Light at the end of the tunnel (e.g., It's August)

It's been a busy week for golf course superintendents in the region as diseases are in high gear and the heat and temperature stress are causing many golf course putting greens to decline. We are hearing a lot of reports of yellowing and discoloration to bentgrass putting greens, possible nematode issues, and the typical diseases that we would expect to see at this time of the year.

Rain storms that swept through much of the mid-Atlantic provided some much needed relief from the drought we were in, but in many cases the rain fell too fast and basically moved via the surface. The good news from that was that many of you who had ponds that were getting low got a "refill". The bad news is that this did little for replenishing the soil and also washed out a few hundred bunkers. There were even reports in parts of southeast PA of flooding due to the massive storm that came through last week. On the other hand, there were also courses that DID manage to get the slow and steady rain that helped to wet the soil. Following these rains, dollar spot became VERY active and anyone not covered with fungicides saw cotton candy fairways on Tuesday.

Heat stress continues to be the biggest issue throughout much of the region and I can't stress enough that just because the turf is declining doesn't mean that it is pathogen related. In many cases, the soil temps are just too high and/or the growing environments too poor. As we hit the home stretch of summer, it is important to continue to be diligent on your water management. Yes, I know that it is not practical for many of you to get out there and hand-water everything as the courses with a $2,000,000 budget do, but the bottom line is that if you are using your overhead irrigation to "syringe" then you are probably over watering (this was from a USGA agronomist who I believe it going to write an article about it for an upcoming issue of the USGA Record).

Active right now: dollar spot, brown patch, Pythium blight, anthracnose, fairy ring, summer patch, others?

Website update: We are in the process of finalizing the details/construction of the new website for Turf Diseases. Some planned features include:

• More authors for more updates
• Restructuring of regional updates in line with USGA Regions
• New "Research" section for the latest research updates from the scientists
• New "Tech" section (you'll have to wait for the launch to find out more)
• Disease profiles and Image galleries
• Disease updates from superintendents

Heat Wave Forecasted for Next Week

We have seen relatively few disease issues in the TDL the past month or so. Throughout Upper Midwest temperatures have been warm, but we have also been quite dry. However the forecast for next week is very different. Highs for next week will been in the low to mid-ninties, more importantly night time temperatures will exceed 72 for most of next week. I included a 7-day forecast from NBC 15 here in Madison, but areas west and south of us will likely experience even hotter temperatures. I know that doesn't compare with the excruciating heat experienced by those in the Southeast and Central US, but the forecast is significant for the Upper Midwest. Especially considering that many courses have substantial Poa annua populations.

IF YOU haven't done so already, this weekend or early next week is a great time to protect your plants against brown patch and Pythium blight. Environmental conditions next week will be ripe for these two diseases. Moreover, anthracnose, dollar spot, summer patch and leaf spot could also flare up depending on where you are with fungicide applications. I mention leaf spot because we have been dealing with a Bipolaris leaf spot in the Midwest for two or three years that does not respond well to applications of iprodione. This disease also remains active throughout the summer months and has been problematic primarily for older golf courses. The disease tends to be more severe on certain clones of older creeping bentgrass fairways causing a "splotchy" reddish appearance to fairways. It does not manifest into distinct symptom. An image of typical stand symptoms is below.

Last year we initiated a fungicide trial at a course in Wisconsin to investigate chemical control options and found that Heritage TL, Insignia and a tank mixture of Chipco 26GT and Daconil Ultrex suppressed symptoms when compared to the non-treated control. Chipco 26GT by itself did not suppress the symptoms, indicating that Daconil Ultrex was more effective in controlling this disease. Note that I use the word suppress we have not been able to prevent the development of this disease, only suppress the symptoms. Here is the report from last year's trial. This has been a difficult disease to work with because it only seems to affect certain clones. Thus it took some time to figure out how to rate it.

Some other things to consider for next week: limit mowing by alternating mowing and rolling, skip clean-up passes, raise the mowing height and absolutely avoid applications of DMI fungicides to putting greens.

Turfgrass Diseases in India

I spent this week in India and saw active dollar spot, fairy ring, probable bermudagrass decline, and also this unidentified disease on a bermudagrass green at Kolkata.


I suspect this is pythium blight, due to the apparent streaks of disease moving downhill with the drainage pattern, and because of its occurrence on two greens that appeared to have saturated soil conditions. Upon consulting with the conductor of this website, the possibility that this may be a leaf spot disease was also raised. And as I consult my Compendium of Turfgrass Diseases, I see that the environmental conditions for pythium blight and leaf spot diseases of Cynodon overlap to a large extent.


Disease control is obviously more difficult in a country such as India where there is not easy access to diagnostic laboratories. A disease such as dollar spot, seen on a bermudagrass fairway above at Bangalore, is easy to diagnose and control. But pathogens such as bermudagrass decline or leaf spots can be more difficult to diagnose with precision.

Two other factors further complicate disease control at India. First, many of the greenkeepers do not have ready access to information about turfgrass diseases and their control, nor do all greenkeepers understand what type of cultural practices can optimize plant health and minimize disease problems. Second, the types of sprayers used on many golf courses can be difficult to use, somewhat difficult to calibrate, and inconsistent in both droplet size and spray volume.

A tractor-mounted sprayer with a hand-gun is a typical agricultural sprayer found at many golf courses in India.

