Some Bugs but It's Cool
Put mouse (cursor) on current picture to change it.
Photo 1: 6/28/04 - BTA grub damage on Poa annua (& bentgrass)
here at Golf House.
Photo 2: (Rollover image) 6/29/04 - Japanese beetle adults feeding
on 'Knockout' rose at Golf House
Weather:
The summer solstice arrived on
June 20th with a nice thud, (if that's possible), as high temperatures
only got into the 70 degree range with nighttime lows in the
40s and 50s. This cool down and the break in precipitation (thank
heavens!) provided a nice natural fungicide for most diseases,
and gave most a good jump on the summer season. June temperatures
were 1-2 degrees below normal for most of the region, but unfortunately
overall we are still way ahead of last year as far as heat accumulation
(DDs), meaning some pests (see insect section below)
are being pests a little early.
As alluded to earlier, the spicket
was finally turned off and rainfall totals for June were at
or below normal for most of the region (note outliers in southern
Chicago suburbs) which was a welcome change from a flooded May
for northern Illinois. The current environment is causing some
problems on the flip side as ET rates have soared over the past
week. Turf is drying out, LDS problems are becoming more noticeable,
and take-all and other patch symptoms are becoming exacerbated.
All in all, however, this is a welcome change from May, and
if these cool temperatures can stick around through July, historically
our hottest month, then it will turn out to be a nice summer
indeed. Click
here for a few good watering reminders from OSU's turfnotes.
For the fourth of July weekend,
much of the region should be expecting some fireworks of the
meteorological kind, with squalls of thunderstorms anticipated
throughout the area (which seems to always happen during the
Western!). However, the relatively mild temperatures are expected
to continue so although we could see some locally heavy rains,
hopefully the temps can put a lid on any serious disease outbreaks
that may occur.
June Degree Days (DDs) and Rainfall Totals
|
City
|
2004 DDs to 6/30
|
2003 DDs
to 6/30
|
Departure from normal average temperature
|
Total June Rainfall
|
Normal Total June Rainfall
|
% of Total
|
|
Carbondale
|
1685
|
1460
|
+1.7 F
|
2.35"
|
4.77"
|
49%
|
|
Springfield
|
1411
|
1264
|
-3.2 F
|
3.54"
|
3.77"
|
94%
|
|
Peoria
|
1399
|
1168
|
-1.2 F
|
2.63"
|
3.84"
|
68%
|
|
Bloomington
|
1348
|
1152
|
-1.4 F
|
3.16"
|
3.99"
|
79%
|
|
Moline
|
1267
|
1107
|
-1.0 F
|
2.63"
|
4.63"
|
57%
|
|
Orland Park
|
1158
|
941
|
-0.2 F
|
4.25"
|
4.16"
|
102%
|
|
Frankfort
|
1142
|
822
|
-1.0 F
|
3.76"
|
4.16"
|
90%
|
|
Aurora
|
1130
|
879
|
-1.1 F
|
6.33"
|
3.63"
|
174%
|
|
Lemont
|
1052
|
810
|
-1.2 F
|
4.32"
|
3.63"
|
119%
|
|
N. Barrington
|
851
|
656
|
-2.2 F
|
3.79"
|
3.86"
|
98%
|
Insects:
The major news over the last week has been the
insect activity. We had a rather large outbreak of Ataenius/Aphodius
grubs last week here at Golf House to go along with an earlier
outbreak in the southwest suburbs. . Initially we thought that
it was just localized dry spot, but a light tug on the turf
canopy revealed 10-20 Ataenius grubs per square inch
in some areas! The outbreaks were most noticeable and severe
on our Poa tee, but further observation yielded Ataenius
in greens, tees, and fairways. We haven't applied Merit yet
this season, and since it's not a really good knock down insecticide,
we applied Dylox to problem areas to stop the feeding immediately
(probably apply the Merit next week sometime).
The Japanese beetle - a harbringer of the bigger,
fatter grub - is making its presence known in central Illinois
and is just starting to emerge in northern Illinois. The JBs
have popped out of the ground as far north as Rockford now,
so all areas should be aware of and scout for damage to ornamentals.
