You Are Here: Management Updates 2000 Archive July 7, 2000

Date: July 7, 2000
Category: Diseases
Subject: Dollar Spot , Fairy Ring, Anthracnose, Take-All, Leptosphaerulina

The pleasant weather is a welcome change from this time last year. The typical early summer diseases are commonly seen. DOLLAR SPOT remains active. Many golf courses are noticing FAIRY RING on greens, even where it has not been observed before. As long as the rings remain green, they are just a nuisance. Browning along the green rings should receive immediate attention: wetting agents, spiking, hand watering. ANTHRACNOSE continues to be present in compacted, wet greens with heavy traffic. TAKE-ALL PATCH is a common problem in new bentgrass areas.

You are likely to see LEPTOSPHAERULINA BLIGHT in fairways and higher cut turf areas. It is mostly a tip blight and forms numerous brown pseudothecia (fruiting bodies filled with spores). It rarely causes any significant damage, but it can make turf look unsightly until the infected tips are mowed away. It is easy to find in turf in the summer and does not require fungicide control in most cases. It usually occurs during short term stress periods and disappears on its own.

Be on the watch for BROWN PATCH in the coming weeks. It can occur in warm to hot, wet weather and prefers well fertilized turf. Avoid largeapplications of quick release nitrogen until we are past potential periods of hot weather. Brown patch is most common on ryegrass lawns and bentgrass putting greens, but also affects other lawn turf species. It often occurs where lawns are overwatered, watered late in the day, and/or in closed-in areas where the grass takes a long time to dry out.

- Submitted by: Dr. Gail Schumann