GROUNDS | JON URBANSKI, DIRECTOR OF GOLF COURSES AND GROUNDS
When we look at the next month, we will continue to steady the ship as we did in July. One of our themes is to not allow a minor mistake to turn into a huge headache. This could be as simple as mowing an unintended area and scalping the turf. August presents unique challenges with heat and humidity, but we will actively manage the conditions to keep the grounds in excellent condition. The climatic conditions of the last month have been wet and humid. As of penning this update, we have received over 7.23 inches of rain. With this moisture and overnight temps well into the 70s or above, you have all you need for extreme fungal development. Our fine turf surfaces (greens, tees, and fairways) are doing well along with roughs within our spray program pattern. We have managed to keep most of the summer diseases at bay. However, you wander into areas in the roughs not protected with fungicides, you will certainly encounter brown patch (primary host is tall fescue), and in low lying areas, pythium. While we normally do not see the development of brown patch on greens, pythium certainly could occur if a downpour were to befall followed by intense humidity. It is because of this, our sprayers have not run dry, applying on 7-day intervals to ward off the most damaging summer diseases. With the amount of rain sustained to this point, a total of over 20 inches since April 1st, we have seen our pre-emergent applications for grassy weeds break down due to the material washing through the soil profile. It has been a struggle of late to address pests such as crabgrass and goosegrass due to the high possibility of disease development. As soon as we get through a fungicide application, it is either too wet in the roughs to get sprayers out to address the breakthrough, or it is too hot to apply herbicides. If temps are above 82 degrees, the risk of turf burn is elevated due to the make-up of the herbicides (this is another example of making a minor mistake turning into a huge headache). Furthermore, the rain accumulation in April and May, where all root development occurs and is critical for survival in the summer months, is now beginning to display areas where roots did not dive deep into the soil to search for moisture. With the more than regular precipitation patterns of these two spring months, the plant was receiving regular water applications from Mother Nature. For our purposes, we hope for a dry spring for roots to dive deep and allow our pre-emergents to have enough residual product in the soil to lessen the incidence of grassy weeds until late August when these turf varieties naturally weaken and post emergent herbicides are more effective.
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