Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -
Yes! Augtember is what a friend of mine typed from Georgia the other day. Well, I liked it! And it spoke volumes - a period of cool tempertures has taken hold across a majority of the country. Dramatic. Yes, dramatic when you think about how it has followed the warmest July or how about the warmest month ever recorded in the United States? Yet, we didn't exactly know how to handle it at first - this new month of Augtember. It would catch us a little by surprise - at midday we found plants were still screaming for water. The lesson? Cool temperatures do not equate to an immediate return of plant health or a Houdini-like return of things like roots. But now, two weeks into this wondrous weather, we are beginning to see some nice things happen.
Bentgrass greens with restricted air movement are finally looking good again - deep green color without chlorotic patches. Poa greens without roots are finally on the move - and that would be down! There is only word that best describes this technical physiological aspect of new root growth for Poa annua var. reptans. Yes! On the turf disease front, a favorite category, we are not seeing much. Daily reports from superintendents are sounding lack luster? "Disease pressure has been very low and there isn't much to report on that front." Or how about our current discourse on Augtember's weather? "45 degrees last night! It must be September!! Just a few more degrees and we would be having a frost." End of summer in 2012 and all I can say is Yes!
Click here to view the August 24, 2012 Scouting Report.
Enjoy a warm summer weekend feel... even has a pinch of humidity!
Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
630-685-2307
dsettle@cdga.org
Weather Blog
Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
630-685-2310
tsibicky@cdga.org
Research Blog
Greens: Only the collars and the outside edge of the green will be done on September 4th. The full greens aeration will take place on October 8th.
Tees: Tees will be done gradually throughout the fall. We have already started the practice tees, and will begin the tees on the course shortly.
Fairways: We will taking the same approach with the fairways as we are with the tees. We will continue to work on them as time, golf and weather allow.
Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -
A wondrous forecast came true. So, since August began, soil temperatures have now gradually fallen by about 10 degrees. We are now patiently waiting to see more than just roothairs on roots, normal potential of root length is needed. On golf green surfaces our two turf species are trying but both are still reeling after July. Intense daily turfgrass wear, especially near the hole, isn't helping either. Bentgrass is as shallow rooted as we've seen, 2 to 3 inches deep isn't uncommon. Meanwhile Poa annua is as fragile as it always can be with current roots as shallow as 0.25 to 1 inch. Though I haven't complained often enough about Poa - bentgrass physiological decline got a neon light in 2012 - it doesn't mean we weren't frustrated. Poa's difficulty centers around its lack of temperature extreme tolerance, also known as a genetic inability to maintain robust roots.
Those who maintain greens often say working with Poa is more of an art than that of true plant science (used to make me chafe). However, after last weekend I learned of such art through a single lesson! On a bright cloud-free Saturday afternoon a wilt event would shock Chicago's rootless Poa greens. Humidity levels dropped rapidly requiring immediate midday handwatering. After that Art Institute visit it became clear we were not completely out of the deep end. In 2012 we treaded water longer than usual (March's rapid greenup to now). August has become a good father or mother with an outstreached arm in the pool, a brief rest as we swim in from the deep end.
Click here to view the August 17, 2012 Scouting Report.
Enjoy your weekend during a GREAT August.
Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
630-685-2307
dsettle@cdga.org
Weather Blog
Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
630-685-2310
tsibicky@cdga.org
Research Blog
Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -
Recovery. So now we can say it, because it is over (peak midsummer heat). July, 2012 will be remembered as one of the worst summer months for growing things like turf - ever. It turned out to be the hottest July ever, as well as the hottest month EVER for our entire country (since 1895). Week to week, what we saw and felt on golf courses was bad, but it was much worse in other situations where automatic irrigation is not the norm. In Illinois, the phrase "total crop loss" was heard. Our farmland in central and southern Illinois would witness odd looking cornfields which were stunted and wilted on a backdrop of powder dry, hard soils having developed large, deep cracks. For city dwellers it was watching our lush urban landscape take a big hit - Chicago's golf courses just survived one of the most extreme summer seasons ever (1988 hot with drought; 1995 hot with humidity). However, often forgotten is that this summer of mayham represents 3-in-a-row. Our two preceding summers were also out of control (2010 and 2011 hot with floods).
Such super-hot weather is maybe only seen once or twice in a lifetime - we hope! It makes managing plant health both challenging and memorable. But it's over. As I write, an entire morning of cool air follows a day of cool rain. Our extended forecast is for more of the same. If you happen to manage cool-season turf... this turn of events is just what the doctor ordered. Yes!
Click here to view the August 10, 2012 Scouting Report.
Enjoy every morning of jacket wearing this weekend = a summer scorched landscape is now on the mend.
Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
630-685-2307
dsettle@cdga.org
Weather Blog
Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
630-685-2310
tsibicky@cdga.org
Research Blog
We were able to get video of the cicada killer with a paralyzed cicada.
Here is another video. This one is from 2010 and shows the wasp burrowing.
Chicago/Northern Illinois Update: Derek Settle -
As we enter August, 2012 a choral breath of relief was heard. July had ended having broken records (super hot and super dry). Some things we already knew but others we would learn and relearn. It is actually three summer seasons in a row that went beyond the norm for golf courses. In itself that is an unprecedented fact. Both 2010 and 2011 were hot and humid with unusally ripe conditions for the varied fungal diseases of turf. In 2012 the heat just plain leveled plant physiology and we have yet to see recovery from golf greens, our most intensively managed turf system. A most telling quote of the week for me "They're on the edge like most of us this week."
Initially 2012 reminded us of 2005, then it was 1988 or 1995 and finally for some, 75+ years ago. Unusally warm early, then especialy dry and hot, if you happen to live in central or southern Illinois the magnitude of the current heat and drought resembles 1936, something Dr. Bruce Branham researched with turf in mind. In return lessons were hard-earned. On greens we saw our weak and rootless Poa wilt every midday (sometimes twice). We saw physiological decline of creeping bentgrass, especially given limited air movement. We spoke a cautionary note if greens were "vented", needletine aeration was surprisingly and suddenly too aggressive. A green's fact of life spoke volumes. Fewer and fewer roots held surfaces down for routine/beneficial plant health practices. Please be aware roots in Illinois have yet to recover in 2012. We are waiting...
Click here to view the August 3, 2012 Scouting Report.
Have a good weekend and next week's forecast 80s/60s is just plain good!
Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
630-685-2307
dsettle@cdga.org
Weather Blog
Timothy A. Sibicky, MS
Manager of Turfgrass Research
630-685-2310
tsibicky@cdga.org
Research Blog
