Turf Tips Archives
April 16, 2025: Muddy Waters
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 […]
October 2, 2024: Functions of Fall
Snow mold prevention on putting greens; reduced cool season turfgrass disease activity in fall; warm season disease prevention. Weather After a cool start, September turned on the burners and ended 3-5 degrees above normal in the region. Since 1943, September 1 marks on average the last 90-degree daily high temperature recorded in Indianapolis. This hasn’t […]
September 12, 2024: Fall Armyworms, Again?
In 2021, the entire Midwest experienced one the worst fall armyworm (Fig. 1A and B) outbreaks in decades, and for turfgrass professionals and enthusiasts it seems like we may be on the verge of another late-season outbreak. These seasonal, but sporadic insects started showing up at the end of August, and adults and egg masses […]
August 7, 2024: Peak of the Season
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 […]
July 12, 2024: Beryl Brings Post 4th Fireworks
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 […]
May 28, 2024: The Engines have Started
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 […]
May 9, 2024: Pathogens Pecking
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 […]
April 11, 2024: Soggy Spring
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 […]
August 16, 2023: Think Tank
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 […]
May 29, 2023: Attention to Summer Disease Prevention
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 […]
May 2, 2023: Spring Temperature & Plant Growth Rollercoaster
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 […]
Disease Report #1: Signs of Spring Abound
First disease report of the 2023 season from the Purdue Turfgrass Pathology program. Highlights include prevention of large patch and soilborne diseases on golf putting greens and mowing tips for spring lawncare. Hello everyone, and welcome to the first installment of the Purdue Turfgrass Pathology Disease Reports. I, and on occasion a guest author, will […]
A Cold Mold that Craves the Shade
Pink snow mold is a disease caused by the fungal pathogen Microdochium nivale (syn. Monographella nivalis) that is being observed in middle and northern Indiana this late winter. The pathogen is termed psychrophilic, or cold loving, due to its propensity to grow and infect in colder temperatures. The disease can be particularly severe on unfrozen […]
Look Below Before Blaming Above
Recently, home lawns have been maligned in several media outlets as a waste of time and resources. Mismanagement by using too much water or misplacing fertilizer may compound the issue by straining environmental resources or serving as pollutants. While not going into all the defenses for turfgrass use on home lawns, (remember “right plant, right […]
Several Clients Submitting Samples of Fowl Bluegrass (Poa palustris) to Diagnostic Lab
Over the past week I have identified three different fowl bluegrass (Poa palustris) samples sent in to the Purdue Plant & Pest Diagnostic Lab (https://ag.purdue.edu/department/btny/ppdl/). This is not concerning, just unusual. This is not a grass species that I see that often, but I have seen several samples this year, including a sample from my […]
Fall Armyworms: What next?
The entire Midwest just experienced one the worst fall armyworm (Fig. 1) outbreaks in decades, but for turfgrass professionals and enthusiasts, it’s not over yet. These seasonal, but sporadic insects made their appearance at the end of August, decimating lawns and other managed turfgrass. But, now that the damage is done, our focus shifts from […]