Tag: Super Science

Off-type grasses in ultradwarf bermudagrass greens

March 12, 2019 By Eric Reasor, Ph.D.

Golf course superintendents have reported issues with off-type grasses in ultradwarf bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon x C. transvaalensis) putting greens over the past several years. These “weedy” grasses have disrupted putting green aesthetics and surface uniformity (Figure 1). Fundamentally, off-type grasses ...

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Effects of monthly urea applications (Photo: Emily Braithwaite)

Microdochium patch disease development

March 12, 2019 By Brian McDonald, Alec Kowalewski, Ph.D., Clint Mattox and Emily Braithwaite

Microdochium patch (Microdochium nivale) can severely damage annual bluegrass turf when it’s cool and wet for long periods. This disease has been controlled with fungicides, but applications of urea to reduce wear from golfer traffic have been known to incite ...

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Annual bluegrass weevils (Photo: Charles Mazel)

Mowing down weevils

March 7, 2019 By Ben McGraw, Ph.D.

Many turfgrass managers in northeastern North America would rather forget the 2018 growing season. Record-breaking rainfall throughout the region affected most aspects of turfgrass management, including insect pest control. The annual bluegrass weevil (ABW), Listronotus maculicollis, is one insect pest ...

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Annual bluegrass weevil damage (Photo: Katherine Diehl)

A lesser of two weevils?

February 26, 2019 By James Murphy, Ph.D., Mathew Elmore, Ph.D., Katherine H. Diehl and Albrecht M. Koppenhöfer, Ph.D.

The annual bluegrass weevil (ABW) can inflict severe damage on annual bluegrass (Poa annua) fairways, greens and collars. Because the ABW showcases a strong preference for annual bluegrass over creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera), we hypothesized that manipulating traditional insecticide programs ...

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Cool-season fairway species (Photo: Cale Bigelow)

Midwest cool-season fairway water requirements

January 31, 2019 By Cale A. Bigelow, Ph.D. and Jada Powlen

Fairways are some of the largest areas of irrigated golf course turf. Although regions like the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast (where creeping bentgrass is widely used) are considered “humid,” acute drought can persist for weeks. Combine drought with water scarcity ...

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Leaf spot disease symptoms (Photo: Maria Tomaso-Peterson)

Leaf spot and dollar spot on ultradwarf bermudagrass greens

January 22, 2019 By Phillip L. Vines and Maria Tomaso-Peterson, Ph.D.

Ultradwarf bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon x C. transvaalensis) is the predominant putting green turf in the southern U.S. This grass, however, produces profuse amounts of thatch, which leads to increased disease pressure from leaf spot (Figure 1), caused by Bipolaris cynodontis, ...

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