The Drought Intensifies
Weather
The news is the drought that northern and much
of central Illinois is entrenched in. This summer has been
one of the driest on record thus far. Average statewide precipitation
for June as tabulated by the Illinois
Water Survey was only 2.26 inches or about 55% of normal
- 10th driest since 1895. A more staggering figure is the
accumulated rainfall from March - June (8.09 inches, or 53%
of normal), which is the 3rd driest on record after the dustbowl
year of 1936 and 1988. Many Illinois superintendents have
had much lower precipitation totals than these averages, as
is evidenced by the table below of collected IT data vs. the
norms. Some superintendents in northern Illinois worked with
only 9-11% of the normal precipitation for June!!
Rain Totals from IT Weather
Sites vs. NWS Normal Precipitation
|
Site
|
June total (inches)
|
Normal (inches)
|
% of Normal
|
April - June total (inches)
|
Normal (inches)
|
% of Normal
|
| Carbondale |
0.79
|
4.77
|
17%
|
5.85
|
14.00
|
42%
|
| Springfield |
2.24
|
3.77
|
59%
|
7.18
|
11.19
|
64%
|
| Peoria |
0.39
|
3.84
|
10%
|
3.28
|
11.57
|
28%
|
| Orland Park |
1.16
|
4.16
|
28%
|
4.61
|
11.84
|
39%
|
| Aurora |
0.83
|
3.63
|
23%
|
3.75
|
10.69
|
35%
|
| Naperville |
0.87
|
3.63
|
24%
|
5.06
|
10.69
|
47%
|
| Libertyville |
0.33
|
3.86
|
9%
|
5.36
|
10.38
|
52%
|
| N. Barrington |
0.39
|
3.63
|
11%
|
6.27
|
10.69
|
59%
|
An impressive run of heat has also come along
with the drought. Average Chicago temperatures were 6-7 degrees
F above normal in June, with 11 or more high temperatures
in the 90's. In contrast ALL of last year, Chicago only recorded
3 days in the 90's and this year most Chicagoland areas have
already recorded 15-20 days above 90 F (for
last year's newsletter & temperature info click here).
What a difference a month of heat can make as well! In the
table below, note how degree day accumulations have soared
above last year's levels (except in Springfield), whereas
at the beginning of June degree days were substantially behind.
|
2004 vs. 2005
Degree Day Comparison
|
| |
June 9th
|
July 6th
|
|
Location
|
2005 DDs
|
2004 DDs
|
Differential
|
2005 DDs
|
2004 DDs
|
Differential
|
| Springfield |
852
|
992
|
- 140
|
1503
|
1541
|
-38
|
| Peoria |
884
|
974
|
-90
|
1596
|
1530
|
+ 66
|
| Naperville |
620
|
666
|
-46
|
1277
|
1155
|
+ 122
|
| Aurora |
617
|
738
|
-121
|
1265
|
1227
|
+38
|
| N. Barrington |
493
|
557
|
-64
|
1036
|
949
|
+ 87
|
The first 10 days of July have not done us any favors
as far as letting up on this current weather pattern.
The drought is now at an "extreme" level for
much of northern Illinois including Chicago, Rockford,
Moline, Peoria, and Bloomington while the rest of the
state is in a "severe" to moderate stage (click
here to see the US drought monitor map). The
only area that will get a reprieve from the drought
will be the southern Illinois/Carbondale area that will
see as much as 6 inches to a foot of rain from former
Hurricane Dennis. Unfortunately, forecasts indicate
that the tropical storm will not make it to northern
Illinois with much more than a sprinkle, making the
next best chance for rain not until early next week
(July 18th or 19th). Governor Blagojevich has activated
a Drought Response Task Force on July 7th, and if things
continue on this path he may have to declare a state
of disaster for Illinois farmers and crops.
|
Water
This normally would not get a section all its
own, but this year it certainly deserves it. Some quotes I
have taken from a few northern Illinois superintendents:
"I used 12 million gallons of water in
June... and some of my roughs are still dormant."
"My system pumps out 1200 gallons a minute and my well
can refill the pond at 400. Do the math."
"I've gotten an unofficial total of zero rainfall for
the entire month of June; those guys with a whole 3 tenths
were lucky.. I might bale hay out of my roughs for some extra
cash."