And the type of manual spraying system with a foot-pump as shown below is not the fastest or most precise way to apply products to the course, but if this is the only sprayer available, then it must be used.

There is a lot of golf development happening now at India and plans are underway for more greenkeeper training. One expects that greenkeepers will soon have access to more information about turfgrass diseases along with the types of maintenance equipment necessary to optimize the growing conditions and control turfgrass diseases more effectively.

Of Fungicide Programs and Control Plots...

Well, I'm sitting here this evening having spent the day looking at plots that for most of our audience would make you cringe, but for me, has me doing cartwheels! The images you see in this post are from my fungicide program trial. This trial allows for multiple applications of various fungicides on a set schedule (usually a 14 day interval), and an evaluation of the diseases that occur in various plots along the way. This year has been epic in the Southeast. Heat, humidity, and regular rainfalls have combined to push the stress levels to unprecedented levels. In an more 'usual' year we would get some brown patch, dollar spot, and if we were lucky some fairy ring to evaluate. This year we have seen the following turfgrass diseases in these plots: dollar spot, brown patch, fairy ring, Pythium blight, and anthracnose. It is clear from thephotos what programs are holding their own under the pressure, which ones are doing ok but have some weaknesses, and those (including controls) that just aren't cutting the mustard.In the area, we have observed much of the same problems as the last several weeks; heat and humidity stressed turf. We have had a cooling off period this week, but that is really a misnomer

because whiles the highs are in the upper 80's, the lows are in the mid-upper 70's and the humidity is thick enough you feel like you should be swimming to the next tee. As the various golf organizations have declared in their statements- this is the time for defensive turfgrass management. Translated- do what you need to do to maintain turfgrass cover, and worry about greenspeeds later. Also pay close attention to water management (see image) as these issues

can take a toll in the form of black layer.

Finally, from a fungicide program perspective, take the time now to make some notes on what you think was weak about your current program while it is fresh in your mind. Also, note things that you would change and improve, because with the summer we have had you might be able to show the folks involved on your greens committee or general management that skipping cultural practices, or fungicide applications might just be a fool's errand chasing the almighty dollar.

Here's to a little cool-down!

Brandon

Update from the American Phytopathological Meetings

The Midwest is still struggling with heat, humidity and persistent rainfall. As a result, most of the Poa annua in the Midwest is either dead or struggling to say the least. Since I am sitting in the Charlotte airport, I asked Paul Koch for an update on the samples coming into the Turfgrass Diagnostic Lab. It appears that brown patch, Pythium blight and anthracnose are still raging. Our sample numbers are way ahead of last year's entire amount!

It seems that John's post on Monday has caused quite the stir amongst the followers, but he is exactly correct. This is not a "calendar year"! The summer has sucked for most superintendents throughout the US. Grass is dying everywhere and the typical actions like raising the mowing height, alternating mowing and rolling, and other techniques are not helping like we'd like. I think the MOST important thing for golf course superintendents to do is start a line of communication with the owner, membership, golfer, general manager about losing turf. Regardless of the reason or diagnosis this is a banner year for losing turf.

For anyone that knows me I am not a pessimist, but when soil temperatures are above 90 degrees turf is going to have trouble. These temperatures can lead to disease development especially with the amount of rainfall we have had in the Midwest. However, many times grass just dies due to abiotic conditions like poor drainage, anaerobic conditions and heat stress. Remember that annual bluegrass and creeping bentgrass are cool-season grass and prefer to grow when soil temperatures are between 55 and 75 F. Not 90 to 100 F! Lets face it even bermudagrass will struggle when soil temperatures exceed 95 F.

Regarding bacterial wilt, a turfgrass system is a very dynamic biological entity. Many microbes inhabit the rhizosphere of turfgrass plants, which can make turfgrass disease diagnosis extremely difficult. In almost every sample that comes through the TDL, we can find numerous turfgrass pathogens. Furthermore the scientific community is finding that many bacterial species are common epiphytes (live on the surface of leaves) and endophytes (live inside the plant). That being said, it is very common to find bacterial streaming from stressed turfgrass plants. However the signs need to match the symptoms observed in the field and it seems like these two are not jiving.

In my humble opinion, it seems like bacterial wilt has become the perfect fall guy for a brutal summer. It's perfect because it is a mysterious disease with very few effective control measures, but we also have very few control measures for nature.

Summary of a Presentation from APS:

This year's APS meeting was great! Some of the turfgrass pathologist got the opportunity to visit a few golf courses in NC. I was amazed on how quickly I have acclimated to the summers of Wisconsin, damn its hot down there! I really did not have a favorite presentation at this year's meeting. I think the most interesting aspect of the meeting was a special session on Rhizoctonia diseases in turf. There was some fantastic information presented ranging from taxonomic considerations for this genus, biology and management of brown ring patch, management of leaf and sheath spot of ultradwarf bermudagrasses and finally using digital imaging software as a tool to score and identify host resistance in turfgrasses. There was so much information in this session, but the best part was how collegial the speakers were to one another.

Each speaker reference each other and it seemed that they were all working together to help fill in some major gaps with the Rhizoctonia and Rhizoctonia-like diseases in turfgrass. It is cool to be a part of this group, all of my colleagues are extremely helpful and willing to collaborate on projects. As a result, I think we will see many enigmatic problems in turf solved fairly quickly.

