Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -

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1 June 10, 2011 Scouting Report Hot then we Flood: Counting +90 Days, Dollar Spot Impresses Me, Peter Sees Flowers, and Tim says W. circinata var. circinata (again) Chicago/ /Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle - DSettle@cdga.org Blog More flooding? We are weary of an early warm-up eachh growing season because we know those temperatures are more than cool-season turfgrasses can n take for long. However, a silver-lining was in the forecast this week a dramatic drop in temperaturess would take place and turf managers in Illinois were comforted. As it would turn out I was miles away preparing to speak Tuesday: Sunshine Course was hot (96 F high) and drying fast. Thursday: Sunshine was cool (69 F high) and the wetland was fully charged (24 hourss = 4.5 in.). Settle ; Sibicky to a group of turfgrass scientists in Fort Collins, CO. That night, Thursday, I received an important update via . I asked about the weather and the responsee was not good. Romeoville/Lemont got hit hardest 5+ inches. Better check in at Golf House! The irony for me was that earlier in the day the good professor from Arizona had taughtt us that a water shortage existed in many regions. His phrase dry socks illustrated the predicament of the western United States. In my introduction the next day I would say Wet socks! Each season, significant weather events are recorded (and memorized) as they directly impact growing conditions. Flooding on June 9 is already an important event for Chicago weathermen. Likely it will become an important date for those of us who keep plant health records. To be continued... Page 1

2 Temperatures plunge from the 90s to the 50s; largest 2-day June temperature drop in 23 years June 9, :21 PM By Meteorologist Tom Skilling Saturated soils threaten flooding in Friday/Friday night thundery downpours; hardest hit south suburbs swamped by 3- to 6-inch rains early Thursday.. Torrential rains drenched portions of the Chicago area in powerful thunderstorms which introducedd the chill Wednesday night and early Thursday.. The southern half of the Chicago metro area was especially hard hit. Midway Airport's 3.23 inches of rain blasted past the previous June 9 record of 1.06 inches in But it was southwestt suburban Romeoville which topped the list at inches followed closely by Plainfield's 5.01-inch tally. Other heavy totals included Lemont with 4.65 inches, Hinsdale 4.35 inches, Yorkville 4.23 inches, Oswego 4.05 inches and Joliet with 4.01 inches. The thundery deluge swamped Aurora with 3.89 inches, Downers Grove with 3.25 inches and both Rock Falls and Elmhurst logged inches. A total of 2.96 inches wass measured at Crown Point, Indiana, 2.58 inches at both far south suburban Peotonee and west suburban Oak Brook. The cloudburst Wednesday night and Thursday not only produced extensive flooding, but left area soils saturated. That's bad news because a new storm is traversing the Midwest and likely to produce new eruptions of thunderstorms Friday --and even the potential for severe weather. Weather Update Golf Courses Lemont sees 5+ inches across 3 days (June 8 to June 10) Rapid Cool Down = Thunderstorms (Flooding Hits South Suburbs Hard) Daily precipitation total (inches) N. Illinois Rockford CC, Rockford NW. Chicago Biltmore CC, N. Barrington SW. Chicago Sunshine Course, Lemont SW. Chicago Crystal Tree CC, Orland Park Jun 2 Jun 3 Jun 4 Jun 5 Jun 6 Jun 7 Jun 8 Jun 9 Jun This time northern regions were spared (flash floods). Instead, south suburbs put on scuba gear. Page 2

3 Diagnostic Blog by D. Settle =29&pid=4 Dollar Spot Impresses Us Early In 2011 Two diseases have been troublesome as of late Waitea and dollar spot. Dollar spot or Sclerotinia homoeocarpa awoke from its Chicago slumber early in A slow spring meant we weree complaining about a season that seemed would never green (off-color creeping bentgrass). That quickly changed. Since Memorial Dayy our weather remained unusually warm and near continuous rainfall meant lush growth was the rule (roughs took off like a rocket). Dollar spot is a difficult problem on creeping bentgrass because the turf is highly susceptible. Because big golf course acreage is creeping bentgrass (the chosen child for fairways) we have to deal with this chronic disease on a large scale. Thee fungal disease causess bleached-white infectionn centers from June until October (during most years in Chicago). The only thing that stops dollar spot is either a fungicide application, or environmental conditions that are no longer conducive for its development (dry conditions and/or airr temperatures that fall below 50 degrees at night). Since Chicago is a cool, humid environment our epidemics of dollar spot can be quite significant. Take this week for example. I was working with Nick DeVries rating dollar spot Agrostis stolonifera shows why genetics is important. Without key genes necessary for resistance to a disease (dollar spot in this case) you re toast. Sunshine Course, Lemont IL. D. Settle Since 2009, a fairway-maintained study has clued us inn that newerr creeping bentgrass varieties are worth having - not just because of superior quality (compared to the 1950s Penncross ), but because many now have superior resistance to dollar spot. Plant breeders have made improvements beyond the excellent resistance that L-93 was found to have in the mid-90s. Today, newer bentgrass varieties should be consideredd on fairways and other appropriate golf surfaces whenever renovation or new construction will allow. In the future we should be saying new names that have improved genetics for many things including dollar spot. Can you say Crystal Bluelinks, Shark, Memorial, PennlinksII, CY-2, Kingpin, and Mackenzie? Page 3

