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Warm air temperatures build anticipation of plant growth but keep in mind that cool soil temperatures will strongly moderate growth during the spring. Turf growth typically will be very slow until [Read more…] about Warm Air, Cool Soil
By Jim Murphy •
Warm air temperatures build anticipation of plant growth but keep in mind that cool soil temperatures will strongly moderate growth during the spring. Turf growth typically will be very slow until [Read more…] about Warm Air, Cool Soil
By Jim Murphy •
While the warm weather has allowed many of us to get out and enjoy the outdoors, you may have noticed [Read more…] about Winter Damage
By Matthew Elmore •
In weed management on golf courses, annual bluegrass (Poa annua) seedhead (inflorescence) suppression often kicks off the growing season. Plant growth regulators can be used to suppress seedhead production if applications are properly timed. Much like pre-emergence herbicides that are not effective if applied after weed emergence, PGRs are less effective if applied too late.
It is common to make two or three sequential applications of trinexapac-ethyl (i.e., Primo Maxx, T-Nex) + ethephon (i.e., Proxy, Ethephon 2 SL) or ethephon alone in the spring. Timing the first application can be difficult. One method is to make the first application at the first sign of the “boot” stage. Annual bluegrass is considered in boot stage when the stem is swollen, indicating that it contains a seedhead (pictured below).
If the leaf tissue is carefully removed from the stem layer by layer, it will reveal the inflorescense (pictured below), which you can usually see with your naked eye or the aid of a hand lens.
This seedhead will continue to move up the stem, eventually emerging. Once the seedhead emerges from the stem the plant is considered post boot stage. Using the boot stage method to time applications requires careful inspection of several plants at various times during the spring. To predict booth stage on a putting green, it is best to check south facing slopes and higher cut turf, as seedhead emergence in these areas will be ahead of putting greens.
Growing degree-day models have been developed as alternatives to boot stage-based PGR application timings. One model developed by Dr. Ron Calhoun at Michigan State University (gddtracker.net) uses a base temperature of 32 degrees F and a target of 200 to 500 GDD with accumulation beginning February 15th. However, to my knowledge this model has not been validated in the Northeast region. The unusually warm winter may make this model less reliable. On the day this was written, our research farm in North Brunswick has accumulated 40 GDD32 since February 15th. If the weather occurs as predicted, we may reach 200 GDD32 by Sunday February 26th when more seasonal weather returns.
Another GDD model common to the Northeast region uses a base temperature of 50 degrees F and a target accumulation of 50 GDDs beginning February 1st. However, I am not aware of any published literature validating this model in this region. On the day this was written, our research farm in North Brunswick has accumulated 8 GDD50 since February 15th. If the weather occurs as predicted, we may reach 30 GDD50 by Sunday when more seasonal weather returns.
A combination of GDD tracking and scouting for boot stage may be useful to time PGR applications. Scout roughs and bare areas with annual bluegrass for boot stage and seedhead emergence. As we approach the GDD threshold, scout roughs, fairways, and greens more intensely for boot stage and seedhead emergence. Boot stage is typically observed in late March or early April in New Jersey so we are still likely several weeks away. However, if temperatures remain warm it may arrive earlier this year.
Recent research from Dr. Shawn Askew at Virginia Tech has demonstrated efficacy of ethephon applications made just before winter dormancy followed by spring applications of trinexapac-ethyl + ethephon. We have a trial underway at Rutgers to evaluate the efficacy of fall applications in this region in collaboration with Dr. Zane Raudenbush at Ohio State. In addition to validation of this fall application strategy in multiple regions, research to ensure fall or winter applications of ethephon do not increase the potential for annual bluegrass winterkill may be necessary. For more information on Dr. Askew’s research visit http://www.golfdom.com/a-new-key-to-poa-annua-seedhead-suppression/
Fun Fact: Annual bluegrass seed can become viable even if the seedhead is removed from the plant on the same day it is pollinated. Just another reason this weed is so competitive in turfgrass!
Note: Embark (mefluidide) also provides excellent annual bluegrass seedhead suppression when used properly, but it is no longer being manufactured.
We will continue to scout for annual bluegrass seedhead emergence. To share your own observations and for updates from Rutgers, follow @RUturfweeds on Twitter!
By Jim Murphy •
The weather this summer has been very conducive for brown patch and Pythium blight diseases. I have received number requests this summer to address turf problems related to one or both of these diseases in lawns, sports fields, sod and now my own plots.
The weather forecast for the rest of this week indicates
[Read more…] about Weather Ideal for Pythium and Brown PatchBy Jim Murphy •
I have been getting questions from landscape/turf professionals about licensing for mosquito control. I asked Dr. George Hamilton about where to direct professionals with these questions.