Not All Pythium Diseases are Created Equal

With the excruciating heat and humidity plaguing the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest, there has been numerous mentions of the notorious Pythium. Even the news media has caught wind of this nasty fungal-like organism (maybe that's why the columnist called it a bacterium). Check out Lane's post this week if you want to see what I am talking about.

So why are Pythium diseases problematic when the temperatures rise and relative humidity is through the roof? Pythium species are members of the Oomycota, which are commonly called water-molds. These organisms used to be classified as true fungi, but morphological and molecular evidence show that members of the Oomycota are more closely related to diatoms and brown algae. Yeah I know you don't care, but I do believe in the quote from The Art of War by Sun Tzu- "Know thy enemy and know thy self and you will win a hundred battles." It is vital to understand the pathogens you fight on a daily basis.

We have seen a number of different diseases induced by Pythium species, such as Pythium blight, Pythium root rot and even Pythium root dysfunction. However, the symptoms, signs and conditions favorable for disease development are different for these three diseases. Considering the recent weather conditions, I thought it would be good to review the differences between these diseases as well as the management strategies.

Pythium Blight- This disease has been the subject of nightmares for golf course superintendents for years. The fear most likely steams from the days when Pythium aphanidermatum developed resistance to metalaxyl and entire fairways were wiped out rapidly. Today we rarely hear of entire fairways devastated by Pythium blight, but the disease can develop even the Upper Midwest. However, the development is typically centralized around a drain or low lying area. If the disease is not controlled and hot, humid conditions persist the disease could spread at an alarming rate. Usually we only have 2 to 4 weeks of heat and humidity conducive for Pythium blight development in the Midwest, yet this summer has been a bit different than normal.

The symptoms of Pythium blight start as small, gray spots that can coalesce into larger areas of blight fairly quickly. Typically development of this disease will occur around drains or low lying areas of fairways. The picture just above the heading of Pythium blight is typical of the symptoms we see on creeping bentgrass in the Midwest. Cottony, white mycelium may also be present during early morning hours when dew is present. As for management, its a good idea to start thinking about Pythium blight when nighttime temperatures are above 70 to 75 degrees and when there is plenty of soil moisture. Fungicides that work best are Subdue MAXX, Stellar and Segway. Other products that may have varied results are Banol and Terrazole. Keep in mind that Signature works, but only when pressure is light to moderate.



Pythium root rot- Pythium root rot can be a major problem of golf course putting greens when there is persistent heat, humidity and low light intensity. This disease is also a problem on putting greens with limited air movement. One of the major problems with this particular disease is we know very little about the pathosystem. Consequently most the control recommendations are based on observations made by golf course superintendents. I think Lane posted about Pythium root rot sometime last summer and talked about the issues surrounding this disease.

The symptoms are usually diffuse, irregular areas that exhibit decline. The affected areas can decline quite rapidly because the pathogens destroy root tissue. The picture above is an example of typical stand symptoms. A noticeable decline in root depth is usually observed within affected patches. If you suspect Pythium root rot is an issue at your course, I suggest sending a sample to your local turfgrass pathologist for confirmation. Usually the best medicine for Pythium root rot is a Terrazole drench. Unfortunately, this disease can still develop even if you are on a good Pythium preventative program. Remember that most turfgrass fungicides only move up from the point of absorption, so in order to get Pythium root rot activity the fungicide needs to be washed into the rootzone.

Pythium root dysfunction- I know this is confusing, but Pythium root dysfunction is a totally different beast that Pythium root rot. The conditions that favor Pythium root dysfunction (PRD) symptom develop are hot, dry conditions not hot, humid conditions. PRD shows its ugly head on upland areas and develops into a discrete patch. Normally this disease is problematic for young putting greens built with high-sand content rootzones. I have blabbed on for a while on this post so check out a previous post by Lane for PRD management strategies.

To bring this belaboring post to an end, if you suspect any Pythium induced disease have it diagnosed by your local turfgrass pathologist. These diseases should not be taken lightly and all of them have different management strategies.

Another Successful Field Day and Poa annua takes a dump!

Welcome back Lane!

It seems like the entire US is struggling with heat, rain and dead grass. I left for Scotland on July 14th and the sample total in the TDL was fairly normal. The week I was gone we received over 50 samples. WHOOPS! Anyway it seems like Poa annua just crapped the bed because of the relentless rainfall followed by intense heat (at least intense for us). So I agree with Brandon and Lane's equation of No Wind + Heat + Rain=Dead Grass-especially Poa annua. The roots of affected plants are short, black and pitiful looking. We have had golf course superintendents reporting soil temperatures in excess of 95 F within the top 2 inches. When this occurs there is really nothing that can be done to save Poa annua!

If you are losing grass please consult John's post earlier this week. He posted a lot of nice cultural practices that will help. Like raising the mowing height, alternate between mowing and rolling and carefully monitor soil moisture levels. However the most important point, is constant communication with the members, golf pro, general manager, owner, etc. Get them prepared for a loss in density and losing Poa annua. I know it sounds negative, but that is really the best thing to do. Especially since we have not had a hard summer in the Midwest for 3 years.

