Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

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1 May 27, 2011 Scouting Report Memorial Day Weekend! Rough Takes Off, Words of Wisdom, Microdochium Patch?, More Waitea Reported, and Tim says Early Dollar Spot Chicago/ /Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle - DSettle@cdga.org Blog Spring? In 2011 it never seemss to be one season for long. Spring (if you want to call it that) took a step backwards this week when our medium jackets were back on, it felt cold. It all began Sunday, May 22 nd when a cold front broke the truce. A cloudy sky grew overhead and dropped significant rainfall, 2 inches, for some (north suburbs) and trace amounts for others ( south suburbs). Those remaining dry would get a second chance later in the week. By Wednesday the dry cracking soils of Sunshine Course in Lemont were gone (untill now 1 inch of precipitation had occurred all of May). In less than two days our rainn gauge filled to nearly 3 inches. Farther north, the second deluge meant golf course superintendents were really complaining. Albeit cold, good signs this week fast growing rough and golfers out to play. Settle Immediately they could tell a water-filled cup meant poorly draining greens. From my perspective, incoming reports detailed a return of cool weather. In a week I would continue to evaluate golf greens and experience Christmas (reddishh bentgrass as opposed to nearby green Poa), seee Microdochium patch (a.k.a. pink snow mold), and slowly tally more dollar spot reports. Cool and overly wet conditions were once again the norm but signs of spring were on the horizon. I saw more golf play and two striking blooms: black locustt (Robinia pseudoacacia) and white fringe tree (Chioanthus virginicus). Wait, it s not just spring, it s Memorial Day weekend! Page 1

2 Weather Update Big rains return and recharge dryy soils Gains in soil temperatures were lost (67 F became 60 F) following a bumpy ride during May. The air temperature high on Thursday spoke volumes since most suburbs would not break the 55 mark. Meantime, the swings in temperature meantt a lot of rain would fall. In Lemont we needed just that and in less than two days we measured almost 3 inches on Sunshine Course. Temperature (degrees F) Both Air and Soil Cool During May's Lastt Week Air maximum Soil average (2 in.) May 3-May 1-May 9-May 7-May 7M 11-May Sunshine Golf Course (Lemont - a southwest Chicago suburb) 13-May 15-May 17-May High = low 50s 19-May 21-May 23-May 25-May Daily precipitation (inches) May Was Dry Until This Week: 2.2 inches on Wednesday, May May 7 May 5 May 3 May 1 May 2.2 Needed rain May Sunshine Golf Course (Lemont a southwest Chicago suburb) Approximately one month after the Easter floods, big rains return to Illinois Lemont needed it. 13 May 15 May 17 May 19 May 21 May 23 May 25 May Page 2

3 Memorial Day Watch Words of wisdom from Dr. Larry Stowell and Wendy Gelernter Reproduced with permission from PACE Turf, photo D. Settle Memorial Day Watch May 25, 2011 Holidays that fall over the weekend can sometimes lead to turfgrass disasters. Crews that are distracted by a holiday schedule can be easily caught off guard by unexpected changes in the weather. To avoid having your post-memorial Day return to the golf course "memorialized" by frantic efforts to deal with damaged turf: Check weather forecasts and weather history information on your sitethis specific PACE Weather Update to get an idea of what to expect weekend. You and your crew should be prepared for the worst. If unusually high temperatures are predicted, be sure that someone is around late in the afternoon to syringe greens if they heat up or appear drought stressed. Root damage caused by drought or heat early in the season will make the rest of the season more difficult.. Don't leave your least experience ed field workers in charge just because it is a holiday weekend and they have the least seniority. Now, kick back and enjoy the upcoming Memorial Day weekend! Page 3

4 Diagnostic Blog by D. Settle /blogs.asp?blogid=3 Microdochium Patch on a Teebox in Late May? As I was pulling into the library, I received a message, Bentgrass fairways in trouble. I decided my reports could wait - the library stays open til 4 pm. I arrived at the golf course, and to my delight it wasn t a disease at all. Again an older variety of bentgrass was off-coloits look if it's not throughout a fairway and looking mangled from wear (mowing cannot refresh growing) ). This is not the spring of bentgrass leaf spott (urban legend). Rather, it represents a spring of slowly awaking, reddish-purple, thin-looking creeping bentgrass. There is good news! Bentgrass should be happy AND green from now on out since nighttime frost periods are over and Chicago s soil temperatures continue to rise now inn the low 60s (average at 2 inch depth). Another hint why this off-color bentgrass was likely not a disease? Last PGR (plant growth regulator) application was Proxy 21 days ago. It matches the current resultss at North Shore Country Club on 8 fairway. We are seeing a delay of about 14 to 21 days this spring with respect to negative visual quality effects from PGRs (e.g., bronzing and/or yellowing). A sample was taken and incubation followed by microscopic examination confirmed no pathogen. However, a beauty of a teebox discovery which looked like Microdochium patch on Poa annua (in full glory). The blight appeared to move (front to back) and this followed surface drainage of the teebox. If able, this fungal pathogen would have spores. The patches were circular with a yellow edge. You might confuse with Waitea, but other symptoms spoke loudly. Circular patches had a reddish interior with recovery in the center a frogeye look. Incubation, followed by microscopic examination, confirmed multicelled, cresent-shaped conida of Microdochium. Microdochium patch affecting a teebox in Chicago. The fungal pathogen s identity was confirmed microscopically as crescent-shaped, multicelled conidia/spores. Settlee Page 4

