Thawing out

Well, I'm finally running at about 80% speed after being knocked on my butt from a double-whammy of a cold AND food poisoning. My sweetie, Kris, had to deal with a very yucky Valentine this week. I'm hoping to be 90-100% back-to-normal tomorrow. On Tuesday, as the cold really came on strong, you could have graphed snot-production on an exponential curve...


Me and my Valentine of 10-years, on a less-snotty day!


The high yesterday and Wednesday was about 70, and virtually all the snow is gone except for giant piles in parking lots, and those are fading fast. I have not heard from anyone regarding pink snow mold/Microdochium patch but I suspect there may be some out there. The forecast for the next week is pretty crazy (see below). Microdochium patch doesn't need snow, just cool/wet temps, so keep your eyes out.


Another disease that frequently appears in this region around this time is yellow patch/cool-season brown patch. This disease usually goes away readily on its own as the temp warms up and grass gets growing. That all depends on weather. I have seen yellow patch symptoms into mid-April.




The above photo of yellow patch was from Feb 2008.


Freeze/Thaw and Drainage

The forecast calls for a few more days of warm temps, then showers, snow, and cold (lows in the teens). This type of weather can lead to a lot of cycles of freezing/thawing which can cause damage to turf.




There are a lot of reasons to address drainage problems. Freeze/thaw problems is one more to add to the list!

Labels


If you recall, 2-3 weeks ago I talked about a new web-distributed labeling system that the EPA was testing out. I pasted some info from a fruit newsletter that I receive. The comment talked about some correspondence among EPA, Greenbook, and CropLife America regarding the web distributed labeling. The correspondence was posted here:

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ppdc/2010/dec2010/session3-willsltr.pdf

Microdochium patch kicking in

Walking around the Valentine Research Facility this morning brought some new disease activity to my attention.  Despite the unseasonably warm weather we had this past week, the slight change in temperatures and moisture finally kicked Microdochium patch into gear on our putting greens.  Although most of the damage that we had noticed prior was caused by gray snow mold, this was brand new activity.  Actually, when I first looked at the symptoms it reminded me of some type of hydraulic or fuel spill.  It was fairly scattered and not too severe at this point, but microscopic examination confirmed the condia (spores) of Microdochium nivale.  I assume that the wet, weather we are scheduled to get over the next two days (combined with more typical temperatures for the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern US) will bring some moderate cases of the disease.  There are probably a lot of fungicides that can control the disease, but it seems that most are utilizing tank-mixtures of chlorothalonil + iprodione as their drug of choice.



In addition to the Microdochium, we have seen select cases of cool temperature brown patch and brown ring patch.  As we have stated in previous posts, identification can be made by incubating a sample in a ziplock bag or tupperware container with a moist paper towel.  If mycelium is present in the morning, you are likely dealing with brown ring patch.  It seems a little early for BRP in most parts of the NE, but with the weather being so screwed up for the last week anything is possible.

Aside from the disease front, many of you may have read the facebook post about annual bluegrass weevils.  According to the USGA agronomists in the Northeast, adult annual bluegrass weevils are already on the move and have been captured in pitfall traps on a golf course in Fairfield, CT.  This is once again early for the little buggers and superintendents would be wise to keep a close eye on this if you have 1) high populations of annual bluegrass and 2) have had a history of ABW damage in the past.  For those of you not dealing with this insect, take it from many of the golf course superintendents in the Hartford region...they are a pain in the rear and resistance problems showing up in the last 4-5 years have made their management even more difficult.

Aside from the bugs and the fungi, now is also the time to start planning for your annual bluegrass seedhead control.  Depending on your choice of PGR (Embark or Primo/Proxy), you will be targeting the seedheads soon.  These control measures are often hit or miss and can vary significantly depending on the location on the course.  As you know, many superintendents base their application timing on cumulative degree days.  Although I still don't think these are great models, they can assist in determining approximate timings.  For everyone in the NE, you can check out Cornell's Forecast site for an update on cumulative degree days.

Great conference, but a tough spot to watch hockey.

 

(Above) The crowd in Toronto reacts to the OT goal that sealed

the win and a gold medal for Canada...and a silver for the USA team.

