Turf Professional
Turf: Dead or Alive?
Many areas in Indiana have received recent rains to their lawns. Some lawns have greened-up and others are still brown leaving many wondering whether their lawns are dead or alive. Below are some images that illustrate the process of determining whether or not your lawn is dead or alive. Step 1. In an area of […]
Certainty Turf Herbicide Label Changes
Monsanto recently updated the Certainty® Turf Herbicide label 2011-1 on packaged goods. These changes are effective on product packaged and shipped after May 2011. All cool season turfgrass uses for Certainty have been removed from the 2011-1 label. The product can still be used on warm-season turf. The label change also adds nursery and landscape […]
DuPont launches www.imprelis-facts.com Website
This week DuPont launched a new website designed to help answer questions from those who have used Imprelis® and are seeing injury to trees. The website, www.imprelis-facts.com, states the following: “As a precaution until we are able to more fully understand the circumstances surrounding reports of tree damage related to Imprelis®, do not apply Imprelis® […]
Water Restrictions and Managing Turf During Drought
For those in the Indianapolis area, customers of the Department of Waterworks – City of Indianapolis are “asking residential and business customers to not water lawns through Friday, July 29 in the wake of continued lack of rain, high heat, and high water consumption”. The request is voluntary – initially requested on Wednesday, July 20 […]
Imprelis UPDATE and INFORMATION
Many Indiana turf professionals who used the herbicide Imprelis® in the fall of 2010 or spring of 2011 and now are reporting off-target damage to trees and ornamentals in the landscape. Additionally, many homeowners have read an article or seen a news story about a Imprelis®. Below are links for homeowners and for turf professionals […]
The Heat is On!
Extreme heat is stressing turf areas quickly! High temperatures cause turf decline There are many causes of turf decline in the summer, but three primary physiological causes are 1) low photosynthesis rates at high temperatures, 2) lack of sufficient moisture, and 3) photorespiration. Photorespiration occurs instead of photosynthesis at temperatures above 87 °F causing cool-season […]
New Website and Blog for Purdue Turfgrass Program
Since last fall, we have been working on revising our turf website and creating a new blog that could be used to deliver our Turf Tips eNewsletter. Among our goals for the development of the website were to 1) answer the most commonly asked questions by clientele and contain commonly needed information, 2) allow easy […]
Hot Topics at a Hot Field Day!
Thanks to all the 530 attendees and 32 exhibitors who attended the Midwest Regional Turfgrass Field Day Tuesday (July 19, 2011) at the W.H. Daniel Turfgrass Research Center in W. Lafayette, IN. We had golf and lawn research tours in the morning, two afternoon tours, and one afternoon workshop and addressed many current topics including […]
Annual bluegrass starting to succumb to summer stress in lawns
Annual bluegrass (Poa annua) is a common weed on golf courses, but is now also becoming a problem on higher mowed turf areas such as lawns and athletic fields. This grass is lighter colored than Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass and can be identified by its boat-shaped leaf tip and membranous ligule (see Turf Tip […]
Herbicide damage on Spruce and Pine – Update
A few weeks ago we posted information on herbicide damage to spruce and pine (link here). We are continuing to see some new cases of damage, but many with affected trees are simply waiting to see whether or not their trees will recover. For those of you who might have trees with suspected injury to […]
Herbicide damage on Spruce and Pine
The Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab (PPDL) has recently received several samples of Norway spruce and white pine with symptoms that appear to be associated with injury caused by synthetic auxin (growth regulator type) herbicides. Typical off-target symptoms caused by these herbicides can include epinasty (twisting and curling) of the shoot and tips (Fig. 1) […]
Drought Damage on Zoysiagrass Lawns
Last summer and fall we experienced some widespread drought throughout the state which we documented with turf tips in July, September, and November as well as tips on reestablishment this March (click here for an archive of these tips). Most were uncertain as to what the extent of the damage would be until the turf […]
Keep the Trailer Connected to the Truck: Understanding the ‘Hitch’ System (PPP-92)
Purdue Extension Publication
This publication identifies the critical factors that keep trailers properly attached to trucks. Its goal is to help you understand how those factors work together and reduce your chances of losing a trailer on a busy highway.
Skunks and Raccoons causing Havoc?
We continue to receive reports of spring-time turfgrass damage caused by raccoons or skunks. These animals are not feeding on the grass but rather are foraging for below ground, high populations of white grubs. As the vertebrates forage, they turn over great clumps of turfgrass resulting in an area that resembles a war zone. Sometimes […]
Cooler Than Average Spring Temperatures for Some May Extend the Window for Preemergence Herbicide Applications
Preemergence herbicides prevent emergence of crabgrass plants. These products must be applied prior to crabgrass germination which on an average year could occur as early as April 1 in southern Indiana and three or more weeks later in northern Indiana. It is essential to apply these products early in spring prior to crabgrass germination. Last […]
Spring Beauty and Star-of-Bethlehem
Both spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) and star-of-bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum) are spring flowering weeds that are similar in appearance and sometimes problematic in lawns. Below is a comparison of the two species including control recommendations for both turf professionals and homeowners. Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum) Description: Small perennial plant originating from corms. Leaves […]
To whom does this seedhead belong?
Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) is beginning to produce seedheads this time of year which are difficult to mow and can cause a lawn to appear uneven. However, there are other grasses such as annual bluegrass (Poa annua) that also produce similar looking seedheads. Annual bluegrass is a winter annual or weak perennial turfgrass species which […]
Spilled Fertilizer: Loading and Application
Fertilizer loading Fill spreaders over a hard surface such as a driveway, sidewalk, or other hard concrete or asphalt surface. This will allow easy clean-up if any material is spilled. Fertilizer spills over turf usually result in turf death to the affected spot. If product is spilled during loading (A), clean-up the material immediately by […]
What’s that brown spot: Nimblewill in lawns
Nimblewill (Muhlenbergia schreberi) is a weed that thin patches in lawns. Since nimblewill is a warm-season grass, it will turn brown at the first frost and is very slow to green-up in the spring. The brown patches seen in lawns in the early spring may be nimblewill contamination. This weed spreads from seeds produced and […]