys in the field:

http://www.golfersnetworkusa.com/site/kcga/article/associationcontributor/thecourse815


Why turf is like the incredible, edible egg


Larry Stowell and Wendy Gelernter are at it again. They are fast becoming the turf video stars of the internet. At the following link you'll find a short video from PACE turf on why turf gets damaged by heat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg_CYn2YMvQ

No salmonella risk involved :) The video is aimed at a golfer audience.


The incredible, edible sedge

I was just joking around last week, but apparently sedges ARE edible. Here's a comment that came in on my Kansas State website:

Ah, but nutsedge IS edible! The little nutlets that make this weed a pain to control are perfectly edible. Cyperus esculentus…esculentus means edible. You can even buy Cyperus esculentus var. sativus which has been especially selected for eating quality. The nutlets are usually called Chufa nuts and they are used for a popular drink in Spain – Horchata de Chufa!

I’ve eaten chufa nuts and they actually are quite tasty. If I can find some nutlets of var. sativus, I’m planning to plant them in a container next year.

-Rebecca McMahon, Sedgwick County Horticulture Agent

And, this one came in via the Facebook page for THIS blog:

Yes, you can eat nutgrass. it’s part of Chinese medicine.
Yes, you can eat spurge, acturally we eat them fresh and dehydrate them so we can eat on Spring Festival.
Now you know why America has more weeds to deal than Chinese

There’s more information about the edible nature of yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) online here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyperus_esculentus

And, if you hunt online you’ll find more.

Now, if only we could eat dollar spot, brown patch, Pythium, etc etc.

Two plant pathogens that ARE edible are corn smut:

This is a delicacy in Mexico, called Huitlacoche (sometimes spelled cuitlacoche). I’ve eaten it in various dishes. Lots of recipes available online!

And, another edible (err, drinkable..) pathogen is Botrytis cinerea. In most cases Botrytis causes a nasty fruit rot. You’ve seen this on strawberries that get gray-brown and fuzzy. Not too appetizing.

(image online at http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/147235)

But, in grapes, if the level of Botrytis is just right, you can make a very special wine called Botrytized wine, otherwise called “The noble rot.” Highly delicious!