As far as diseases, we are seeing just about everything. This is sick for me to say, but this summer has been a pathologist's dream. We have diagnosed brown patch on creeping bentgrass, fine fescue and tall fescue. We have seen oodles of fairy ring through the Midwest and summer patch has just begun to show its ugly head. This has been another reason Poa annua is struggling so much in the Midwest. We have even seen a few cases of Pythium blight. We have not seen a lot of anthracnose however. The difference between this year and last year has essentially been temperature. Last July our average high temperature was 72, yet this year we are hovering closer to 82. When I was at NC State I helped Lane teach a turfgrass pathology class in the two year program and he always strongly emphasized to the students that the most important thing to a fungus is water. We had that last year, but temperatures were not conducive for growth. This year has been a different story. We have not been as hot during the day as North Carolina, Tennessee, Kansas, or even Pennsylvania, but our nighttime temperatures have consistently remained above 68 degrees. This is good weather for fungi and bad for turfgrass growth.

Yesterday we had the 28th annual Wisconsin Turfgrass Field Day at the OJ Noer Center. It was a fantastic day with great attendance. The topics ranged from Alternative grasses as a pest management strategy to Hydroseeding with Tenacity. We were really happy to have so many attendees considering the recent weather!

Now it is time to have a wee dram of whiskey to conclude my evening.

Rainfall and Fairy Rings Throughout the Midwest

Our wet weather has continued throughout the Midwest. Accompanying the wet weather, has been heat- at least heat for us. I feel guilty saying we are hot when I saw the temperatures forecast for the Northeast and Southeast. On the weather channel this evening a couple took a picture of a bank marquee showing temperatures in New Jersey topping 100 degrees! However, we have been in the upper 80's, which is hot for us. Consequently we have seen anthracnose, brown patch and dare I say even some Pythium blight. Don't freak out about Pythium blight because it was only observed near leaky heads or drainage areas.

I have seen a lot of is fairy ring over the last few weeks. It appears to be more prevalent this year compared to last. If fairy ring has been problematic the best way to control the disease is to apply DMI fungicides (Bayleton, Tourney, Triton FLO and Trinity) when 5- day average soil temperatures are between 55 and 65 degress. However, we have moved out of this range in most places in the Midwest. Curatively, an application or two of Prostar (flutolanil) will help alliviate symptoms, especially when the applications follow solid tine aerficiation. If solid tining is not an option than a wetting agent should be tank mixed with the fungicide. Some golf course superintendents have good luck masking symptoms with applications of wetting agents, nitrogen and/or iron. This may be an excellent approach for a large breakout on fairways. If you have more questions about fairy ring, please attend our WTA Summer Field Day on July 27th! Dr. Lee Miller is going to join us to talk about his research on fairy ring.

With respect to diagnosing fairy ring, my best advice is to be like Tucan Sam and follow your nose. The thatch layer underneath the affected area will have a nice mushroomy aroma. You may also notice the thatch may have an orange tint. Another nice technique is to "incubate" a sample in a moist chamber, which is a tupperware container with a moist paper towel underneath the sample. The image below demonstrates the results of an incubation. I still encourage golf course superintendents to send a sample to a local turfgrass disease diagnostic lab if symptoms present themselves in an odd fashion.



Last week I had the great pleasure of showing Dr. Megan Kennelly around the OJ Noer Facility. It was a nice morning and the only disease I was able to show her was dollar spot. One of our putting greens has essentially become a 10,000 square foot dollar spot! I hope one day we can have Megan back to talk about her research on moss and nozzles (just to name a few topics), I think golf course superintendents in the Midwest would enjoy hearing her speak.

Yesterday was another pleasure, a few of us from UW Madison traveled to Whistling Straits to visit with the staff about the upcoming PGA Championship. We had a great visit and we also were given the opportunity to play golf. I cannot wait to see how the pros handle the course this year. I know I had trouble with the long grass a few times! I heard a rumor that John is visiting the Straits this weekend. Wonder if he'll experience the long grass a few times...

Happy Summer! Wait- didn’t that happen about 2 1/2 weeks ago?

Well, the disease season is off to a rip roaring start. In the transition zone and southeast we have had multiple days this month that have been in the 90’s with high humidities, and warm nights not much below 70. That kind of weather translates to serious disease. Dollar spot, brown patch (below), even some potential for pythium blight. It is clear from the photo to the right (Upper left plot is untreated) that having a preventative fungicide program is crucial to achieve successful disease control.

We have had an earlier than usual disease startup, but all in all it looks like our trials are off to an excellent start. Fungicide programs that are showing the best early results are those with Signature and Daconil as a backbone as well as those that have some form of StressGard in them. Also, programs using Syngenta products are performing well too. Fungicide programs with post-patent products, and a straight Daconil 7-day program are starting to curb some dollar spot that was present prior to the trial initiation and both of those programs are demonstrating good disease control into their second applications. On the dollar spot front, most everything that we are applying is working, and we are getting good disease control. Our controls however, continue to highlight the importance of good fertility (since we are only using 0.25# N/1000/month).

Finally, UT had a groundbreaking last Friday for our 1.5 million dollar Center for Safer Athletic Fields that has been funded by AstroTurf. The 5th first-round draft pick for the Kansas City Chiefs, Eric Berry was on hand to lend his endorsement, and we are excited to be building a facility that will provide funding for athletic field research on a scale that has only been seen in golf turf research previously. Look for more regular posts from the Southeast now that Summer is officially here!!

L.A., L.A., L.A. is on fire...