This past week was spent at the Canadian International Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show and the New England Regional Conference and Trade Show.  Both were great shows and I had a chance to discuss some disease issues facing both groups. In Canada, the buzz was around the relatively new cosmetic pesticide ban.  This seems to be the first step in eliminating pesticides from turfgrass management.  While golf courses are currently exempt from the ban, many of the areas on the property are not exempt.  This includes such areas as the entrance ways to the facility as well as the turf grown around the clubhouse and other areas not directly related to the game of golf.  You can definitely expect a decline in turf quality in these areas.

More important than the areas around the clubhouse, however, is the ban on pesticides for athletic fields.  The inability to suppress weed species and other pests such as diseases and insects will likely start to appear.  Unfortunately, this will likely occur in the form of childhood injuries and other accidents due to poor playing conditions.  In a brief conversation with Dr. Vittum from UMASS, she expressed that in her role as a referee that she has had to cancel games in New England due to the potential for injury and her personal liability as the referee.  While this is an extreme case, these issues could become more prevalent in Canada due to this ban.

After leaving Toronto with my head hanging low due to the USA loss against the Canadians in the hockey finals, I headed to Providence where the NE1025 group was wrapping up its final meeting to discuss the progress with managing anthracnose basal rot and annual bluegrass weevils.  As part of the reports from each participant, we were fortunate enough to have Stan Zontek, Director of the mid-Atlantic Green Section, provide an update on his perspective of anthracnose in his region.  Here is Mr. Zontek's statement:

"Prior to this research initiative, anthracnose was one of the most common and devastating problem to golf course putting greens in those parts of the USA where Poa annua (annual bluegrass) is the predominant grass species on putting greens.  This research information, supported by field observations, established the fact that this disease was made worse by (1) the species of grass, (2) close mowing (in the quest for faster green speeds), (3) reduced fertilizer inputs (another factor for producing faster green speeds), and anecdotal observations that anthracnose was made worse by (4) frequent, light topdressings, vertical mowings, heavy foot and equipment traffic (including rolling) and the associated care a putting green receives to achieve fast green speeds.  Golf course putting greens were declining due to anthracnose in spite of the increased usage of fungicides.  In fact, fungicides were routinely applied every 5-7 days to greens with limited success in controlling anthracnose.

The research results from the NE-1025 group have shown that anthracnose can be prevented through higher annual rates of nitrogen.  The healthier the grass, the less prone it is to anthracnose and, significantly, the need for fungicides is greatly reduced.  The reduced usage of pesticides is definitely a positive result from this research. 

It has also been shown that mechanical operations like light topdressing, vertical mowing, rollings and even foot traffic are less of a problem than once thought.  When you couple these shifts in how the turf is managed, the maintenance of putting green speed can be achieved via the use of plant growth regulators (PGRs), the judicious use of putting green rolling and double cutting including the maintenance if not increase in mowing heights. 

The benefits of Poa annua seedhead suppression were also studied.  This too contributes to healthier turf, less anthracnose and better overall putting green quality during those periods of the year when seedheads are produced. 

To golf course superintendents in the field, the research results from all the anthracnose studies have provided a far better knowledge base than before this work was begun.  The results have been embraced by our industry to a point where anthracnose, which was formerly a huge problem on putting greens, has now become a minor problem to even being, non-existent.  These are spectacular results."

- Stan Zontek, USGA

(Above) Sclerotia within infested tissue can help you distinguish Gray Snow Mold from other snow molds.

All in all, these were informative meetings and the conference season is just about wrapping up.  Updates from around the region suggest that the snow is finally starting to melt and with that snow molds appear to be the largest problem.  Specifically, areas that often are damaged by Microdochium patch (e.g., Pink Snow Mold) are instead showing the symptoms of gray snow mold (Typhula spp.) due to the extended snow cover. It is important to check the infested tissue with a hand lens to look for the sclerotia embedded in the tissues because fungicide applications for gray snow mold are not necessary at this time.  If you are dealing with Microdochium patch, however, it may be important to continue to monitor the situation as fungicide treatments may continue to be necessary depending on the pending weather conditions.

snow molds

First, my hypothesis is that the guy in Frank's post has chilling injury in his pants, not gray snow mold.

