The fairways have be all different colors this spring with the weather we are having. This picture shows what a few spots in the fairway look like now. The bentgrass is off color with yellow/brown leaf tips, while the annual bluegrass is green. We assumed it was a combination of the several frosts we received last week along the dry conditions we had. We asked Dr. Settle from the CDGA to look at these areas and give us his opinion.
Dr. Settle was here yesterday and looked these spots and agreed it was likely a result of the frosts that we received. This is why the bentgrass is brown, and not the annual bluegrass. Annual bluegrass will tolerate the cooler temperatures better than the bentgrass. Dr. Settle also added that mechanical damage could be a cause of what we are seeing. The worst of these areas are in locations of the fairway that receive a lot of traffic. The cold nights with frost will stop the grass from growing. This will delay its recovery from mowing, or cart traffic. With some warmer nighttime temperatures this week, we expect the grass to begin growing out of it.
There were no obvious symptoms of disease in these areas but Dr. Settle did take this sample to try and isolate a pathogen.
These are the leaves out of the sample. You can see the yellow/brown tips on the leaf blades.
The leaf blades set up on petri dishes in an effort to identify a pathogen.
0 comments:
Post a Comment