A SK note written last year by Dr. Karl Danneberger
from Ohio State University (click
here to see entire article) outlines some of
the basic pointers when watering in this kind of year.
- Check the root system depth. As soil
temperatures increase root growth decreases. Once average
soil temperatures exceed 75 F the potential exists for a 50%
loss in the root system. Restricted root system changes your
watering practices.
· Check soil moisture content.
Equipment (ex. tensiometer) is available to measure soil moisture,
which some may have. Many however rely on observation and
"feel". One method is to check soil moisture with
a soil probe or a similar type devise (ex. golf club shaft).
If the core taken crumbles easily, this may be an indication
that water is needed. If the core maintains its integrity
and feels cool adequate moisture is present. During this time
of the year checking soil moisture should be done several
times a day.
- Check environmental conditions. Sunny,
low humidity days are conducive for promoting high evapotranspiration
rates. Cloudy high humidity days tend to have low evapotranspiration
rates. Also windy or breezy days can increase the evapotranspiration
rates. This is a point to keep in mind when using fans on
greens. By promoting air movement on these greens, you also
promote transpiration.
 |
· Check what the plant looks like.
Turfgrass plants begin to show moisture stress by their
leaf orientation. As the moisture stress progresses, the
leaf blade itself begins to fold and then roll (see diagram).
This sometimes is difficult to see on closely mowed putting
greens but if you can still see the folding. When the
turf wilts it also appears a bluish color. This is a good
indicator that moisture needs to be applied. The only
caution is with regard to annual bluegrass. It might be
a slight exaggeration, but on annual bluegrass that blue
phase lasts about 2 seconds and then the turf goes brown. |
· Check your irrigation systems distribution
and capacity. During drought conditions, ones irrigation
system shows its efficiency. Check the water distribution
from the sprinklers around a green or fairway by placing cans
in a grid across the turf and then measuring how much water
is in each can. This will tell you the amount of water being
provided in a given time and also the distribution. For more
information see the article by Miller et al. in the August
2003 issue of Golf Course Management entitled "How uniform
is coverage from your irrigation system"? I would suggest
checking distribution and volume delivered during the time
you plan to use the irrigation system.
· Check who is hand watering.
Hand watering has become a popular means for watering golf
course turf during the summer. This is an extremely important
job and the people doing it should be "paying attention"
when watering.
Diseases
One thing positive about the drought is that
disease severity has been generally mild this year. Although
we have been kept on our toes by the array of different diseases
we've seen, most outbreaks have been localized as opposed
to widespread over a large area. Dollar spot complaints have
paled in comparison to last year. There still are a few spotty
reports but for the most part the 90 degree days have kept
the dollar spot pressure down. Pythium, which normally would
love the heat, is also not as severe as it could be because
of the lack of moisture. There was some Pythium activity in
hot spots in late June, with one superintendent exclaiming,
"I have Pythium in my low spots and LDS in my high spots!"
Since the only avenue for moisture has been irrigation, I
have often wondered about the amount and types of Pythium
and other water molds that are present in holding ponds.
The biggest issue on many superintendents' minds
is the increase of fairy rings on greens in the last two years.
Most of these fairy rings are of the Type II variety (lush
green rings), but even those tend to seal off water, and can
cause a burnt out ring in this kind of climate. The basidiomycetes
that cause fairy rings also commonly bloom and cause puffballs
or other mushrooms that can affect ball roll & playability.
Unfortunately, fairy rings are very difficult if not impossible
to control with fungicides because there are a myraid of different
basidiomycete fungi that cause them, and these fungi can be
present at different levels in the soil profile. One theory
is that the rise in fairy rings is attributable to the wearing
off of previously used mercuric fungicides. Whatever the reason,
they are here en masse for a second year in a row, and becoming
quite the nuisance.
Fairy rings, like this one, have been big nuisances this summer.
(Mouseover) Lycoperdon puffballs or other mushrooms can also
be a problem associated with fairy rings.