But, speaking of snow molds, we are starting to see some in this part of the world. We had an extended snow-cover that started in early Dec and as it has melted over the last 2-3 weeks pockets of snow mold have become apparent. I've been hearing about snow molds in golf courses but also in home lawns (particularly in low-maintenance lawns where the turf was very long and flopped over/matted down over the winter).

Since I have not received samples, I can't say for sure, but I suspect most of them are Microdochium (pink snow mold) since our snow-cover was probably not long enough for Typhula. And, even the pink snow mold is most prevalent on areas where the snow piled up extra deep, or in shady sites where melting was delayed.

John mentioned conferences, and though I am not the international-pathologist-of-mystery that he is, I did have the opportunity to participate in Nebraska's turf conference about two weeks ago. I talked about some of the work we've done at K-State with nozzles and dollar spot control.

While there I had some good conversations with Roch Gaussoin from U of Nebraska and Ty McClellan from the USGA. Ty and I have been playing tag to a number of turf conferences over the past few months--I've been running into him all over. Then, I also had a chance to meet my new turf neighbor Zac Reicher who is transitioning from Purdue over to the Cornhusker state.

And speaking of conferences, it is hard to believe that the GIS is coming up in just over a week. I'll be co-teaching a class with Frank and our colleague Phil Harmon on Monday. On Tuesday I'll be lending a hand at the "microscope class". I heard a rumor that Kaminski will be assisting in the microscope class too, but luckily my job description does not include keeping him in line :)

Still Wet in the West

Torrey Pines North Course #6 Putting Green (AP Photo/Chris Park)

As posted last week, California got some substantial rain and wind with southern California getting 3 to 5 inches of rain, while norcal got about 3 to 6. For us in the West, that's a lot considering our multi-year drought.

Cool season Pythium popped up in the diagnostic lab as well as rapid blight from socal and Las Vegas, which was a little surprising considering that the rain should have leached some of the sodium out of greens last week. Not surprisingly - pink snow mold was reported in both southern and northern California.

With cool temps in the 50s and 60s and scattered rain expected, we can expect more pink snow mold through out the week.

Although most California superintendents are certainly not facing the winterkill issues that our northern neighbors in Oregon and Washington are facing, annual bluegrass greens in the colder parts of the state can look pretty crappy under these cold weather conditions. Jim Alwine (Stockton Golf and Country Club) has a nice example of this on his blog post here: http://sgccturf.blogspot.com/2010/01/poa-looks-tired.html

Like Jim says, annual bluegrass can look tired and clorotic under these cold weather conditions and just refuse to grow, especially under low fertility conditions.

Trials and Tribulations (but no Tiger) at Torrey Pines
With all of that gorgeous kikuyugrass, sweet Poa greens, and a killer Rueben sandwich at the Grill & Bar, Torrey Pines Golf Course is one of my favorite places in California.

Last week's storms wreaked havoc on the course prior to this week's Farmer's Open (ex-Buick Open). With 4+ inches of rain over 5 days and 20 to 40 mph winds on Wednesday, Director of Golf, Jon Maddern and course superintendents Wayne Carpenter and Candice Combs were faced with some substantial storm damage with just a few days to get the course ready for the tournament.

http://www.10news.com/video/22319497/index.html

According to North Course Superintendent Wayne Carpenter:

We lost roughly 20 trees on the North and the South in this last storm. The soaking rains from this storm and the previous storm combined with the high wind spikes pushed over the surface rooted trees. Most of our trees have rooted on the surface for the water and because the hard sand stone keeps the roots on the surface. Almost all the trees were euc's [eucalyptus]. We only lost a couple of pines of various types. The difficulty in the clean up was all the branches, twigs, and leaves that were down everywhere. That was the tedious hand work. We couldn't do anything but put blowers out to help make piles, rake and pick up everything. The trees were a lot of work for the crew, but at least they were in one place. We could clean it up and move on. The hardest job was pumping out bunkers and restoring the faces with sand. The South lost all the sand in every face on their bunkers. The North had wash outs, but not on the scale of the Souths. I'm sure Candice can better attest to the amount of time and labor this job took on her side, but this took a huge expenditure of our crews resources. We had a number of GREAT volunteers that helped with this task and I would not have finished the North without their help. Our crews have completely worn themselves out getting this place back into shape.

