May 7, 2007

This week, we observed our first confirmed case of basal rot anthracnose. Although it has been reported widely in more northerly and westerly regions, it has finally made it to the coast. Hopefully, warmer and dryer weather will slow the disease down.

April 6, 2007

Having experienced the warmest November and December on record, snow mold problems have been few and far between this winter. With little snowfall, however, significant foliar dessication has been observed. In addition, soil temperatures are currently below average (at 35 degrees F at 10 cm as of today) and cooler air temperatures are still prevailing. Few diseases are currently active yet but root Pythium hass been observed. Until temperatures increase, it is likely that disease activity will remain subdued

November 8, 2006

Although the past summer was not a cake walk, most superintendents faired well. May and June were particularly wet and this caused many problems on courses with poor drainage. Root Pythium continued to thrive into the summer. Summer Patch was again a problem, but not as severe as last year. Luckily, 2006 was not an extremely hot summer (the number of days above 90 F in New England was about 5). As early as Sept 1, temperatures droped into the optimum range for cool-season grasses and we have experienced perfect grass-growing weather. November has been a little wet, but the cool dry weather of September and October made all the difference for courses under environmental stress.

May 19, 2006

As early as March, root Pythium has been raging across New England. The dry weather of this Spring has had no impact in slowing the disease and it has been observed widely from Maine to Westchester County. Look for purple bentgrass and yellow Poa in patches. In some areas of New England, record rains of the past 2 weeks have total 20+ inches. This moisture and cool weather will combine to exacerbate root Pythium. Yellow Patch has also been seen but should abate with dry warm weather. The same can be said for Fusarium Patch (aka Microdochium Patch/Pink Snow Mold). Nematode counts are high from the few courses we have surveyed. We anticipate a bad nematode and Summer Patch year (similar to 2004). And the first Anthracnose sample has come in from a Zone II course outside of Boston, so the summer has officially began.

October 14, 2005

After a summer of drought, we are now in a fall of deluge. Seven days of rain have drenched the Northeast and we are now seeing the timely appearance of the cool-season diseases. As of this date, Pythium root-rot and Take-All have started to pop up across coastal New England and it is likely that Fusarium patch and Yellow Patch will not be far behind. Dollar Spot has started to resurge in the past few weeks and while Grey Leaf Spot was threatening to spread across the region, it seemed to keep to central and eastern Massachusetts, petering out with the cooler weather. Hopefully cool and dry weather is ahead and the transition out of the growing season will go smoothly. Start planning for Snow Mold applications, depending upon you location they should be made between November 7th and Decembers 1st (the earlier date is for those in Northern New England- you know who you are).

August 8, 2005

The months of June and July have been flat-out miserable for golf course superintendents from the mid-Atlantic region to Maine. Constant high temperatures and drought in many areas have caused considerable root decline and actual heat injury to both Poa and bentgrass. Although the Poa is suffering more so than the bentgrass, all greens turf is susceptible. In many places, temperatures have exceeded 90 deg F for more than 3X the number of days considered average. In Kingston, RI, we are 5 inches below average precipitation for the months of June and July and are looking at a bonafide drought. August and September will probably be no better, at least based on early indications. Mini-tining and hydrojecting have helped some supers deal with the heat and traffic problems, but root mass will only return as temperatures decline. Traffic injury is dramatically exacerbated in these conditions and simply will not grow out. The plus side: Less grass on the surface means faster green speeds! Good Luck.

June 7, 2005

Brown Patch Alert/Pythium Alert. Weather over the weekend will be in mid-90's. Although no precipitation is predicted, high humidity and supplemental irrigation are perfect conditions for both of these diseases. Although it is extremely early in the season, a Pythium Blight spray and Brown Patch spray should be made before the weekend, if fungicides have not already been applied that will combat these diseases. The high heat has also caused a lot of drought stress, keep a carefull eye on sand based greens for signs of wilting.

May 23, 2005

After three bone-dry weeks in the beginning of April, Southern New England has been under constantly overcast skies and now rain. The unpredictable weather initially caused stress on Poa but much of these plants have recovered. The constant wet and cool weather has now affected bentgrass, which is chlorotic and weak at many sites. The cool rainy weather has also brought on a spate of Take-All, Necrotic Ring Patch and Fusiarim Patch infections. Cool Season Pythium has also been identified, but has not been very common. If you are seeing turf that will not repond to fertilizer and is uniformly weak and thin, it is probably the weather (the frost a week back did not help matters). If you are seeing patches of visibly dying grass, it is probably one of the aforementioned diseases and should be treated promptly.