5 Tim Sibicky, MS dga.org Manager of Turfgrass Research Early Season Dollar Spot Disease - Knock it out Early? Or Wait, Wait, Wait? A bold statement would be to say the 2011 season had not officially begun until turfgrass managers are met by their long time enemy rival, dollarr spot, a disease caused by the pathogen Sclerotinia homoeocarpa. Dollar spot remains as one off the most costly diseases superintendents face each year in the cool-season regions. Development occurs at temperatures above 59 o F, most optimally o F, and can develop from thee late spring in May through October, sometimes even into November. Development of the disease is amplified under environmental conditions of high humidity and low soil moisture. While attending Rutgers University, I remember first learning about this disease in one of my classes (a favorite) called Turf Pest Science, part- taught by Dr. Bruce Clarke. I remember learning from Dr. Clarke the distinct symptoms of dollar spot to include hour-glass shaped lesions that elongate with a bleached white chlorotic appearancee and margins of tan or yellowishh brown color. Interestingly, as these infectionn centers enlarge over time, they will coalesce (join together) to blight even larger areas. This past week marked the first appearancee of dollar spot disease in our early season research plots on a mixed creeping bentgrass and Poa annua fairway in Glenview, IL. A close up of dollar spot infection center caused by Sclerotinia homoeocarpa. The pathogen inflicts bleached white, hour-glass shaped lesions, yellowish at the margins. Settle The combination of disease symptoms and the signs of mycelium tells us this year s early season dollar spot fungicide test at North Shore Country Club is going to be a good one. The date of first disease this season was May 24, Compare too 2010, when we were not able to find a single dollar spot infection center until June 9, 2010, and even then only trace amounts. Untreated check plots have accumulated unacceptable levels off disease (5% of plot area damaged) in only a few days. Thirteen additional fungicide treatments are being tested in the study, with most having two fungicide applications at a 28 day interval. Treatments with the products Velista, Emerald, Chipco 26GT, Banner Maxx and Tourney Fungicide have all kept the Page 5

6 plots freee of any disease. The Bayleton Flo 1.5 fl oz treatment at a 21 day interval has also providedd good control, but notably, a single applicationn of 1 fl oz, still provided good control accumulating only 1.5% disease 35 days after treatment.. Two Bayer Rotations were also started with Bayleton Flo 1 fl oz and 28 days later, #2 was applied with Triton Flo and Chipco Signature, providing complete control. Rotation #5 sought to push the limit of Bayleton Flo 1 fl oz a little fartherr with a 35 day interval before Interface wass applied on May 24, 2011, allowing for some breakthrough h, but still visually acceptable. Lastly, a new experimental by Valent shows excellent control at the high rate but a lower rate did have a little breakthrough. These fungicide tests serve to help better utilize thee current fungicide products available, improve their efficiency, and also educate superintendents on new products for the future. Infection Centers in plot (%) 6 a 5 4 ab Early Dollar Spot Disease Preventative Control Percentage of Infection Center in Plots North Shore CC, Glenview, IL, May 24, 2011 bc c c c c c c c c c c Dollar spot disease launches in 2011 on a study at North Shore Country Club, Glenview, IL. On this day, a few untreated plots were rated unacceptable since levels of disease within plots were 5% or greater. Settle Page 6

7 Final Images A rosaea family member (2890 species). Hawthorn trees in full bloom in Chicago. Settle A common lilac, Syringa vulgaris, of 8 feet with a cascade of scented blooms. Settle Page 7

8 The Lily has a stigma with three-lobes blogs and Diagnostic blogs with photos Derek, Tim, Nick, and Chris The CDGA Turfgrass Program Page fused together. Sibicky Biweekly Weather 8