Where are the
April Showers?
Weather:
We have experienced our normal sine wave pattern of up and down
temperatures for the first couple weeks of April. Earlier in
the week, frosts, (some of them rather hard), greeted us in
the morning, but that has now given way to southerly winds and
much warmer temperatures. We were 7-10 degrees below normal
for Monday through Wednesday, and are now 10 to 15 degrees above
normal since tax day. This warm trend is forecasted to continue
throughout the weekend and into Monday, leading to a nice green
jump for the plants.
The big question is what happened to our normal
April showers? The normal amount of precipitation for the month
is close to 4 inches, and halfway through most locations are
reporting zero rain for the month so far. A small shower (0.2
inches) hit Lemont and some local areas on the South side last
night, but even that barely wet the sidewalk. The forecast doesn't
look exactly promising for a good soaking rain for this weekend
or early next week either. Scattered, (but hopefully not too
scattered), thunderstorms may hit northern Illinois this weekend,
but central and southern Illinois looks to stay dry and warm.
Poa Seeding and Weeds:
The cool start to April shut the Poa down for
a while, but with the sudden spike into the 80's for this weekend
I would expect northern Illinois will see a sudden flush of
seedheads soon. To achieve maximum efficacy for Proxy/Primo
applications, it is imperative that the first spray goes down
before the earliest seeding Poa biotypes flower. If possible,
that spray should be made now at the latest...
The broadleafs have emerged in full force in south
Chicago and central Illinois, with the dandelions a flowerin'
and the clover a creepin'. One superintendent in St. Louis said
he has seen a huge abundance of broadleafs emerging in his roughs
this year, and we have noticed quite a few out here at Golf
House as well. It also looks to be crabgrass preemergent time
for central Illinois and south Chicago, as soil temperatures
have been or will get close to 55 F by weekend's end. If this
weather trend holds into next week, northern Illinois may need
to think about applying preemergents soon as well.
Diseases:
We have heard almost nothing over the past week.
The grass is in a very happy place (as long as it is getting
watered!) and we have heard very little problems thus far. With
the grass getting some N and growing well, we would expect very
little problems with dollar spot over the weekend even though
the prediction model may go off during some of this warm period.
If you haven't fertilized it could be possible to see some by
Monday or Tuesday, but it is probably still too early in the
year.
For central and southern Illinois, it is time
to think about preventative sprays for take-all patch if you
have had it in the past. This spray is timed when soil temperatures
are consistently at or above 55 F for 3-4 consecutive days,
which may be the case early next week after this heat wave.
I have received reports in the low to mid 50's in the last few
days so that is close. Another good, or possibly best, time
to treat is again in the fall when soil temperatures drop back
down again into the mid 50's. That way you can spot-treat the
areas where you know you had problems during the previous summer.
Insects:
The gnats and other pesky critters are starting
to come out in full force, but actual turf chompers may still
be a few weeks away in northern Illinois. Conversely, in southern
Illinois small cutworm larvae have been noted crawling on the
green (but not eating yet), and the black Ataenius model has
been ringing for a few days now. Cutworm moths have been caught
(albeit in low numbers) as far north as Dixon, and more intense
captures have already been reported in most of southern Illinois
(at or below Springfield). With the strong southerly winds,
I would expect the moth front to move markedly to the North
over the next few days. As intense captures occur and are reported,
I will be keeping track of the number of degree days that takes
place until cutworms become a problem, so keep me posted.
Photo courtesy of Dr. Rick Weinzerl
On another note, (pun intended), the largest brood
of 17 year cicadas is set to sing in early May in parts of the
Midwest. This brood (termed the Great Eastern Brood or Brood
'X') could number as many as 1.5 million individuals per acre,
and the singing, scary cicada demeanor (see the buggy red eyes
above), and resulting messy windshields could be a big deal.
The potential havoc has garnered some national attention over
the past few weeks (see articles in CNN by clicking
here or in the USA Today by clicking
here). What originally got my attention is that
most of the articles list Illinois as being one of the states
being hardest hit. I talked to Dr. Rick Weinzerl from the U
of I about this, and he said that Brood X only extends into
the eastern counties along the Indiana border - such as Vermilion
(sorry Danville), Edgar, and Clark counties. In northern Illinois,
we won't get a good dose of cicadas until 2007 when our Brood
XIII emerges, so leave the worrying to the Hoosiers for now.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
An Additional Note
- Don't forget next Thursday's CDGA/USGA workshop
on PowerPoint!
Thanks for your support of this, as well as all
of our research programs,
Randy
Kane
CDGA
Director of Turfgrass Programs
Midwest Golf House
11855 Archer Ave
Lemont, IL 60439
630-257-8126
Lee
Miller
CDGA
Manager of Turfgrass Research
Midwest Golf House
11855 Archer Ave
Lemont, IL 60439
630-257-2005 x.106