Yowza - Mother Nature ain't done with California yet this summer. Over the last week, we've had triple digit temperatures in much of southern California and bone-dry conditions that have lead up to wild fires breaking out to the southwest, east and north of the Los Angeles area. (Photo from the LA Times)

Time Lapse Test: Station Fire from Eric Spiegelman on Vimeo.

So far, the biggest fire is the Station Fire directly north of Glendale & Pasadena has burned over 225 square miles of forest (that's about 144,000 acres or approximately 1440 golf courses!) and only has about 40% containment. Heart felt wishes to those being negatively affected by this one.

As far as turf is concerned - those triple digits and dry conditons will surely have brought havoc upon cool season turf in southern California.

This last week brought anthracnose, rapid blight and summer patch, expect more of the same for this next week throughout California….

Hold on to your britches; just a few more weeks to go before we're in the clear!

Gray Leaf Spot and Pythium
No massive GLS outbreaks have been reported in California yet, although a report of its presence was made from Irvine last week and GLS oddly seems to be at its worst when we have summer wildfires in southern California.


Mike Wolpoff (Seacliff Country Club) sent this photo in this week of GLS on kikuyugrass. Applications of Daconil & Banner MAXX had held the disease at bay until this week when weather conditions pushed the disease into high gear. Sometimes high temperatures combine with coastal humidity and fog to really fire GLS outbreaks in coastally-influenced locations. Watch the developing high temps and humidity in parts of southern California that may fire GLS outbreaks on perennial ryegrass & kikuyugrass.

Night time temperatures above 68F in parts of southern and central California could mean Pythium outbreaks on cool season turf. Watch for this disease on low lying areas or those where drainage is poor/water accumulates.

Signing off from the right coast until next week (when I'm back on the left coast!).....

Is it fall already? Not quite...

Cooler temperatures across much of the southeast are going to bring a much needed break from summer this week. Most of our summer-time bentgrass diseases, like anthracnose, Pythium root rot, and brown patch, should start to shut down as the bentgrass begins to grow more vigorously.

It's nice to have a little reprieve, but be sure not to let your guard down. These summer diseases can re-activate quickly if temperatures rise again in the coming weeks. The picture to the right of a severe brown patch outbreak was taken in September 2004 after a period of warm, wet weather. Be especially wary during periods of wet weather or when major aerification and/or topdressing practices are planned.

If you've had problems with Pythium root rot this summer, additional fungicide applications are a good idea during wet weather, such as a tropical storm system. If you've had anthracnose problems this summer, a fungicide application just after aerification/topdressing is a good idea as well, as these abrasive practices can cause a flare in anthracnose activity.

Of course, dollar spot should start to become more active as the temperatures cool over the next month. If this disease has been a major problem for you in the past, be sure to start preventive applications soon before symptoms of the disease appear. Once the symptoms appear, dollar spot becomes much more aggressive and difficult to control.

For those with bermudagrass greens, this is the time of year when leaf spot diseases, such as Curvularia and Bipolaris, start to come in. Preventive fungicide applications for these diseases are recommended during wet, cloudy weather or after topdressing applications. Chlorothalonil typically does a good job of keeping these diseases suppressed, but if you are looking for something that lasts longer, iprodione is a good choice.

Most people think of Pythium blight as a hot weather disease, but on bermudagrass greens, most of our problems with this disease are during cool, wet weather in the fall and spring. The image to the right of Pythium blight symptoms was taken on Champion bermudagrass greens last October. In this case, the symptoms appeared very similar to a leaf spot disease, but typical leaf spot fungicides were not controlling it. Once a sample was diagnoses as Pythium blight at our Turf Diagnostics Lab, the problem was easily controlled with an application of mefanoxam (Subdue Maxx).

Soon it will be time to start thinking about controlling large patch and spring dead spot in the warm-season grasses. Stay tuned - this will be the topic of next week's post.

New Design...Same Old Problems

If you have visited the Turf Disease blog in the past, then you will notice that the layout and overall look has changed. A few of the things that are new include:

1. Information buttons (top right): These buttons serve various purposes, but mainly allow you to access the blog by RSS subscribtion or via twitter, view disease images on our new flickr Turf Disease group, or share this information with others through Digg It, Stumble, and Technorati.

2. Search bar (top right): A search bar has been added that allows you to search the site for any topic that you may be interested in.

3. Navigation buttons (bottom left of header): We have added navigation buttons to help you select the content that is appropriate for you. These buttons include links to the home page and to each regional update section (NE = Northeast; SE = Southeast, etc).

4. Image Gallery: Perhaps the most useful addition is the image gallery link which contains various disease symptoms and pathogen signs that are used for identification purposes. We are contstantly working to increase the number of images in the gallery and will add more diseases as photos become availabe.

5. Disease Poll (right column): In an attempt to get the superintendents more involved in the blog, we will periodically post a poll to find out what troubles most are seeing in the field each week or other questions related to turfgrass disease management. Results of the poll are presented in real-time and this gives everyone some indication of what others may be seeing.

OK, as for diseases in the Northeast:

As you might expect, the warm weather and periodic rains are creating conditions favorable for your typical summer time diseases. Brown patch and Pythium are high on the list of potential problems in the field. While others may have seen summer patch for the several weeks, the first case that I had seen all year was last week in Pittsburgh. Also active in the Pittsburgh region was dollar spot and leaf spot.

