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Here is your Turf IPM update for the last week of August, 2000, covering pest problems for Illinois golf courses and sod producers.
Moderate weather patterns continue to rule the day, and we are now at the tail-end of the summer season and easily "over the hump."
After the heat and humidity of 1999, I think we will look back on the summer of 2000 as a nice respite from stressful environmental conditions.
If it weren't for the high wind and storm damage that hit many courses in late May, we would have little to complain about - except the darned dollar spot!
Diseases
Dollar spot activity increased quite a bit in the first few days of last week, as we had a return to somewhat higher temperatures and relative humidity.
A few turf samples came into my lab that had visible dollar spot mycelium, which was persistent enough to raise doubts about the identity of the disease.
"Are you sure that's not Pythium? - I just sprayed that for dollar spot last week!" was a common refrain.
No, its not Pythium (or Brown Patch, or Ball mark disease), just out of control dollar spot? "Better spray it again with something else; I'll add it to my collection and check it for fungicide resistance?" The best I could do was reassure the victim that his was not a unique problem and that there is rampant dollar spot everywhere.
If we have a warm fall, we could be fighting dollar spot well into October again this year.
Insects
We may start seeing early grub damage (and animals digging for morsels) very soon.
Hopefully all of the Merit and Mach 2 that went out earlier this year will limit the amount of damage/digging.
Many superintendents that I have talked to did not spray wall to wall in roughs, so we should be able to see how severe the damage would be if no insecticides were applied to "in play" areas -- sort of an untreated check plot?
Weeds
I am still getting comments and complaints about moss infestations, and how most treatments are not providing adequate control.
The 4 oz / gal Dawn Ultra approach has not worked as well this year for some reason.
Several superintendents have revisited the "witches brew" approach with Subdue 2E + additives; in some cases, this has worked much better (but has greater potential for phytotoxicity).
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