Some data from PACE labs in California suggest
fungicide control with a strobilurin (Insignia, Compass, or
Heritage) or ProStar can be enhanced by adding a wetting agent
such as Primer or Respond. One superintendent I've talked
to has followed this recipe with some success: 1) hydroject
1st day, 2) apply wetting agent 2nd day, 3) apply ProStar
third day. A few superintendents in southern Illinois are
also noting success with Heritage + Aqueduct applications.
As noted previously, the problem is that the fungi causing
fairy rings can differ not only between regions, but also
from one course to the next. If these treatments are ineffective,
masking the rings with fertility or trying to core aerify
and distort the ring may be the only recourse.
Last year, the word through the grapevine was
that some superintendents were also trying Endorse, (which
is labeled to have activity on other basidiomycetes like brown
patch and large patch), or a surfactant/solvent called OARS
(organic acid removal system). Neither Randy or I have or
can find any data that confirms or denies the effectiveness
of these treatments, so if you have tried them and have any
comments please forward them on to us. Randy and I have just
initiated a fairy ring test here at Golf House with several
fungicide combinations with Revolution. Fairy ring tests are
not the easiest to run because of the sporadic nature of symptom
development, but hopefully we will get some useful results
from this one.
I have also heard of guys trying to extract
soil from two rings, mixing it together and then putting the
mix back in each of the two dug out areas. Other superintendents
are trying to just exchange cup cutter sized turf from the
margins of two different rings. The thought is that the fungi
are antagonistic and the next year will erase the ring pattern
caused by the dominant fungus. There are conflicting reports
on whether this works to control the rings the following year.
It would be interesting to see if aerifying and dragging the
cores around to fill up the holes might also work rather than
filling them completely with new sand.
Rhizoctonia rings also hung around a little bit
longer than expected in the heat of June. In late June we received
two calls from the northern lakefront about yellow rings on
Poa annua. Our first thought with this heat was summer patch,
but in fact the infected plants were loaded with R. zeae which
normally hits in milder temperatures in early spring.
Insects
There has been a lot of bird pecking activity
in the last few days here at Golf House and also at a number
of other courses throughout Chicagoland. This is actually
biocontrol at its finest, although the grass is suffering
some damage because of it. Most of the activity has been limited
to tees and fairways, and we think the birds are going after
the ugly little critter pictured above. This is a black cutworm
pupating into a moth, and this picture was sent from a course
near Cary, IL that is seeing hundreds of them. Evidently they
wiggle quite a lot when in this phase of their life cycle,
and get quite plump and juicy. The birds (mostly starlings)
really can't resist them, and don't let the grass get in their
way. If you scroll your mouse over the picture you can see
where some enterprising birds used our plot corners as an
easier access point to their dinner.
Control options to minimize the bird damage
are Deltagard, Dylox, or other insecticides that attack foliar
feeding insects. Previously applied Merit will not work because
this is not a grub problem. Even the insecticides listed above
may not work very well if the cutworms are in this pupal stage
because they are not actively feeding. We are observing cutworm
and sod webworm feeding activity in several areas though,
so it seems like we are stuck in the middle of a 2nd generation
for these insects.
Most of the Merit or other grub targeted insecticide
has been put down, and activity from black turfgrass ataenius
grubs has been low. We did get a report of some activity in
Peoria and also have some still here at Golf House, but these
are in areas where no Merit has been applied.
Weeds
Crabgrass has really taken root in areas where
no preemergence herbicide was used. The picture above is on
our low-mow Kentucky bluegrass plot here at Golf House. We
really did this on purpose, (at least that is what we tell
everyone), to see which variety does the best job of crowding
out weeds. At this point, post-emergence herbicides like Acclaim,
Drive or Dimension are the only options. There are some differences
between these post-emergents that should be noted. Acclaim
doesn't work well in drought conditions, can cause discoloration
to bluegrass, and is not as effective when the crabgrass is
at a mature stage. Dimension's post emergence activity actually
leads to a longer window for applying in the late spring early
summer as it doesn't work very well past an intermediate stage
of crabgrass. That leaves Drive, which has a niche as working
best on mature stages of crabgrass. It should be applied when
the soil is moist, but should not be irrigated or rained on
for at least 6- 12 hours after application. To read more postemergence
crabgrass recommendations, click
here for a great article in Turfgrass Trends written by Dr.
John Street from Ohio State University.
++++++++++++++++++++++
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