Following a visit to the Buffalo area, last week was met with some cool morning temperatures and disease activity was relatively low. The only issues noticed was some dollar spot activity in the rough. The 10-day forecast has low and high daily temperatures of 60 and 80, respectively for that region. Throughout much of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, temperatures run a steady gradient from the upper 80s-90F in the Maryland region to the upper 70's-80F in Portland, ME. Along with these higher temperatures is the threat of precipitation which should bring along some serious disease pressure as we head into the home stretch of the season.

KEEP in mind that the threat of rain that can disrupt your ability to make preventive or curative applications should be monitored. Your window of opportunity to target serious diseases throughout August may be short and you should take advantage of any chance you get to take action.

Pythium, algae, brown patch, flooding and more

I returned from the International Turfgrass Society meetings on Friday afternoon and was greeted to a slew of new diseases in the region. At the research facility, algae and brown patch were taking off due to the recent rains and high temperatures. The recent rains were not without their own problems as it caused major flooding at various golf courses in the region. Most notably, Merion Golf Club had many bunkers wash out and even had holes under water for a period of time (Image of hole #11 fairway and green, courtesy Matt Shaffer). Also hanging on in many regions is the Type II fairy ring species on both putting greens and fairways. I have yet to see these rings collapse in the Northeast, but it is likely that some superintendents are dealing with more severe cases.

Dr. Landschoot indicated that Pythium blight was also active on his fine leaf fescue variety trials. Although I hadn't seen any Pythium around the facility, I did notice that half of my Kentucky bluegrass lawn was wiped out on the side of my house. This area receives little light or air movement and has a swale that carries the water from about 10 properties away from entering my basement!

Overall, I would say that this summer has been a cake walk as far as disease and heat problems are concerned. Although we are not completely out of the woods, we are getting close.

On the lookout...I have not heard any reports of gray leaf spot yet, but this is one disease that is likely just around the corner and preventive treatments should now be close or in place already depending on your location.

Do you have anything happening at your course worth sharing? If so, feel free to add your story to the comments section or send images to be included in a future posting!

OH! I almost forgot, everyone keep an eye out for Frank Wong's posting this week from the American Phytopathology Society Meetings in Portland. I hear they are seeing some interesting things in the streets of Portland this week!

The Pacific Northwest Heats Up and Magic Plastic Baggies

Portland Here We Come!
Although many of the nation's turf pathologists have been in Chile this week at the International Turfgrass Research meeting, next week many of us turf pathologists will being attending the American Phytopathology Society Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon.

Call it an unexpected coincidence, but the Pacific Northwest has been hammered with very very high temperatures this last week with Portland hitting 103F and Seattle getting up into the high 90s, likely bringing death and destruction to cool season turf in the area. Usually, courses west of the Cascades see only mild summer heat, but this blast of hot weather will have likely brought a round of anthracnose and maybe even Pythium to the area.

On Saturday, some of us will be touring Portland Golf Course and Waverley Country Club with superintendents Forrest Goodling and John Alexander (respectively). I'm looking forward to seeing what problems the summer heat has brought to the area and to some pathologists geting to see how the guys in Portland grow grass. Thanks to Gordon Kiyokawa (Columbia Edgewater Country Club) for helping us coordinate this outing.

Besides having the chance to see turfgrass culture in the Pacific Northwest, Portland is one of the best coffee and baked good towns in the U.S. One such example is Voodoo Doughnuts, a local shop that dares to put crispy bacon on maple bars and offer other "non-conventional" fried and glazed goodies. I'm looking forward to taking some turf pathologists there next week. Maybe they still have the Pepto-Bismol donut there, well unless the FDA stopped them from offering donuts loaded with what technically qualifies as "pharmacueticals". (Pictured here is one of their "voodoo-doll" donuts - www.voodoodoughnut.com). Check 'em out (and other great places like Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Pearl Bakery and Crema) the next time you're in Portland.

Meanwhile, Back in California....
The diagnostic lab here at UCR has been hopping crazy with samples this week. You know things are bad when superintendents are dropping samples off at 6am, have 2-3 drop-in visits from local supers and 2-3 visits from both FedEx and UPS before noon every day of the week!

We're seeing a lot of heat and dorught damage on cool season turf here coming in from around the state. Disease-wise, anthracnose and brown patch are showing up in the lab on greens and fairway/rough samples (respectively). Although we have yet to see gray leaf spot on perennial ryegrass, we've had a fair share of anthracnose coming in on perennial ryegrass samples from collars, fairways and roughs - maybe reflecting both the heat and local water restrictions that might be really puttting a beating on ryegrass in the state.

The forecast for the week is hot in the Valleys and cool on the coasts. Expect to see hot temperature diseases like anthracnose on poa greens in inland locations including Riverside eastern San Diego Co., and the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys.

Central California is hot enough at night to have conditions favorable for Pythium, so watch out for that one there. Coastal locations will continue to have dollar spot, rapid blight and brown ring patch pressure.

On the other hand, winter-y conditions will present in Monterey and San Francisco where pink snow mold may be found on cool humid days below 65 degrees.

Isn't it funny that we can have winter and summer diseases active in this state within 60 miles of each other? I continue to be amazed by this state - even as a native born left-coaster.

Amaze Yourself with the Amazing Magic Plastic Bagggie
Although the best way to identify disease problems is sending samples to disease diagnostic labs, the "magic" 1 gallon plastic baggie can be a very useful tool for helping to diagnose a few common summer diseases in a pinch.