4 Tim Sibicky, MS dga.org Manager of Turfgrass Research Research Update: Waitea circinata var. circinata Conditions continue to be suitable for fungal development of the patch disease, Waitea circinata var. circinata, on fine turfgrass surfaces of Poa annua symptoms appear as circular to irregular crescent shaped rings, yellow in color. In this study thee rings are a few inches in diameter and, where numerous, the rings effect large areas because they coalesce.. Infections of Waitea, when severe, will cause an unsightly appearance for golfers. A preventive fungicide test for Waitea was initiated on a regulation golf green at Biltmore Country Club in North Barrington, IL with the help of Brian Thomson, superintendent and Mike Paciga, assistant superintendent. Preliminary data from an initial outbreak, recorded on June 1 st, were reported last week in the Turf Scouting Report. The fourteen treatments tested (Figure 1) were applied preventively starting May 12, 2011 at 7, 14, and 28 day intervals. Following initial symptoms on June 1 st, Waitea continued its progression and since last week has jumped even higher. Previously, untreated plots were averaging 20% disease with more than 35 rings per plot. We also observed elevated levels of disease in the 3336/Thiophanate-methyl treatment with levels at greater than 50% plot area affected, or 65 rings per plot. We suggested that a non-target effect may be increasing Waitea disease in T-methyl plots by its impact on natural antagonism. Until June 1 st, theree were several fungicide treatments showing complete control of Waitea including Insignia SC, Prostar, Concert II), Affirm, Torque, Affirm+Torque, and Renown. The next rating date (June 6) revealed Waitea breakthrough in Concert II and trace amounts of disease in the Prostar and Affirm+Torque combination treatment. The Daconil Ultrex and Banner Maxx treatments initially seemed to provide levels of control with 10% and 2% disease per plot (June 1 st ) but on June 6 th, levels spiked to 61% (same as untreated) and 32% respectively. Levels of disease for Banner Maxx and Daconil Ultrex were no different than that of the urea foliar applied fertilizer treatments (0.15 lb and 0.30 lb N/1000ft 2 ). The higher rate of urea did reduce incidence of disease (number of rings) as compared to the 0.15 lb rate but was Page 4

5 still not visually acceptable. The higher urea rate had less than 30 rings per plot as compared to the low level of nitrogen with greater than 55 per plot (Figure 2). Although incidence of disease Number of rings per plot a b b Figure 2. Number of Waitea Rings on Greens Biltmore Country Club, North Barrington, IL bc bcd bcd June 6, 2011 cde de e e e e e e NDVI Index Figure 3. Normalized Difference Vegetaion Index (NDVI Color) Waitea Disease on Greens, Biltmore Country Club, North Barrington, IL a a a ab ab June 6, 2011 abc abc a d a d a e b e cde de e is the main issue, we also look into the effects of products on plant health or what we see visually when we apply them. Using the Spectrum Technologies Turf Color Meter 500, we are able to decipher color differences with the use of an electronic radiometric sensor, rather than the human eye which could be inconsistent or considered biased. The meter revealed darkest green in color to be the high rate of Urea, as expected. Treatments of Affirm, Insignia SC, Affirm+Torque, Prostar, Renown, and Torque were all found to be similar at the top for what I believe two reasons. The first reason is fewer disease symptoms or yellowing (directly effecting color) and the second reason is that these products are without phytotoxicity, often a concern with some fungicide chemistries like DMIs. By combining visual analysis with incidences of disease, we can gain a better understanding of the costs and benefits of study treatments to control Waitea. Page 5 *Means followed by the same letter do not statistically differ (P=0.05 LSD)

6 Peter Westfall Research Intern, Purdue University University of Illinois Extensionn Flower Trials As I returned to work today (Wednesday the 8 th ) I noticed something different along the fence at Sunshine Course. What was a large strip of bare soil now contained 143 different cultivars in over 40 rows of annual flowers. At Sunshine Course, and any other golf course for that matter, there is more than just turf. Whether you re a turf-head or a groundskeeper deep down we re all horticulturalists and part of horticulture is flowers. What would a great golf course be without trees, flowers, and other vegetation besidess just turf? In my opinion it would become just a mediocree course. Half of the battle of maintaining a great course iss appearancee and what better way to boost the appearance than colorful rows of flowers around tee boxes and greens? But, it is always about more than just golf courses, and flowers are a great way to spruce up any yard or landscape. The flower trial rows next to the fence, Lemont, IL. (inset a row of marigolds) P. Westfall Greg Stack with the help of Richard Hentschel and volunteer master gardeners from the U of I extensionn program received plugs, seeds and started plants from companies like Benary, Ball Flora, Pan American Seed, Ball Seed, Selecta, Sakata, Syngenta,, and Taki. Combined they received 24 different species including two flowers andd three vegetables from the All America Selection for Also included were numerous new cultivars forr the 2012 season. All of the plants were planted in traditional row style in full sunlight, and maintained by Greg, Richard and their team; every two weeks the plants are evaluated onn a scale from 1 to 5 based upon flower display, leaf color and quality, uniformity of habit and flowering, and ability to withstand insect Page 6

7 and disease pressure (U of I extension). After tracking them throughout the summer the numbers will be plotted on a graph to observe the change; all of the results will be posted on the website at where you can also see past years trial results. The flower variety trial is a great way for superintendents, landscapers, or home gardeners to come by and see what new plants are in store for 2012 and also which would work best for their own gardens and lifestyle. The trial will be featured at the upcoming iturf Expo on Sep 22 nd. Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) blooms. Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO. Settle Page 7

8 Final Images A fancy butterfly, in search of nectar, rests for a momentt on an otherwise hot day. Sibicky Looking good on a hot day. A city skyline and Miss Kim dwarf Korean lilacs. Settle has a weather blog! Derek, Tim, Nick, Peter and Chris The CDGA Turfgrass Program Page 8