About 40 volunteers, including 15 staff and superintendents from golf nearby courses in the San Diego area, pitched in to help clean up the storm damage. You gotta love that collegiality and camaraderie that's present in this industry and amongst superintendents and their crews. I wonder if the public realizes how much work goes on behind the scenes to get courses ready for the big day, especially when Mother Nature deals you a bum hand.

As you can see from ESPN's coverage of the tournament today, all of that effort from Candice, Wayne and Jon, their crews and volunteers has made for some pretty sweet results:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4867407&categoryid=null

Let's hope that the rain stays away for the rest of the week so the crew at Torrey can get some well deserved rest!

By the way, Mr. Daly, it looks like you got some gray snow mold in your pants. We got some stuff that can fix that...I'm just sayin'


(AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Thanks to Matt Marsh (Valencia Country Club) and friends for gettin' that idea in my head.

Signing Off From the Right Coast Until Next Week....

It's Conference Season

Conferences are a great way to find out the latest research results from Universities and independent researchers in your region. Organizers generally arrange for a variety of different speakers and topics ranging from disease management to weed management to cultural management practices.
Although I have only been to a few conferences so far this year (with many more to come), they have all been full of useful information for turf managers. Below are some highlights of the most recent talk I heard:

Anthracnose basal rot (Dr. Jim Murphy, Rutgers @ Eastern PA Turf Conference): Dr. Murphy summarized some of the research that he and Dr. Clarke have been working on over the past few seasons. The most surprising results are that many of the traditional recommendations provided to turfgrass managers have actually been wrong. Some findings of their work include:

1. Topdressing can actually help to reduce anthracnose (presumably by burying and protecting the crown of the plant)
2. Greenspeed can be maintained and anthracnose reduced by increasing N fertility and rolling instead of lowering mowing heights
3. PGRs commonly used for suppressing annual bluegrass seedheads do not increase disease incidence and in certain years have decreased disease severity
4. Extremes in irrigation (too much or too little) can exacerbate disease activity

Over the next few months, associations around the country will be hosting various educational events.  Take advantage of these opportunities (and don't forget to bring your assistants too) to find some "nugget" of information that may help you this season.

To view some of the upcoming events that may be in your area, check out our calendar page.

Disease Update:
The snow has melted in many parts of the Northeast following some warmer weather revealing Microdochium patch and cool-temperature brown patch.  Golf course superintendents from around the area should also be cautious about the lack of protection on the exposed turf AND also watch out for any rapid thawing/freezing of ice...especially where annual bluegrass populations are high.

As for me, I am listening to the updates of the unusually cold and snowy conditions at the British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association meeting (Harrogate) in England.  Hopefully I will be able to give an International Update in the coming weeks with any useful information obtained from the meeting.

Signing off from the large island across the pond...

Brown Ring Patch, Polyoxin-D & Savage Pathology Style Q&A

Sorry for barging in on Megan's Friday posting but better late than never :)

Brown Ring Patch on Creeping Bentgrass in Arizona?
Gabe Towers (Target Specialty Products) in Arizona sent these pictures in from a creeping bentgrass green at a course outside of Phoenix. According to his observations, it's definitely a Rhizoctonia-type disease and the mycelia and symptoms look an awful lot like what we would expect brown ring patch to look like on bentgrass. Unlike the bright yellow rings associated with the disease on annual and rough bluegrass, brown ring patch on bentgrass makes nice brown sunken rings. These symptoms are like those first described for the disease orginally in Japan on this turf type.








































One of the things that we're seeing here is also the development of patches without rings. Although rings are typically seen with the disease, we did isolate Waitea circinata var. circinata from similar patches in Idaho last year.

The most compelling evidence for brown ring patch would be the presence of aeial mycelium after incubation plus the sunken degraded thatch on the greens.

We're working with Gabe right now to confirm the pathogen identity, but if it is brown ring patch, that'd be a first for the disease on creeping bentgrass in Arizona.

Polyoxin-D: Soon Available in Two Fruity Flavors!
Well, not really. Polyoxin-D fungicides kind of smells like Top Ramen to me. Polyoxin-D has proven to be one of the best fungicides for brown ring patch control and will soon be available from two companies in 2010. There's a little bit of a backstory on this one, but I'll skip the details and just say that two formulations from two different companies will be available soon.