March 15, 2005

After a winter of extensive snow cover and extremely low temperatures, we are finally starting to see some melting. Accompanying this melting is increased activity from both Pink and Grey Snow Mold. Grey snow mold can often be ignored. Although it will damage some leaf blades and slow green-up, it does minimal long-term damage. If disease appears rampant, it can be treated immediately after the snow melts, assuming a very rapid thaw. If thawing is slow, fungicides are unlikely to have much affect (the damge will be done by the time the fungicide is applied). If aggressive Pink Snow Mold is observed, however, be ready to treat with protectant fungicides. Pink Snow Mold can and will kill grass if left to its own devices!

November 15, 2004

Our first Fusarium Patch/Pink Snow Mold sample was recently received from Cape Cod. Although unusual in the current dry weather, this points to the fact that the time for preventative snow mold application is at hand. In the Massacshusetts area, we are closely approaching the end of the most effective snow mold application window. In Rhode Island and the Cape, snow mold applications can be undertaken as late as early December in most years, but the occasional early snow can complicate matters. Fungicide efficacy declines as the season progresses and the grass becomes dormant, resulting in less fungicide uptake. Protectants such as chlorothalonil and PCNB are not effected by application date, but must be in place before extended periods of snow cover. Cool-Season Root Pythium is still being observed on a regular basis this fall.

September 15, 2004

With cooler, dry weather, disease activity has been greatly reduced for much of August and September. Within the past week, however, 2 samples of grey leaf spot have been identified locally (Cape Cod and Long Island). If you are in an area prone to the disease, have had it in the past or suspect you may currently have it, don't hesitate to forward a sample to your local turf disease lab. This has been an exceptionally bad year for dollar spot and this trend continues. With cooler temperatures, the disease is likely to continue to be a problem until mid-October.

August 1, 2004

While nematode numbers have remained high across New England, Anthracnose has popped up on only a few courses this summer. Bacterial wilt has been identified on 5 new courses but it does not appear to be as severe as in previous years. Summer Patch has been observed sporadically but the lack of precicpation has kept it mostly in check. High humidity and high temperatures have been a problem in Southern New England for the third week in a row and Brown Patch is raging. Preventative and curative applications are warranted. Pythium is a very real posibility so a wise course of action would be to make preventative applications on areas that have suffered from the disease in the past. Fortunately, this has been an excellent season for growing grass.

May 15, 2004

Very little disease activity has been observed this Spring. Cool dry weather has provided excellent growing conditions with minimal opportunuty for fungal infection. Some Fusarium Patch was observed earlier this season but quickly abated. Two problems that have arisen are EXTREMELY high nematode numbers (record breaking levels) and bacterial wilt. The levels of nematodes observed (Stunt and Lance) have resulted in large patches of dying annual bluegrass requireing Nemacur treatment. The best remedy for bacterial wilt is to grow creeping bentgrass. Short of that, raising the height of cut and applying copper fungicides can havesome effect. Copper fungicides should be used with care, however, because they tend to burn. Superintendents should be advised that Proxy is NOT labelled for putting greens and will slow recovery from bacterial wilt and Anthranocse. Interestingly, two cases of striped smut have been identified in the past month, this disease is rarely seen on putting greens.

April 1, 2004

After a long and very cold winter, grass around Southern New England has begun to green-up. With it, Anthracnose has reared its ugly head, the first sample of the year coming in off the Cape. As the grass begins to photosynthesize, the preventative use of systemic fungicides against the disease will be warranted. For the next few weeks, however, chlorothalonil applications will provide the most effect. We are expect to get 5-7 days of cool and wet weather, so be on the lookout for Fuarium Patch. Because of the intermittent snow and very hard ground-freeze, grey snow mold was a problem in Southern New England.

December 2, 2003

Leaf spot pathogens are currently active on sod farms, roughs and fairways. While control is a possible option, it is generally unwarranted. A third case of active bacterial wilt has been identified from Southern Connecticut.

November 15, 2003

While cooler weather has prevailed, we have identified two cases of bacterial wilt this week. It is likely that the bacteria responsible for the disease has been present on these courses all year long and now that turf growth has slowed, the grass is unable to outpace the disease (which is primarily a weak, stress related pathogen). It is also possible that recent wet weather has exacerbated the problem.

October 28, 2003

Over the last week the weather has changed dramatically. With some locations receiving 3 inches of rain, we are seeing an increase in Fusarium Patch and other cool-seaon Fusarium diseases. We have also had an extremely serve outbreak of Anthracnose in some areas. The temperature is predicted to move into the 70's next week which may stimulate additional disease activity if precipitation continues. Those areas prone to snow mold should make preventative applications before the third week of November.

October 1, 2003

The month of September was mild (warmer than expected but not hot) and very dry resulting in minimal disease activity. Some dollar spot was observed but little else. With cooler, wetter weather we have seen a little bit of Fusarium activity and Take-All continues to move on some courses. Sod growers are starting to see some rust activity and powdery mildew is surely not far behind.

