Turfgrass management is an art and a science. Today I would like to share with you the science side of disease identification of turfgrass. Many factors are evaluated when determining the cause of turf decline or stress.
1. Turf Species (Ryegrass/Bentgrass)
2. Weather Pattern (Temps/Rain/Humidity)
3. Preventive Spray Schedule (Timing)
4. Cultural Practices (Vertical Cutting/Aerification/Topdressing etc.)
Years of experience provide superintendents with the visual first glance assessment of disease diagnosis, but the microscope is the most reliable identification method.
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| Dissecting Microscope |
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| Compound Microscope |
We've experienced some blighting on a few fairways (1W/8W/2R) over the past couple days. Our preventive plant protectant application was applied 10 days ago and the weather is starting to hit it's summer stride. Today, a supplemental fungicide application was applied to these fairways to control the cause of this disease.
The disease we are targeting is Bipolaris Leaf Spot. This was confirmed by utilizing microscopic identification.
We will continue to treat the affected areas until total control is achieved.
