Tag: Homeowner

The summer’s heat and humidity have taken an unusually high toll on turf in lawns, athletic fields, and golf courses. Most of the decline can be attributed to poor root growth weakening cool-season grasses and starting an avalanche of secondary...

After the rains have returned, broadleaf weed herbicides should become effective. However, don’t be in too much of a rush to apply because our data suggests that better control is obtained with October applications in than in September. We found...

With the returning rains in the state, now is the most important time to fertilize cool-season turfgrasses like creeping bentgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and tall or fine fescue. September fertilization is crucial on all turf areas regardless if it...

It now almost too late to seed this fall to expect the seedlings to form a good stand before winter, especially with the dry conditions that remain in the forecast. The optimum time to seed cool-season turfgrasses is between Aug....

A few rust calls are starting to trickle in, which is typical at this time of the year. Rust symptoms are reddish-orange lesions or spots on the leaf blades and a rust-colored powder that you can rub off with your...

The dry summer allowed sandbur to get a competitive edge over the other lawn grasses on the sandy soils in northern Indiana. Most people don’t realize they have sandbur in their lawn until they come into painful contact with it,...

Openings are still available for the MRTF Golf Day on Oct 13 at the Hale Irwin-designed Coyote Crossing Golf Club in West Lafayette. This is the seventh annual event held to promote turfgrass research, raise awareness of the Purdue Turfgrass...

Random patches of wilted turfgrass that are unresponsive to irrigation, assume a gray/green appearance and then turn tan/brown just before dying MAY be suffering from nematodes. These symptoms are somewhat characteristic of several diseases, insect infestations and even environmental stresses,...

With the heat and humidity of this summer, our cool-season grasses continue to thin making it one of the better years in recent memory for crabgrass and nutsedge. In Lafayette, we’ve had 50 days of temperatures higher than 85F, 18...

Reports of turfgrass damage due to white grub feeding are beginning to trickle in. Damage potential seems to be widely variable this year. Some areas that were dry during the beetle egg laying season last year reported very few Japanese...

There have been numerous reports of gray leaf spot outbreaks throughout Indiana and the lower Midwest during the past three weeks. We generally expect that hot humid conditions will favor gray leaf spot development. However, you may recall that outbreaks...

We’ve just entered the optimum seeding window for cool-season grasses throughout the state of Indiana. Though seed will germinate at a wide variety of temperatures, the optimum temperatures for germination are in the table below. The temperatures listed are air...

Tired of the way your lawn looks? If it hasn’t looked up to par this summer with the relatively good weather, it never will and reseeding your lawn is an option. Mid-August is the best time to seed a new...

With the fall fertilization for cool-season turfgrasses just around the corner I wanted to take a moment to make you aware of another interactive tool that is now available. This tool is intended to help you determine your fertilizer needs....

The summary of our turfgrass research in the year 2004 is now available at http://www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/report/2004/index.htm. The overall goal of our research program is to minimize inputs while maintaining turf quality, minimizing costs, and further protecting our environment. Our research summary contains...

Persistent air temperatures of 90F and soil temperatures greater than 80F combine with high humidity and adequate rainfall (in some areas) is doing in the Poa annua (annual bluegrass)and Poa trivialis (rough bluegrass)on golf courses. After a week or two...

Persistent air temperatures of 90F and soil temperatures greater than 80F combine with high humidity and adequate rainfall (in some areas) is also doing in the Poa annua (annual bluegrass)and Poa trivialis (rough bluegrass)on lawns and athletic fields. Patches of...

Dollar spot, pythium, brown patch, rust, and perhaps other diseases are ravaging perennial ryegrass lawns currently (See the attached (undoctored!) photos). Turf performance in July and August is the main reason I don’t recommend perennial ryegrass for lawns in Indiana....

The first Japanese beetles of the year were observed in central Indiana on June 22 and have since come out in full force. They are being reported in large numbers from many places throughout the state feeding on their favorite...

This is the toughest and most expensive time of the year to establish a lawn and waiting just four or five weeks to seed in the first half of August would be ideal. However, in some cases it must be...