Spring well ahead of schedule; the madness of spring irrigation on lawns; soilborne diseases on putting greens over winter; status of dollar spot and soilborne disease prevention on golf greens. …Read more about April 13, 2026: Spring Marching into Madness[Read More]
Drought impacting lawns for a variety of reasons ; dollar spot resurgence on creeping bentgrass and Kentucky bluegrass; scalping and decline in relation to nitrate spikes on putting greens. …Read more about September 25, 2025: On a Bumpy Mend[Read More]
Summer patch hits hard in early August; fall rust outbreaks causing orange shoes; cool temperatures allowing a head start on recovery plans. …Read more about August 26, 2025: Cool Breeze Offers Some Ease[Read More]
Pervasive and disease conducive environment; newly grassed bentgrass green issues; basal rot anthracnose on Poa annua and creeping bentgrass; dollar spot and brown patch still rampaging; Lawn Care Diagnostic Training; New Zoysiagrass Field Day Weather Like a boulder chasing down Indiana Jones, the stressful conditions of this summer have been relentlessly pursuing cool-season turfgrass health….Read more about July 30, 2025: The Fuel & The Fire[Read More]
Heat & high ET = droughty lawns; brown patch prevalent on irrigated lawns; dollar spot hitting bentgrass fairways with force & lurking on Kentucky bluegrass; 2025 field day in the books; brief pause in turfgrass diagnostic services * Turfgrass diagnostics will be taking a necessary hiatus from July 10-21. We will be attending the Olympics…Read more about July 9, 2025: Rhizattackin’[Read More]
Early summer storms; preparation for impending heat wave; brown patch and leaf spot arrival; zoysia/bermudagrass winterkill and disease activity Weather Yesterday’s storms produced a wallop in the region, with extreme winds felling trees and lodging corn. A wet first half of June followed a May with extreme rainfall in the south (Lexington, KY – 4th…Read more about June 19, 2025: Storms before the Storm[Read More]
Dollar spot off and racing; Irrigation = Ascochyta blight; Seedheads draining lawn health; Mind mowing decks and blades to reduce clipping issues. Weather In April 2025, Indiana as a whole had the 30th warmest temperature and 10th most precipitation on record over 131 years of weather data. Indianapolis was 2.5 F above average, and the…Read more about May 21, 2025: Engines Running[Read More]
Excessive and in some cases, abusive rainfall amounts; keys to soggy turfgrass management; winter injury potential causes and recovery, red thread, spring golf disease prevention Weather Spring, which officially started on March 20, is rolling along, and into mid-April temperatures in the region are ahead of statistical normal, but lagging somewhat behind last year. I…Read more about April 16, 2025: Muddy Waters[Read More]
Plan for recovery when the heat passes. Brown patch on tall fescue rages on. Silent summer patch pathogen infection roars to life. Complicated leaf spot pathogens one of the stories of the season. Weather The last occurrence of seven days in a row of…Read more about August 28,2024: Last Spark of Summer[Read More]
2024 Disease Season reaches its height; recovering from abiotic stresses; perennial ryegrass declines quickly; dollar spot on Kentucky bluegrass intensifies; brown patch looking neither brown nor patchy; algae explosion on putting greens. Thank you to all those that attended the 2024 Purdue Turf & Landscape…Read more about August 7, 2024: Peak of the Season[Read More]
Beryl sparks disease activity; Brown patch/Pythium combo on tall fescue; Anthracnose pressure intensifies; Waitea/Rhizoctonia patches form on Poa; Field day next week. Purdue Turfgrass and Landscape Field Day – Next Tuesday, July 16th! The Purdue Turf and Landscape Field Day is next week on Tuesday. We will have a large number of topics ranging from…Read more about July 12, 2024: Beryl Brings Post 4th Fireworks[Read More]
Summer stress temperatures arrive; Drought symptoms arrive in a flash; Leaf spot diseases prevalent in lawns this season; Patch diseases and the role of rhizosphere pH in their suppression. Weather There summer blows! Like a sudden whale burst from…Read more about June 25, 2024: Litmus Test[Read More]
Diseases push on the throttle; 1st observation of brown patch on tall fescue; annual bluegrass weevil damage on bentgrass surrounds; foliar anthracnose and localized dry spot on putting greens. * I need a moment to recognize the passing of David Riedman, superintendent at Woodland…Read more about May 28, 2024: The Engines have Started[Read More]
Spring prep is done; Lawns: Seedhead season; Straight lines normally don’t = disease. Golf Putting Greens: Dollar spot rings in the season; Anthracnose inoculum building and soilborne pathogens lurking. Registration for Purdue Turfgrass & Landscape Field Day open! Weather The 2024 spring oven must be gas lit because it preheated quickly. This spring remained 2-3…Read more about May 9, 2024: Pathogens Pecking[Read More]
Highlights: Wet start to spring = lawns – powdery mildew & fret over wet mower tires; focus on soilborne diseases on golf putting greens. Weather Forgoing May in the popular poem, April showers along with warm temperatures have spurred many spring flowers. Up through middle Indiana, forsythia has fast given way to blooming dandelions, henbit…Read more about April 11, 2024: Soggy Spring[Read More]
Highlights: Spring 2024 is weeks ahead of schedule; lawn preparation; soil temperature status; fungicide timing for dollar spot and soilborne diseases; yellow patch observations; short survey request. …Read more about March 12, 2024: Early Spring Arrival[Read More]
Highlights: Final few weeks until the respite of September; consider seeding instead of treating lawns; yellow spots in bentgrass; too many trinkets in the spray tank? Weather Mild, seasonal temperatures have dominated the landscape over the past month. Indianapolis has experienced four days above 90 F in June, three in July, and one thus far…Read more about August 16, 2023: Think Tank[Read More]
Highlights: Events – Purdue Turfgrass & Landscape Field Day next week; dollar spot arrives with a flurry; smattering of brown patch; 1st Pythium root rot diagnosis on putting greens. Weather June temperatures were fairly mild in…Read more about July 11, 2023: Disease Activity & Field Day Arrive![Read More]
Highlights: Turfgrass disease prediction tool launches; drought stress on the horizon; disease season on cool season turfgrass starts with dollar spot and red thread/pink patch outbreaks; large patch on zoysia and bermudagrass and fertilization; prevention due for Pythium root rot, summer patch and other soilborne diseases; localized dry spot in dew patterns. Turfgrass Disease Prediction…Read more about May 29, 2023: Attention to Summer Disease Prevention[Read More]
Weather Although the monthly average will be in line with history, April temperatures were a wild swing of early highs and late lows that met in in the middle. In Indianapolis, the historical average for April is 53.6℉ and the 2023 average was 54.2℉. However, 7 days from April 1-15 were 10 degrees above average…Read more about May 2, 2023: Spring Temperature & Plant Growth Rollercoaster[Read More]