Endorse 2.5WP is now part of Arysta's line of turf fungicides. It was previously marketed and distributed by Cleary Chemical, and we should expect no major changes to the label and the use rate will continue to be at 4 oz per 1,000 sq ft.

Cleary Chemical will now be selling Affirm 11.3WDG. This has about 4x more polyoxin-D than Endorse, so the expected use rate will be 1 oz per 1,000 sq ft.

For more information (as it becomes available) please see the maunfacturer websites:
http://www.arystalifescience.com
http://www.clearychemical.com

Question of the Week
This is kind of a new feature for the Left Coast blog, but inspired by columns such as Dear Abby, Car Talk, and Savage Love, and the slow down of info this winter, I'm going to try to post Q&As recieved by email.

Hi Frank,

I am looking for a third product for snow mold control on poa greens (monterey peninsula). My curent rotation is Instrata followed by Chipco GT every 14 to 21 days depending on the disease pressure. I was considering Eagle in combo with Fore any thoughts?

Thanks in advance,
Moldy in Monterey


Dear Moldy -

Pink snow mold in California can be tricky since it can fire at cold (< 65F daytime temps) and wet conditions without snowfall. As you know, it can go from 50 to 80F in a week in parts of California during the winter, especially in southern California, making this disease somewaht unpredictable. As such, creating a clear, defined pink snow mold (aka Microdochium patch) preventive fungicide program can be dififcult and often superintendents end up making a lot of curative applications for this disease. Please look at page 16 from Paul Vincelli's (University of Kentucky) overview of turf fungicides - the ratings are based on the average of trials performed for the last 10 or so years over all of the US.

www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/ppa/ppa1/ppa1.pdf

Can you use PCNB? If you consistently stay below 70F during the winter - PCNB is really useful - long lasting, no resistance, cheap - but, if it goes over 70F, you can potentially get burn and or root pruning at high rates. Maybe target PCNB apps for the coldest part of the year , saving your Instrata applications for times when temps can get warmer.

Since Instrata = Banner + Medallion + Daconil, Medallion and Daconil are probably limited as alternate rotation partners due to label rate limitations.

You can use another DMI (Banner, Eagle, etc..) in the rotation since DMI resistance really hasn't been an issue for pink snow mold yet - but as you can see from Paul's chart, some DMIs work better than others. It'd probably be a good idea to mix this application with something else for added protection. As you indicated, mancozeb (Fore) is a good choice in your case.

I think the QoIs (Heritage, Compass, Insignia, Disarm) can be dicey for snow mold control; we've seen a few cases of resistance in CA, but this topic needs a lot more research. Thiophanate-methyl should be used with caution, resistance has been around in WA since the 1980s.

Finally, good call on the Chipco 26GT as a rotation partner. Since tolerance may be an issue in some places, keep the rates on the higher end or mixing with a contact such as mancozeb in your rotation may help.

How's that sound?

Thanks,
Frank

That's it for this week. Signing off from the Left Coast.....

Microdochium patch running amuck!

Thanks to the lovely weather we've been experiencing in the Midwest, Microdochium patch has probably worn out its welcome. We just went through the second coldest October on record and I think one of the wettest! Absolutely perfect weather for Microdochium. Microdochium is a pathogen of many turfgrass species and can be especially severe on cool-season turfgrasses. The symptoms appear as small (<6 to 12 inches) water-soaked patches in absence of snow cover. Affected plants are blighted and may have a greasy appearance or may be a tan color. Stand symptoms can also have a pink or salmon hue evident after snow melt. Also symptoms tend to more severe after extended snow cover.



The conditions that favor disease development are cooler temperatures ( 32 to 60 F), high humidity and high nitrogen content in the leaf tissue. Snow cover is not required for this disease to develop, but is usually more severe when snow cover occurs. Microdochium management is fairly simple because many chemicals are efficacious. The tried and true combination for many people is a tank mixture of chlorothalonil and iprodione. Avoiding late season fertility applications seem to limit Microdochium symptoms. The exact timings to avoid are not know, but we are examining that particular question this winter.

