Hot Weather Requiring Extra Watering

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If I were a corn grower right now, I'd be loving this hot weather! But I'm not, I live turfgrass, and it's sort of ironic that they classify the grass in this region of America, cool season turfgrass. Corn is a monocot also, but it loves really hot days. Turfgrass not so much. 

 

Yes, that's me in my in-laws cornfield a couple of weeks ago. They are Bill and Sharon Wintz of Milford, Iowa, and as you can see, they have a beautiful piece of America's heartland. They tell me you can almost see the corn growing on a real hot day. The classification of cool season turfgrass for our area is correct though, as we're growing grasses that grow best in cooler temperatures. 

 

This extra hot weather we're experiencing now, increases the need for irrigation of our turfgrass. We would prefer not to water as much as we've been forced to, as playing conditions and the health of the grass are both compromised. Soft greens occur when we have to cool the turf during the day, and roots actually become shallower and weaker with the constant availability of water at the surface. Each time we've attempted to withhold water for the sake of playing conditions recently, it's come back to bite us, with wilt occurring in the hot afternoons. 

 

We're between a rock and a hard place, as the surface needs to be cooled, but the soils beneath are already saturated. Unfortunately no one wins under these conditions. We are also nursing along certain areas on greens right now that are suffering from a number of damaging conditions, including poor surface drainage, poor water percolation, weak roots, shade, and increased traffic levels. Turfgrass thrives in temperatures between 55 and 75 degrees, and we're well beyond that right now. Our turfgrass will hold up though in the majority of areas on the course and the course will continue to play nicely. 

 

We are evaluating some of the weakest areas on greens this summer, and determining what steps or procedures we can take to alleviate any poor conditions that exist that is contributing to the decline of turfgrass. Glass half full, as we will improve these areas once more favorable weather arrives and we determine the correct cultural methods to alleviate some the detrimental things occurring in those areas.

Japanese Beetles Attack Minnesota Valley

Over ths past week, thousands of adult Japanese Beetles have appeared on the golf course. Some of these emerged from the ground right here on the course, and some flew in from other areas. As I drove out to the course two mornings ago, one flew right into my lip. I lucked out and didn't swallow it.

These are true pests to golf courses and need to be controlled when they reach large populations. They can damage leaves on trees and shrubs by chewing on them, leaving a skeletonized look to the leaves. They also love to deposit their eggs into turfgrass, where in a very short time, the eggs turn into grubs which chew on the roots of the grass.

We started seeing more of them two years ago, and in 2010 their populations grew to the point where we had to make applications of insecticide to protect our plants. We made a preventative application on all greens several weeks ago, which should give us good residual activity. An application to tees and fairways will be made in the latter part of July, targeting the very young grub stage of the insect. We will also be making an application to some of the trees on the course where we see large numbers of them. They especially like to chew on elm, linden, apple, and some Maple trees, and also reside in many evergreens such as white pine.

You'll see them on the course right now in clumps, especially on fairways. They are mating, and the female will lay up to 60 eggs in one season in several locations. It's best to target reducing the very young grubs which result from the egg hatch which normally happens in late July. They are identified by their metallic colored overcoat, of which is green around the head and a golden brown on the rear. They do not bite, but try not to swallow any, I don't think that would be any fun!