Disease report: Take-all patch was the disease that was most prevalent this summer. It seemed to get a foothold in the cool, wet spring weather and in at least one case, expressed summer symptoms that were quite damaging. Generally, in the spring, symptoms appeared as general decline in indistinct patches which were often mistaken for localized dry spot. Other diseases that were diagnosed at Guelph Turfgrass Institute were summer patch and necrotic ring spot.

Grey snow mould observed in late March, 2007:

Unidentified ring disease:

Indistinct pattern of Take-all Patch injury:

Dandelion germination non-existent this spring: One of our trials has attempted to determine when and under what conditions dandelions germinate. Our past two years, data has shown that the majority of dandelions germinate in the spring (as many as 400 plants per m2). However, this year we saw very little germination and we felt that this was due to low seed dispersal as a result of our cool, wet spring which reduced flowering and seed production. Research at the University of Manitoba found that the majority of dandelions that germinate are from spring seed dispersal. Our research findings would support this observation.

Biological Dandelion Control receives temporary registration: Sarritor Granular Biological Herbicide is a new biological herbicide for the control of dandelion in turf. It received temporary registration in June 2007. The active in Sarritor is a fungus, Sclerotinia minor (strain IMI 344141), that attacks susceptible dandelion and destroys above ground tissue. Temporary registration means that there are a few questions that need to be answered regarding use of the product before it will receive full registration. Click the link to take you to the report: erc2007-02-e.pdf .

Water quality problems: With the hot, dry summer considerable irrigation took place and those that had poor quality water may have suffered some turf stress. It should be remembered that as your irrigation pond gets lower the water quality will decreases due to increased concentration of minerals. Taking a sample of the water at this time and determining its quality will tell you the ‘worst case scenario.’

Three Cheers for Deb! I had the opportunity to see the LPGA Canadian Open at the Royal Mayfair Golf and Country Club firsthand. Debbie Amirault made us all proud with the great condition of the golf course…the ladies loved it! There was some unbelievable golf as well. On many occasions all three tee shots were high and right down the middle. Lorena Ochoa, the eventual winner, really endeared herself to the locals and was a gracious winner. As I was leaving the course, I got a chance to talk to Deb at the 10th green. She was flanked by Jim Goulet, Assistant Superintendent of the Derrick Golf and Winter Club, and Reid Solodan, Superintendent at Canmore Golf Club who showed up for a number of days to help out. Deb mentioned that there were many others who helped out and she was most appreciative.

New varietal trials initiated: Two bentgrass cultivar trials were initiated over the summer at the Salmon Arm Golf Club and The Canal at Delacour (Calgary). In each trial a number of new creeping bentgrasses were seeded including: CY2, Alpha, T-1, Declaration and Independence. In addition, two velvet bentgrasses were seeded; Vesper and Legendary. The above mentioned creepers are relatively new and have not been tested in western Canada, so it will be interesting to evaluate these grasses in our climate. At Strathmore a Kentucky bluegrass and a native grass study was initiated which will evaluate their suitability for continual mowing practices. This trial has 50 new varieties of Kentucky bluegrass. Grasses that are tolerance of saline conditions were also seeded in Edmonton on a boulevard where the original grasses had been damaged by salinity. All the trials have been evaluated for their establishment and will be rated for an additional three years.

Pesticide Reduction

Pesticide Reduction Studies Receive Funding
Funding has been received from the Alberta Association of Colleges and Technical Institutes (AACTI) in order to continue with our pesticide reduction studies. This group of trials will build on six years of previous research in an attempt to develop reduction strategies for turfgrass managers in Western Canada. Projects will be conducted at Olds College and in various parks settings across Western Canada.