Information on licensing of professionals for mosquito control can be found on the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Pest Management website: http://pestmanagement.rutgers.edu/PAT/
You can get a core manual and category 8B manual at your county extension office.
By Jim Murphy •
Many people are pleased that typical winter temperatures have taken so long to show up. Below are some interesting observations from early- to mid-winter in New Brunswick.
Relatively warm soil temperatures (as high as mid-60s °F) stimulated growth late into December.
Odd to find weed species that are normally gone by this time of the year. Killing frosts/freezes are finally here and frost sensitive plants should be damaged and won’t persist much longer. Cool-season turfgrasses will transition into dormancy if freezing temperatures linger for a while. But it won’t be too long (66 days until spring, 20 March) before annuals like prostrate knotweed will germinate and start to emerge from bare soil areas.
By Jim Murphy •
Daily high soil temperatures at the 2-inch depth are consistently getting into the 60s °F. Yesterday, temperatures in sunny locations reached into the upper 60s. This means that the warm-season species are, or will be soon waking from winter slumber.
For the last three weeks, I have been watching the emergence of false green kyllinga (Kyllinga gracillima). Most sites infested with kyllinga are probably showing active shoot growth. So it appears that kyllinga needs soil temperatures that reach consistently into the 60s to emerge from winter dormancy. As temperatures continue to warm, re-growth of kyllinga should accelerate.
False green kyllinga is a perennial sedge species with well-developed rhizomes (underground lateral spreading stems). Kyllinga is relatively low growing so it [Read more…] about Kyllinga Awakens as Soil Temps Increase
By Jim Murphy •
Other than today and yesterday, soil temperatures in New Brunswick have been reaching into the lower 50s °F during the last week or so. And you see the effects, some plants are finally awakening from winter slumber. Cool-season turfgrasses are slowly greening up. Tree buds are swelling, some are flowering. Forsythia is just starting to bloom. And prostrate knotweed, one of the earliest germinating summer annual weeds, is emerging.
Prostrate knotweed is frequently found invading [Read more…] about Looks Like Grass… But It Isn’t
By Jim Murphy •
We lost the ice cover on our Poa annua trials two weekends ago (March 7-8th) and initially the turf looked okay. But now… it doesn’t. And it will probably get worse, if we are reading the symptoms correctly.
Last Friday (March 13), my graduate student, Chas Schmid, informed me that I needed to look at his potassium trial on our Poa annua turf. There was a huge difference between no-K and K fertilized plots. The no-K plots have steadily lost green color and become very blotchy. Plants taken from those plots are water-soaked and feel mushy when squeezed (How is that for a scientific description?). Dr. Lindsey Hoffman has a lot of experience with winterkill on Poa annua in Massachusetts and she is convinced that many of the plants are dead. And it smells like it – silage on a dairy farm!
Take home for me – don’t let your Poa annua turf become potassium deficient! Chas’ data for suppressing anthracnose severity indicates that a soil test (Mehlich 3) ≥50 ppm K and a tissue level of ≥2% K in the clippings are indicators that the K level is good. And winterkill in March 2015 hasn’t changed my mind about that data!
Looks like this might be the end of this Poa annua field. Dr. William Meyer said, “Good riddance.”
By Jim Murphy •
Damage to landscapes from traffic can be severe during winter and especially now during the thaw. Soil conditions currently range from being frozen to partially thawed/frozen to thawed.
Partially frozen soil will be thawed and very wet at the surface while being frozen at some depth below. Under this condition, soil and turf will be extremely vulnerable to shearing and rutting damage. Traffic, even light foot traffic, must be withheld when this condition exists otherwise severe rutting (soil displacement) will occur.
Soil temperature has been “stuck” at freezing for some time now. Today is the first time this year that I have noticed the 2-inch deep bare soil temperature was above 33 °F (> 35 °F at the time of writing this post) at the New Brunswick Rutgers Gardens weather station. Interestingly, the 2-inch soil temperature under sod at this station remains only tenths of a degree above 32 °F, illustrating the insulating effect that vegetative cover has on soil.
Keep in mind that just because a soil has thawed doesn’t mean it is out of danger from traffic. At this time of year, soil will be very loose from frost heaving and very wet or saturated. Soil on very well drained sites will firm up sooner than poorly drained sites but all sites will be very susceptible to damage from traffic for some time after a thaw. Care should be taken to avoid traffic of any kind when the soil and turf is vulnerable.
Allow soil to thaw completely and drain to at least field capacity (preferably drier) before allowing traffic on the landscape. Draining and drying will help to re-settle areas that frost heaved. Light-weight rolling may be need on soil that experienced extensive frost heaving and remains too loose after draining and drying.