Tag: Turf Professional

Upcoming Open Positions on the MRTF Board of Directors

There will be a number of openings on the MRTF Board of Directors in the upcoming December elections. MRTF’s mission is to support research and education and thus help advance our industry. We are looking for potential board members dedicated...

A Dry Lawn in October is Reason for Concern

Though areas of Indiana received some rain this week and more is forecasted, most of the state has received precipitation far below normal. Many lawns look as brown now as they normally do in August. This does not bode well...

Coping with Late Season Drought in Turf

(Adapted from the Midwest Regional Turf Foundation Factsheet, Oct 1, 2004) After an extremely wet summer, turf drought stress has come out of nowhere almost throughout the state after a dry August and September. Though September and October are prime...

Turf and Ornamental Seminar

Mark your calendars for Nov 15-18 for MRTF’s Turf and Ornamental Seminar. Like last year, the course is advanced for lawn care, golf course, sports turf, and sales staff. The lawn care session will be on Monday and Tuesday, Nov...

Bermudagrass for Southern Indiana Athletic Fields

Turf quality on municipal athletic fields in southern Indiana is typically poor due to excessive traffic from football and soccer. But reseeding worn areas with some common grass varieties in late spring or late fall aren’t always successful. This publication explains how bermudagrass can be a potential solution to worn fields in southern Indiana.

(AT-325-W)

PDF

PDF version of Bermudagrass for Southern Indiana Athletic Fields

MRTF Golf Day at Coyote Crossing on Oct. 14

Openings are still available for the MRTF Golf Day on Oct 14 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...

Gray Leaf Spot 2004

We’ve received several reports of gray leaf spot outbreaks throughout the state during the past couple of weeks. It may surprise many, because the summer of 2004 has been one of the mildest (zero days where temperatures reached 90 F...

Rust Revival!

Well it must be September and it must finally be dry because I have seen some serious outbreaks of rust on many perennial ryegrass lawns throughout the area over the past week. Leaf rust has been most noticeable on lawns...

Attempting Ground Ivy Control

I’ve received a number of calls recently on ground ivy control. Here’s a rerun on an August Turf Tip on controlling ground ivy. Background Ground ivy is difficult to control and it is a problem in 31% of lawns maintained...

Late-summer Aerification check-List

Although this past growing season across most of Indiana has been cool and moist this is no reason to consider skipping fall core cultivation or aerification. In fact, this abnormal weather pattern is actually more conducive to thatch accumulation since...

Purdue Turfgrass Research Report Available On-Line

Though members of the Midwest Regional turf Foundations received compact discs of our 2003 Research Summary a number of weeks ago, the same research summary is now available online at http://www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/report/report.htm. The overall goal of our research program is to minimize...

More Evidence for Effectiveness of Fall Applications of Broadleaves

It’s been fairly well established that fall applications of herbicides are more effective than spring applications for broadleaf control. Recent work in Nebraska reported that applications of 2,4-D and/or dicamba were far more effective in controlling dandelions and Canada thistle...

Wait to Control Broadleaf Weeds

Though many broadleaf weeds like ground ivy, clover, and plantain are currently thriving in turf areas, resist the urge to spray them now. Following is a summary of a study that we discussed at Field Day that can help professionals...

Thinning Turf Around Lawn Perimeter from zero-turning radius mowers

The popularity of the new zero-turning radius mowers is well-justified in terms of time and energy saving devices. However, these mowers are much heavier and faster than walk-behind mowers and thus increase compaction and turf wear. This is especially important...

Brown Tracks in Lawn

I’ve seen lawns and heard this week about brown streaks that are about the width of the mower (photo). In the vast majority of the cases, these tracks are caused by the weight of a mower traversing across a portion...

Reminder of Midwest Regional Turf Field Day on July 27

The Midwest Regional Turf Field Day will be held on July 27 at the Wm H Daniel Turfgrass Research and Diagnostic Center in West Lafayette. This is a great opportunity for turf professionals to view the latest in turfgrass research,...

News about Japanese beetles is mostly bad!

Japanese beetles are back! They appeared 10 days to 2 weeks earlier than normal this year and indications are pointing to a very heavy population in many parts of the state. Last years weather conditions kept soils moist which apparently...

Finicky Poa annua Yellowing and Thinning on Greens

In spite of the cool and dry weather, Poa annua continues to yellow and sometimes thin on golf greens. Last week Poa annua was thinning and dieing in low areas from too much water, heat, and humidity (photo). However, the cool dry weather over...

Summer stress of Poa annua and Poa trivialis in Lawns and Sports Fields

Poa annua (annual bluegrass) and Poa trivialis (rough bluegrass) in athletic fields and lawns are starting to show signs of stress. The signs of stress include laying over (poor mow-ability), yellowing, and thinning. Patches of these fine-bladed grasses seemingly die overnight with even a...

White Clover in Golf Courses, Sports Turf, and Lawns

The small white flowers of white clover are very visible right now and it may appear that clover is taking over, especially under-fertilized turf areas. Clover is a legume and is very competitive under low N conditions, so increasing annual...