Often, fungal mycelia can be seen in the morning in diseased areas, but more often than not - the mycelia will disappear as the canopy begins to dry out. The magic plastic bag (MPB) can help you better identify some of the potential diseases that you may have and also confirm some of the diagnoses you are getting from labs.

Wet your samples down (usually a cup cutter sized plug) and stick them in a plastic bag, seal it and pop it in a warm or room temperature location overnight. The next day, pull out your plugs out and examine them. If you see lots of mycelia growing out of the samples - you know you have active foliar fungal pathogens growing. Depending on what you see - the location and even smell of the mycelia and turf color can help you identifiy some common diseases. (Photo by Scot Dey, Shady Canyon Golf Club)

Mycelia mainly in the foliage, affected leaves look black and greasy, sample smells like fish = Pythium blight

Dense mycelia in the foliage and thatch = brown patch

Dense mycelia in the thatch and soil (or just soil), smells like button mushrooms = fairy ring

Small clusters of mycelia, looks like small cotton balls = dollar spot

Of course - the MPB isn't very good for diseases that don't produce a lot of mycelia, but it's a quick and useful trick for seeing if you have diseases like Pythium blight, brown patch, dollar spot or fairy ring.

Ok - I'll post more tips and tricks using the MPB next week.

Until then, keep and eye out for those diseases and rock on!

brown patch, pythium, and summer stresses

Hot and humid is the big story this week. Waterlogged soils are an issue in some areas, both in sand-based greens and native soils.

We are starting to see lots of typical summer decline. Poa annua is checking out, and algae and hot spots are checking in. In areas where bentgrass has been stressed, it’s showing decline too. June feels too early to be dealing with this stuff, but that is what Mother Nature has dealt us this year. If June is kicking our butts, I'm worried what July and August have in store.

With the overly wet conditions, some guys are wanting to needle tine and topdress to get some air movement in their putting greens. But, it’s so hot, such cultural practices could seriously stress out the turf. We are all hoping for some cooler temps next week in order to sneak in some cultural practices. A dip in nighttime lows would really be beneficial. The lows over the past week have been in the 70’s in most of Kansas (a bit lower in western Kansas where humidity is lower), and soil temps at 4-inches are hovering around 80 degrees. We might get some highs in the upper 80's (gee, maybe I'll need a jacket or I might get chilly...) and lows in the mid-60's early next week. Then, the forecast calls for more scorching.

I had a couple of interesting diagnostic cases this week where turf was declining and, as is typical this time of year, no turf pathogens were to blame. In one situation, a surfactant was applied as part of a tank mix and then not watered in, and this may have led to some phytotoxicity especially in our hot conditions. A big clue was that the practice green WAS watered in, and that one was not showing damage.

In another, some extra N a couple of weeks ago kicked the turf into high gear on one putting green. The green got a little puffy, then got scalped, and now it is having a hard time recovering in these conditions.

The turf shown in the photo below is not happy to be drowning:

Here is this morning in pictures, to further illustrate the conditions

It’s SO humid…

* My camera fogged up when I first took it out of the case at the turfgrass research facility at 7:00 am. No that’s not real fog in the photo, that’s condensation on my camera lens. It took about 5 minutes to "equilibrate" to the outside air.

* The dew was thick to the point of sloshiness:

* I could hear the brown patch mycelium crawling around (well, not quite, but almost…):

* Pythium blight is making its first appearance: (mycelium had been present earlier)

What it Actually Takes to get Pythium Blight on Creeping Bentgrass

Megan posted last Friday that hot, humid weather equals brown patch, which is absolutely correct! Our temperatures soared in the Midwest late last week and continue to stay hot and humid through this week. With the advent of hot, humid weather people started worrying about Pythium blight. Lane mentioned in a previous post (Summer fungicide programming) that many people spray for Pythium, but is probably a waste. Of course none of us believe that Pythium blight cannot develop, but the conditions that are required are so extreme that it rarely develops in shorter cut turfgrass.

For example, just this morning temperatures were well into the 80's and humidity levels were 90 % or more. Plus we have had over 4 inches of rain in the past two or three days. Of course everyone in the Upper Midwest has been worried about Pythium and are scheduling applications to control Pythium. Although we have diagnosed Pythium at a few courses, the extent of the damage is minimal. Symptoms appeared this morning on creeping bentgrass in close proximity to a drain in a fairway at a local Madison golf course. This particular area is also sheltered from air movement by a small pocket of trees. The picture in this post shows the extent of the symptoms, which basically amounted to a few small spots only in areas immediately adjacent to drains in fairways. The superintendent at this particular course is going to make an application of Subdue Maxx to clean-up these areas, but is not going to spray the entire fairways.

The other picture I have attached is from an area at the OJ Noer. This area was seeded with varieties of bentgrass earlier this spring. The plot is so wet that it could be considered a quagmire, but still symptoms are not that severe.

We are not advocating that Pythium is a problem of the past, but we are advocating that superintendents do not forget about other diseases. Brown patch can be very damaging in the conditions we are experiencing now, especially in fairways. If you have symptoms resembling Pythium blight or brown patch, have it diagnosed if possible. Both diseases can produced aerial mycelium and it has been our experience that brown patch is commonly mis-diagnosed as Pythium blight in the field.

