REIMAN GARDENS SEEDING PROJECT

Nick Christians
11/20/12
nchris@iastate.edu

The ISU turf club did a major seeding project at Iowa State's Reiman Gardens this fall.  There were areas of the bluegrass on top of the play mounds and along the lake that were either warn by traffic or thinned by the drought.  They are trying turf-type tall fescue on these areas.  The seeding took place on August 30.  I have included some pictures of the seeded areas from November 17 showing the success that they had with establishment. 

I'll watch this area through next season and let you know how the turf-type tall fescues are doing on the site.

 Figures 1 and 2.  Seeding around the lake on August 30.  The area had been sprayed with Roundup a few days before seeding.

Figures 3 and 4.  Seeding the top of the play mounds that get a lot of wear.

Figures  5 and 6.  Areas are coming in well on November 11.  The area around the lake is non-irrigated.  It will be interesting to see how the mounds hold up next season.

UNUSUAL RYEGRASS??

Unusual Ryegrass?

Dr. Dave Minner, Iowa State University

We have been noticing some unusual areal shoots on what looks to be perennial ryegrass and we would like to hear from you if you have noticed anything like this at your facility. The pictures are from a football field in central Iowa.  The field is a mixture of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass that has been infiltrated with some patches of K-31 type tall fescue.  Over the last three years it has been seeded with a mixture of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass.  The ryegrass component was made up of GLS (Grey Leaf Spot) type ryegrass and Tetraploid Turf-Type ryegrass.  Our intent is to simply determine if others have observed this type of growth and if you consider it to be a positive or negative type of turf performance.

Please contact either myself or Andrew Hoiberg if you have seen anything like this:

Dave Minner (dminner@iastate.edu) (515-231-1741)
Andrew Hoiberg (android@iastate.edu)

 Thanks for your help.

YELLOW PATCH ON SEEDLING TURF

Nick Christians and Spencer Nelson
November 16, 2012

Last week, Spencer Nelson, one of our undergraduates, brought a picture to me of a disease on creeping bentgrass seedlings from the new Iowa State University Golf Performance Center south of Ames, IA.  The bent had been seeded approximately a month before the picture was taken.  The disease looked like Yellow Patch, a cool temperature disease caused by Rhizoctonia cerealis.   He took a sample to the Iowa State Plant Disease Clinic and had pathologist Erica Saalau-Rojas grow it out on agar plates. 

Erica was able to confirm that it was a Rhizoctonia organism, but was not able to confirm that it was cerealis.  It is highly likely that it is cerealis, given the time of year and the appearance of the patches on the turf.

I was in Chicago this week for a golf course superintendent's meeting at Medinah Country Club.  One of the subjects that came up at the meeting was that they are also seeing Yellow Patch on seedling bentgrass in the Chicago area.

Here is some information from Spencer on what he saw and what was applied to control the disease.

A patch disease has developed on seedling creeping bentgrass at the new Iowa State Golf Performance Center just south of Ames. The patches are showing up in bentgrass seedlings of four different cultivars in both USGA greens and native soil fairways. The 4 bentgrass cultivars are V-8, L-93, 007, and an Alpha/T-1 blend.  The patches are between six and twelve inches in diameter with a yellow border. The foliage inside the ring is mostly purple.

Initially the patches were small and yellow with little to no purple and were believed to be a fertility problem. As the patches grew a fungal problem became a more evident diagnosis. The second assumption was Yellow Patch, Rhizoctonia cerealis. Samples were taken to the ISU Pathology lab for identification. Before the results were back from the lab, the area was treated with Instrata(chlorothalonil, fludioxonil, and propiconazole). The pathology lab confirmed the diagnosis of Rhizoctonia spp.  

Figure 1.  Is the Yellow Patch symptoms as they appeared on November 7, 2012.

Figures 2 and 3 are microscopic pictures of the organism that was grown on agar media at the ISU Plant Disease Clinic.  The hyphae show the septa and the classic right angle branching with the pinched appearance at the right angle of a Rhizoctonia.

QUACKGRASS WAS THE BIG WINNER IN DROUGHT

Nick Christians
November 13, 2012

Quackgrass (Elymus repens) is known for its long clasping auricles and its extensive rhizome system.  It is one of the most persistent and difficult to control weeds in cool-season lawns.  Rhizomes give this species an ecological advantage over other grasses during extended dry periods.  While Kentucky bluegrass also has a rhizome system, quackgrass has a more extensive system and will out compete Kentucky bluegrass in dry years.

This was the case in this year's drought in the Midwest.  Lawns went through an extended period of dormancy that in many areas lasted for months.  This fall, we are seeing Kentucky bluegrass lawns recover. But wherever there was quackgrass in the lawn, it has gained an even bigger foothold.

Last week, I was asked to look at a lawn that one of my students cares for through his lawn care service.  It had been a mostly Kentucky bluegrass lawn up to this year, but following the drought, nearly everything that is recovering is quackgrass from the rhizome system.

Roundup will kill it, but the problem is that Roundup generally does not translocate through the entire rhizome system.  When you reseed, there is always some living rhizome tissue and quackgrass returns.  I generally recommend repeated applications of Roundup, followed by sodding.  Even that extreme treatment generally fails, however, and the quackgrass returns.

Figure 1.  Long clasping auricles of quackgrass.

 Figure 2.   Quackgrass rhizomes.

Figure 3.  Lawn in central Iowa that is nearly all quackgrass following the drought of 2012.

GRUBS FEEDING IN NOVEMBER IN CENTRAL IOWA

Nick Christians
November 11, 2010
nchris@iastate.edu

Here is another post from Larry Ginger of "American Lawn Care" in Des Moines.  Larry has been keeping us updated on late grub damage and fall seeding on lawns that he manages.  Below are some pictures from Pleasant Hill, Ia showing active grubs on November 9.  I am going to have to change my teaching notes on this.  Generally the grubs have burrowed deep underground by this time, but here they are in November.

Larry also reports an 800% increase in his fall seeding business.  He is using a three-way blend of Falcon IV, Five Point and Six Point turf-type tall fescues.  He will send us some pictures of newly seeded lawns next week.

I have also been seeding areas that had been established to Kentucky bluegrass in the past, but were lost to the drought this summer.  I have tried turf-type tall fescues as well in some areas and will report the success with this next season.  My main concern is how well they will blend with the Kentucky bluegrass remaining on the area.


Figure 1.  Active grub on November 9 in central Iowa.

Figure 2.  Grub damage.

Nick Christians
Nov. 11, 2012
nchris@iastate.edu

Dr. David Minner from the ISU Horticulture department has been missing two Clegg Impact testers for the last 3 years.  They are used to measure the hardness of surfaces, such as sports fields.  They were likely lent to someone out there who still has them on the shelf and has forgotten where they came from.  If anyone has seen them, please let Dave or myself know.  

Here is a statement from Dr. Minner:

I am looking for a missing yellow or red Clegg Impact Tester that is used to determine athletic field hardness.  The device is shown below and will have either a 0.5 lb plastic hammer or a 1 or 5 lb steel hammer.  A hammer is just a cylinder that is dropped through the PVC tube and may be attached to a wire or metal “T” handle. The digital read out box may be in a separate padded box and both may be in a canvas carry bag.  They are pictured below.

David D. Minner, Professor

Extension Turfgrass Specialist

EARTH Program Co–coordinator, USVI

Horticulture Department

Ames, IA 50011

(o) 515.294.5726

(c) 515.231.1741

(f) 515.294.0730