Just returned from Pittsburgh attending the Turf Nerd Conference as John put it. The Agronomy Meetings are my favorite time of year. The graduate students at the meeting give fantastic papers and it is a real joy to find out what all of us are doing. For those that are not familiar with these meetings, our division C-5 is the second largest division in the Crop Science Society. Yet the camaraderie amongst the members of the division is great! I've heard that Pittsburgh was not a nice location years ago, but I really enjoyed my stay in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately I did not make it to Primanti Brothers. I did not have a bottle of Pepto with me and just getting over my recent battle with the flu I did not want to chance an upset stomach. Next time the corned beef and cheese sandwich is mine!!

What to Do About Snow Mold?

Although the temperatures are on the rise in the Midwest, a couple of superintendents have asked me about snow mold fungicides. So I thought this would be a good time to give a brief synopsis of our snow mold research from 2008 through 2009. Here is the link for our full snow mold reports, where you can view all of the treatments we tested: http://www.plantpath.wisc.edu/tdl/pdf/uwsnowmoldreports2009.pdf. First you need to know where you stand in relation to the map on the upper right hand corner of this post. If you are above the line than you need to consult the report for Wawonowin CC in Champion, MI. If you are below the line than you should consult the report from Sentryworld Golf Course in Stevens Point, WI.

Conditions at Sentryworld Golf Course in Stevens Point, WI were approximately 100 days of continual snow cover. Early applications were applied on October 21, 2008 and late applications were applied on Nov. 25, 2008. Many treatments were highly effective at this site, so please consult the report to see each treatment in detail. Some of the best performing treatments that were only applied late were Trinity (1 fl oz), Trinity (1 fl oz)/Iprodione Pro (4 fl oz), Triton Flo (0.85 fl oz)/Compass (0.25 oz)/Daconil Ultrex (5 oz), Instrata (9.3 fl oz), Quali-Pro TM/C (6oz)/QP Iprodione (4 fl oz)/QP Propiconazole (2 fl oz), 26/36 (4 fl oz)/Endorse (4 oz) and Chipco 26GT (4 fl oz)/Daconil WeatherStik (5 fl oz). Slashes represent tank mixtures and all rates are per 1000 sq ft. By no means is this list all inclusive, so please do check out the full report.



The dominant disease was gray snow mold, but Microdochium patch was observed at this site. If Microdochium patch (pink snow mold, Fusarium patch) is the dominant winter disease you face, typically an application of propiconazole or iprodione tank mixed with chlorothalonil will provide acceptable control.

The conditions at Wawonowin CC were much more severe than the conditions in Stevens Point, WI. There was continuous snow cover on the plots for approximately 170 days. The pressure was so extreme that most of the treatments that were effective in Stevens Point failed. The dominant snow mold pathogen was Typula ishikariensis, yet Microdochium patch was observed at this location. Early treatments were applied on October 2, 2008 and late treatments were applied on October 28, 2008. The only treatments that provided complete control of snow mold at this site were, an experimental from Bayer tank mixed with Triton Flo (treatment 29), 26/36 tank mixed with an experimental from Cleary's (treatment 61) and 26/36/Endorse/CX-28. However a few treatments did provide acceptable control (< 5% disease severity), please consult the reports for more specific information on these treatments.



Again this list is not all inclusive as there were some other treatments that did provide acceptable control. Application timing for snow mold fungicides is critical. It is not necessary to wait until the snow is falling to apply fungicides targeting snow mold. An old adage from one of my predecessors, Dr. Gail Worf, is spot on! Before deer season (rifle) starts in Wisconsin, which is the weekend before Thanksgiving approximately, snow mold applications should be down! Especially for those in areas that receive more than 100 days of continual snow cover. Basically you can use the reports to find a fungicide or fungicides that fit for your courses budget and situation.

Presentely the weather has warmed up in the Mid-West and dollar spot has started to surge. Brown patch is kicking back into gear and anthracnose has finally developed in a few places. It appears that the weekend is going to be warm, but not very humid so brown patch may not linger for very long. The Turfgrass Diagnostic Lab has been fairly slow the last month or so because of the extremely cool July we experienced.

