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
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