See below for a table of trees and ornamentals that are some
of the favorite snacks of JBs.
Ornamental plants highly susceptible to
feeding by Japanese beetle adults.
|
Japanese maple
|
Norway maple
|
|
Gray birch
|
Horsechestnut
|
|
Black walnut
|
Sassafras
|
|
American elm
|
Althea
|
|
London planetree
|
Rose
|
|
Black cherry
|
Crab apple
|
|
American mountain ash
|
Lombardy poplar
|
|
Pussy willow
|
Lindens
|
A Merit timing note: The half life of Merit in
the soil is about 150 days, so the later you can apply it the
better it will work against the annual white grubs in August
and September. (Danger - going into theory & a little
forecasting here.) If we continue ahead of schedule for
insect emergence and problems, we may also find that annual
white grubs will also be a problem earlier - like mid August
instead of last years mid-September. In retrospect, this means
it's possible we could've applied Merit in late May -early June
and gotten control for both Ataenius and annual white
grubs. It's quite a stretch to try and control both, and it
probably won't work every year, but if things shake out according
to the pattern (and my theory) then it might be worth a try
in years with similar weather patterns.
Oddly, I have not heard many cutworm reports this
year, even from the central and southern regions (maybe they
don't fly as well in the 50 degree nights). One unique 'worm'
report I have heard is a major outbreak of armyworms on turf
in Harvard, Illinois. As the name implies, these larvae literally
"march" across turf when they reach large numbers,
eating every bit of green leaf and stem. This normally doesn't
kill the turf, because the crowns are not eaten, but can be
unsightly. These pests normally cause the most damage in fields
of wheat or sod farms, but they are currently in northeast Illinois
and might make their way up to Chicago. Click
here for the UIUC IPM newsletter report on armyworms.
Another pressing problem will continue to be the
mosquitoes. One form of cultural control is to try to alleviate
as many pools of water as possible, paying special attention
to clogged rain gutters, birdbaths, or any open container. Mosquitoes
can develop in as little as 4 days in a pool of water so vigilance
with this method of mosquito reduction is necessary. New 20th
century controls such as the mosquito magnet and light traps
are also available, but like anything make sure to check for
solid scientific evidence before you plunk a load of money into
one. Other than that, good ole' fashioned DEET insect repellant
may be the order of duty this year. For more information on
the mosquito, life cycle, and controls, go to www.mosquito.org
(seems that everything's got a website now).
Gypsy moth eggs are also starting to hatch in
northern Illinois, which means the "Slow the Spread"
program should get into full swing again. The first sprays with
Bacillus thurengensis kurstaki were started on May 17th
for larval control in DuPage, Kane, Will, and Lake counties,
and then a pheromone spray will follow in summer to disrupt
mating.
Diseases:
This may be the shortest disease section ever written, which
I'm sure is just the way you'd like it. The dry and cool conditions
have put a lid on most if not all of the Rhizoctonia outbreaks,
and also tempered the early rush of dollar spot severity. Fairy
rings, which really spiked in the last half of June, are still
hanging around but are also much less severe than earlier. With
the recent dry spell, the take-all patch symptoms are still
noticeable and a problem, so handwatering these areas will be
necessary.
Moss and Crabgrass:
The algae problems have gone away, but some areas
in Chicagoland are starting to see moss crank up on greens.
Some success for moss problems has been reported with fungicides
such as Junction (copper hydroxide and mancozeb), Daconil, Dithane,
Fore, and Iron Sulfate, as well as the baking soda and Dawn
mixtures.. One notable tank mix for moss control supplied by
Wayne Otto (via Les Rutan@Crystal Tree) is Spotrete @ 4.5 oz/1,000,
Echo (90% A.I) @ 5.7 lbs/A, & Dithane @ 4 oz/1,000 applied
on a 2 week schedule. A lot of chemical, but some guys swear
by it.
Crabgrass is really starting to become a problem
throughout some areas of northern Illinois. We have had good
success with quinclorac (Drive) on some of our problem areas,
but fenoxaprop (Acclaim) is also reported to have good post
emergent control.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
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
