Scouting Report: August 27th

This was a relatively cool week across the region. The cool NNE winds from Canada dropped temperatures into the 40’s at some locations. It appeared that those very close to the lake were among the warmer spots in the area.

Some areas also got some much needed rain this week. The cut off line between who got heavy rains and who didn’t was pretty sharp. Central Illinois was in need of rain and a few spots up north could also use some.

All of the Champaign area needed rain this week. Golf courses just north of the city received between 2 inches and 5 inches of liquid gold. However, those just south of the city picked up less than a half inch of rain.
Thankfully the rain across central Illinois could start chipping away at moderate drought conditions.

This week I spent some time in Champaign for the University of Illinois turfgrass field day and golf outing at Urbana Country Club. I got to see first hand how crispy many non irrigated lawns looked in the region.

Something I noticed down state was the amount of leaf drop compared to areas around Chicagoland. The drought conditions have certainty stressed a few trees this season and leaf drop is occurring rapidly.

The golf outing at Urbana C.C. was outstanding as was the turfgrass education by the University of Illinois.
There is another opportunity for turfgrass education coming up this Tuesday. The CDGA turfgrass manager Ron Townsend and myself will be showcasing a couple of research trials at Kemper Lakes Golf Club beginning at 9:30 AM until 11:30 AM. Feel free to come out and check out the research plots. We will also be sharing data from our other research locations as well. If you are interested in lunch and the golf outing, you will need to register through MAGCS.
An additional note, if anyone is unable to visit the plots this Tuesday, send me an email and I can help arrange another opportunity to view our research plots. We will also be publishing our research results online and will be open access.
Weeds

This is about the time that we are thinking about fall herbicide applications for weeds such as dandelions.
Further down state, now is also a good time to think about selective removal of common bermudagrass. It is much easier to kill bermudagrass this time of year compared to mid-summer.
Insects
We are still on the lookout for fall armyworms throughout the region. These can be very problematic in many of our roughs and other amenity turfgrass stands.

A continuous problem this summer has been ants. Ant mounding continues to the biggest insect issue on putting green turf.
Diseases

I am seeing ‘frog eye’ symptoms in stands of Kentucky bluegrass lately. These are symptoms of either summer patch or necrotic ring spot. These diseases are caused by pathogens that infect root tissue during the late spring and summer months. During high heat or drought conditions, the defunct root system is not able to keep plants alive. I see more summer patch in areas with increased wear and traffic. Pinch points that receive more foot and cart traffic is an example.

Sometimes I also see weeds developing in the center of the affected patches.
Summer patch can also affect populations of annual bluegrass on putting green turf. Fortunately, I have not seen or heard many reports of substantial summer patch damage on these high value surfaces.

I have seen more instances of rust development this week in Chicagoland. Many golf course superintendents are also observing an orange ‘haze’ on rotary mower decks as well. A little bit of nitrogen and water could help the plants grow out of this nagging disease.

Yellow tuft has returned in areas that have received a lot of rainfall or irrigation this week. This disease rarely causes the death of the plant, but its appearance can be undesirable.

Affected plants are easily pulled out from the ground. A common symptoms is the ‘witches broom’ appearance with massive irregular tillering of bentgrass plants.

Damping off in new establishment areas should remain a concern. This disease is more severe when turf is growing on a tarp or blanket. However, disease development can also occur out in the open on newly seeded turfgrass.
Looking ahead
Our day time and nighttime temperatures should remain conducive for dollar spot development throughout much of the region. Many areas should be a few thunder showers on Sunday night through Monday.
Later in the week we may see dew points creep back up to near 70 in some locations.

This is something to keep our eye on. The most damaging disease that could take advantage of high dew points is damping off on new establishments.