Greetings from Chile

Our Summer Field Day was a success and we did actually have dollar spot to show the audience, but nothing else. All of the talks were well received I think. Dr. Chris Williamson spoke about the residual control of black cutworms with Acelepyrn and had a huge crowd for every stop. Dr. John Stier spoke about annual bluegrass management and a new seeding techinque for Kentucky bluegrass that was also a big success. Dr. Stier's graduate student spoke about velvet bentgrass management in the shade. Dr. Doug Soldat's crew did four talks, one on timing of Primo applications, rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation, fall nitrogen fertility and grasses for sustainable landscapes.

The turf pathology team spoke about dollar spot forecasting, which I have mentioned a few times in previous posts. My Ph.D student Chantel Wilson discussed early-season dollar spot programs. This research basically expands on the theory of early-season dollar spot applications to include a summer long program. The goal of the project is to compare costs of conventional dollar spot programs to these early-season programs. So far all of the early-season programs are working just as well as the conventional programs, but we have saved at least one or maybe two fungicide applications by incorporating an early-season fungicide application targeting dollar spot.

My other Ph.D student and technician, Paul Koch, spoke about fungicide programs that target snow mold and dollar spot together. Essentially we make at most four applications a year in the fall and spring and to date we have not seen these treatments break down. However, we have not seen the plots in a week. Again we plan to compare costs of these novel timings to a more conventional fungicide program.

The weather has remained mild in the Midwest during my time in Chile, at least that is what Skybit has told me. The dollar spot forecasting model did kick off and predict another application after 5 days of relative humidity above 70 %. Based on the nighttime temperatures I doubt brown patch or anthracnose has developed in the Upper Midwest at least.

Chile has been fantastic and there were some excellent talks and posters presented at the meetings. This is a beautiful country and I would encourage anyone to think about Chile for a vacation!! Until next week...

All Quiet on the Western Front (Sort Of)

I just returned from a Hi-Lo GCSA meeting at Desert Falls Country Club out in Palm Desert, CA. Thanks again to superintendent Tom Shephard for hosting the meeting today! The bermudagrass out there is booming but wow, it was 101 degrees out there and it's only May.

It's totally amazing how diverse California weather can be. It's in the 60s on the coast 70-80s in inland valleys, 90s in the Central Valley and 100s in the desert. Going straight east from Santa Monica - you can have about a 40 degree difference within 120 miles. Yowza!

Last week we still had some pink snow mold activity in northern California. Yes - we can get pink snow mold here without snow cover, but that disease should subside as things warm up through this Month. Well - except for northern coastal locations like Pebble Beach and San Francisco - places that always seem to be cool and wet in our spring and summer months in California, which reminds me of that saying that "the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco". Other than that - rapid blight and brown ring patch are still hanging around causing some problems here and there.

Other coastal and inland areas in the mid 60s - 80s should expect to see significant rapid blight pressure while the Central Valley guys should be looking out for "summer" diseases like southern blight, anthracnose and summer patch.

Start Anthracnose Control Now
Anthracnose is probably up there with swine flu when it comes to diseases you want to avoid. Preventive sprays should be started for anthracnose and summer patch when soil temps are regularly above 68 degrees. Start hitting Poa greens now with systemic fungicides to reduce the pathogen populations and reduce the disease pressure later in the summer. Wait unti you get wiped out with anthracnose and you may wish you had swine flu instead.

Whiting Out Weeds
I have to admit - plant pathologists often do things backwards agronomically to encorage disease in our research plots. Amazingly, gettting rid of creeping bentgrass is in Poa is something that makes sense for pathologists studying annual bluegrass diseases like anthracnose and summer patch.

Recently we've been fooling around with making mesotrione (Tenacity) applications on our research greens to get rid of creeping bentgrass. Mesotrione shuts down carotenoid (pigment) production in certain grassy and broadleaf weeds, resulting in some pretty striking effects. According to the label, Tenacity herbicide is considered safe for use on Kentucky bluegrass, centipedegrass, tall fescue, perennial ryegrass, fine fescues and St. Augstinegrass.

Controlling bentgrass in Poa greens is definitely not on the label, but again, plant pathologists do some pretty bass-ackwards things to get good disease.

Signing off from the left coast and until next week!

Frank

Microdochium Patch (aka Pink Snow Mold)