As for other diseases, well the the stuff has definitely hit the fan. Dollar spot is raging on our plots at the OJ Noer and has developed at many courses we have visited. Brown patch has reared its ugly head at a few courses in the Madison area and Derek Settle has reported numerous cases of brown patch in the Chicagoland area. We have diagnosed take-all patch a few courses in Northern Wisconsin and it has developed at the OJ Noer. We will probably see a lot of take-all patch this year because soil temperatures were conducive for infection for a long time this spring. However, once take-all symptoms develop a fungicide application will not help alleviate the symptoms. Areas affected by take-all patch will need to be "nursed" through this warm spell by hand watering and possibly a light fertilizer application.

The weather in the Midwest continues to amaze me. Last week we were still measuring soil temperatures in native soil areas at 65 F. This week air temperatures soared up into the middle 90's during the day and nighttime temperatures in the upper 70's. Reminds me of North Carolina weather. Relief is on the way, as forecasts are predicting a slight cool-down this weekend. I think I may have to enjoy some beer and cheese curds!

Hats off to Craig and the USGA!

Well, I can't say that I am disappointed, but I wanted Tiger to win the US Open...and then I wanted Phil to win. Congratulations to Glover (right) for his unlikely win at the 109th Open! I can't say enough about the efforts of Craig Currier, his staff, and the USGA after this trying Championship on Long Island. Is it true that the crew did not mow on Saturday (glad to see that my post last week about mowing wet greens was correct...see #1).

Disease activity on the east coast has been at a standstill because of all the rains, but this week looks to warm up and dry out. This "should" bring some serious disease pressure over the next week or two. Dollar spot has been hanging on for a few weeks without really doing much, but we may jump right into diseases like brown patch with these temperatures. In regions that are very hot and humid or on areas of the course that have limited air movement, even Pythium may make an unusual early appearance.

As seems to be the case in the recent years, no year is typical when it comes to weather and diseases. All you can do is monitor your region and scout early and often for diseases at your course.

Weather forecast for this week:

Connecticut
CT Shoreline:
Hartford, CT:

Maryland/VA
Washington, D.C.:

Massachusetts:
Boston, MA:
Springfield, MA:

New York
Albany, NY:
Buffalo, NY:

Westchester, NY:

New Jersey
Cape May, NJ:
Far Hills, NJ:

Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA:
Pittsburgh, PA:
State College, PA: h

Way the heck up there
Burlington, VT:
Portland, ME:
Rumney, NH:

Summer Fungicide Programs for Cool-Season Putting Greens

Summer is approaching quickly in the Southeast, and golf course superintendents are shifting their focus from growing grass on bentgrass or Poa greens to just keeping them alive. Having a solid fungicide program in place to control summer diseases is an essential part of this. Here are a few diseases to keep in mind as you put your program together:


Pythium blight. While this is a major concern on Poa greens, Pythium blight is not a common problem on creeping bentgrass. A huge amount of money is wasted every year to control Pythium blight on bentgrass greens. If you have Poa greens, keep in mind that although several of the QoI fungicides are labeled for Pythium blight control, they only provide 7-10 days of protection.

Pythium root rot. This is a persistent problem on bentgrass and Poa greens that are poorly drained. However, Pythium root rot can also occur even on well-drained greens during periods of wet weather, so nobody is immune. Of the Pythium fungicides, mefanoxam (Subdue, Fenox) is most effective against Pythium root rot. For curative control, we often recommend an application of ethazole (Koban, Terrazole), followed a few days later by mefanoxam. Remember that these applications should be watered-in since the pathogen is active in the soil.


Pythium root dysfunction. For golf courses with bentgrass greens less than 10 years old, Pythium root dysfunction is the most common problem during summer. This disease is best managed during the fall and spring when the pathogen is actively infecting roots. If symptoms are observed during the summer, relieving stress by raising mowing heights and increasing fertility levels is essential. Curative applications of Insigna, Segway, or Signature + Banol can also help to suppress symptoms, but only if steps are taken to relieve stress at the same time.


Anthracnose. This is a major concern for those with Poa greens and older cultivars of creeping bentgrass. Golf course superintendents are running out of options for anthracnose control due to fungicide resistance. Most anthracnose populations are already resistant to the benzimidazole and QoI fungicides, so do not rely on these products unless you know that your population is sensitive. The NC State Turf Diagnostics Lab offers fungicide resistance testing if you would like to find out for sure. Fortunately, most new bentgrass cultivars are very resistant to anthracnose so this disease is becoming less common in the southeast.


Fairy ring. Hot and dry weather during summer tends to bring out Type I fairy ring symptoms, decline or death of turf in ring patterns. In most cases, symptoms are the result of hydrophobicity that has developed in the thatch layer. Fungicides are not very effective for curative suppression of fairy ring, unless they are combined with wetting agents or cultivation practices to re-wet the soil profile.

Nematodes. These are a common problem on sand-based putting greens across the southeastern United States. In fact, I am convinced that nematode problems are much more common and widespread than anyone realizes. If you've never had a nematode assay done, I'd encourage you to spend the $5 or $10 to do one. You may find that chronic problems you've battled over the years are actually the result of nematode activity. While the options of nematode control are limited at this time, effective products are on the horizon.

Brown patch. Thanks to the QoI fungicides, brown patch is no longer a significant problem on putting greens. As long as you rotate the QoIs or other strong brown patch fungicides (chlorothalonil, ProStar, Endorse, Medallion) into your program once in a while they will keep brown patch in check.

Pythium Blight