August 20, 2003

The first case of Grey Leaf Spot of the year was just diagnosed, out of Long Island. Typically the disease does not move far into New England, but this year has been particularly unusual and it is difficult to predict disease spread in any year. A number of cool days and nights have sparked a mild Take-All outbreak, seen prominently on the bentgrass variety Providence, however, very hot temperatures are predicted for the next week and preventative Pythium sprays are critical.

August 8, 2003

The warmer weather and high humidity has continued throughout the summer, resulting in persistent Summer Patch, Brown Patch outbreaks and some Pythium Blight. The first active Anthracnose cases have been diagnosed but the disease is not nearly as aggressive as it was last year. Shallow rooting, caused by the excessively wet and cool Spring, have exacerbated the Summer Patch problem.

July 10, 2003

The first week of July was accompanied by extremely hot weather (97¡F days) that put significant stress on Poa annua across the region. Wilting and leaf death was common. Summer patch has become very common with 75% of the submitted P. annua samples suffering from some degree of the disease. Symptoms varied greatly from large patches to 2" diameter spots to general thinning. Many superintendents have had success with thiophanate-methyl but Heritage is the preferred treatment for this disease.

June 10, 2003

The exteneded cool and wet weather across New England over the past 30 days has resulted in a resurgence of Spring time diseases. Many courses are dealing with aggressive cool-season Pythium outbreaks and Take-All Patch is very common (exacerabted by the weather). Homeowners and fairways have been hard hit by Red Thread and outbreaks of Fusarium Patch have also been observed. Warmer and dryer weather should mitigate all of these diseases. We are still waiting for the first Anthracnose sample of the year.

April 1, 2003

Although we have had some warm weather recently, the significant (and late to depart) snow cover in Southern Rhode Island has made conditions ripe for snow molds. Golf courses, home lawns, sod farms and even the URI Turf Farm have been hit with both Grey Snow Mold and Pink Snow Mold. In addition, we have seen some sporadic cases of Yellow Patch.

October 20, 2002

Unlike last Fall, cooler conditions have been more prevalent and we have had no reports of Cool Season Brown Patch or Fusarium Patch. A number of cases of Take-All have been identified, however. Anthracnose activity continues to be minimal, but preventative fungicide applications would be prudent where the disease is a persistent problem. Rust problems have been common on sod farms.

August 20, 2002

As a result of the extremely dry conditions, reduced disease activity has been observed. Significant stress has been observed on putting greens from drought, but anthracnose activity has slowed. Numerous stress related pathogens have been observed, including Curvularia.

July 17, 2002

Anthracnose is still a problem in many areas. When controlling it, make sure to mix your fungicide mode-of-action to prevent resistance (be careful, however, because a number of fungicides which are labeled for the disease seem to have little affect against it in the Northeast- contact us for more information). Curvularia is being seen commonly in Rhode Island and Massachusetts and one case of Drechslera triseptata has been identified out of New York State.

June 10, 2002

Anthracnose is active. Even superintendents who have been on a preventative spray program are reporting problems with the disease. We have seen it on a number of fairways recently. However, in all cases of fairway anthracnose, a predisposing factor (such as another disease) seems to have had a part in the anthracnose development. Bacterial wilt is also becoming a problem for some superintendents.

April 26, 2002

The past week has seen a lot of Yellow Patch (Rhizoctonia cerealis) activity. Temperatures will probably remain cool for a bit longer and so it is unlikely to grow out of the disease. We are recommending chemical control as soon as possible. Anthracnose has been less of an issue this past week, we suspect because most superintendents are on aggressive preventative programs.

April 12, 2002

Anthracnose is active. Warmer days are enabling spore production, without the benefit of much turf growth. The warm winter has probably enabled it to over-winter quite well. Preventative applications are crucial to keep it out of the crown. Some superintendents are actively overseeding lost Poa with bentgrass. Bentgrass is filling in on some courses, but very slowly.

March 18, 2002

Samples coming in are starting to show sporadic Anthracnose activity. It is, however, still too early to put down systemic fungicides (they won't move in dormant turf). Our recommendation for preventative treatments is to begin applications when the soil temperature reaches 50 degrees F.

December 2001

A number of golf course samples came in with Pink Snow Mold. However, the fungus was in the "Fusarium Patch" stage of the disease, which occurs without snow cover and with high humidity and cool temperatures. At least one sod grower also had a Fusarum Patch outbreak. Yellow Patch, Rhizoctonia cerealis, had also been identified on samples from both MA and RI.

Department of Plant Sciences Kingston, RI 02881 ©Copyright 2002-2007 401.874.5996

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