Six cities, Penticton, Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge and Regina have committed support for this project. Trials will be initiated in the summer and fall of 2007 in these various cities. The various projects will include:

Use of mustard and other agricultural by-products for the control of weeds in turf
-This is a continuation of a lab study that was initiated in 2006-07 that showed promising results for pre and post emergent control of dandelion
- Test mustard by-products for their pre and post-emergent bioherbicide effects
- Test rate and timing of application for mustard by-products for efficacy and phytotoxic effects
- Test all mustard materials to determine level of allyl and benzyl compounds
- Test corn gluten and soybean meal for their effects as a pre-emergent herbicide

Evaluate various cultural practices for the control of weeds in turf.
- Evaluate the effects of mowing height, fertility, and aeration on weed control in turf
- Determine application or practice timing that is effective for control

Dandelion Biology – Determine seasonal germination patterns in consideration of moisture and temperature
- Third year of a three year study conducted in conjunction with Dr. Paul Watson of Alberta Research Council
- Determine seasonal germination of dandelion so that pre-emergent controls can be more effective

Determine the most effective application rate and timing of herbicide for the control of weeds in turf
- Previous studies have shown inconsistent control of dandelions with herbicides at label rates
- This study will examine the recovery of dandelions from root stock after application of herbicides at various rates and timing
- Individual dandelions will be assessed for recovery following herbicide application

Control of weeds in turf with a bacterial derivative
- Second year of study
- This product will be evaluated for its effect on the control of dandelion and other weeds
- This product has been developed by Alberta Research Council and this will be a cooperative project with Dr. Susie Li of ARC

AACTI was established three years ago to fund research that is being conducted at Alberta Colleges. It is a provincially funded project through Alberta Ingenuity and this year Olds College received $100,000 to support various research projects on campus.

Ice Injury Prevention

New Study to Examine Ice Injury Prevention

A new study partially funded by the Canadian Turfgrass Research Foundation will begin this fall to examine various strategies for the prevention of ice injury on putting greens.

Winter covers have been used for many years in order to prevent injury. Initially, covers were developed so that they might prevent desiccation injury through the winter months when putting greens did not have a snow cover. An additional effect was noticed in the spring when early green up occurred under these covers. These covers were either permeable or impermeable and had little or no insulation value.

Insulated covers were later developed to prevent cold temperature injury. A number of years ago, the PTRC conducted a research project and found that these covers not only protected plants from cold temperatures, but also kept them dormant which prevented their loss of winter hardiness. It was thought that these covers would be quite effective for preventing injury on annual bluegrass which is much less tolerant of cold temperatures when compared with creeping bentgrass.

However, a winter such as last winter showed the deficiencies of these types of covers. Last winter injury occurred that was related to anoxia, which is described as a complete lack of oxygen. Under these conditions plants are not able to utilize their food reserves and mortality occurs. Two specific conditions made the plants more susceptible to injury: 1) covers which were installed when the greens were not frozen and 2) a heavy wet snow which compressed the covering materials and created an impermeable barrier over the turf. It is thought that the same type of injury occurs under an impermeable ice cover.

Depletion of oxygen is influenced by temperature, organic matter content of the soil and plant species. It seems that the higher the temperature and the greater the organic matter content, the more rapidly the oxygen is consumed. Although temperatures are cold, soils are not frozen and microbial activity is still quite high. As organic matter is a food source for these microbes, those putting greens that have lower organic matter content appear to be less at risk. Annual bluegrass does not produce the level of food reserves as bentgrass and for this reason it is thought that bentgrass is more tolerant of anoxia and ice cover.

The proposed study will test new covering materials that may prevent injury from all three winter injury scenarios, as well as from ice cover. The study is intended to determine whether winter injury under ice or impermeable covers is due to anoxia or other toxic compounds that are produced. Specific covering materials will be use to increase oxygen content under the covers.

Ice cover will be developed on top of two types of covering materials. A standard impermeable cover will be compared against an impermeable but breathable covering type material. Many new impermeable breathable materials have been developed for the garment industry. These materials work on the principle that a molecule of air is small enough to pass through the material, but a water molecule is too large. (How do they do that?)

These materials will be placed either on the turf surface or over a rigid intermediate layer such as Enkamat that is 95% air space. These covers will be completely sealed around the edges and then covered with a thick layer of ice. Gas samples from under the covers will be collected on a regular basis and analyzed for oxygen content and toxic compounds. In addition, one of the treatments will be have an intake and an exhaust valve so that air can be replenished which should theoretically, prevent injury.

Enkamat comes in 2 meter wide rolls with a thickness of 18 mm. It is very durable and would be easy to handle. It is envisioned that input and outlet ports could be attached to the cover and periodically the toxic gases could be expelled utilizing an air compressor. Within a short period of time fresh air could be replenished under these covering materials and plants theoretically could survive indefinitely.

Well that’s our theory…stay tuned!