Welcome Wing Point Members

This blog is intended to keep the members at Wing Point up to date on the course conditions, the challenges we face with weather, the day to day update on projects, and hopefully add some insight to your overall golf experience. The blog will be updated as much as possible. Information on things that may impact your golf experience such as sanding or aeration will be posted as well. Take time to read one of the polls on the side of the page. The results will help us make decisions on course maintenance practices and give us feedback on what you, the members are thinking.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Explaining our greens issues...

We are putting #10 and #16 green on temporaries indefinitely. They are both in extremely poor condition. Foot traffic is too harmful for them at this point. I am very sorry for the inconvenience.

I have consulted with a few sales sepresentatives, fellow superintendents, and 2 different turf pathologists. A local pathologist on Bainbridge Island, Olaf Ribeiro, made a sight visit, took samples to his lab on two occasions and has determined we have suffered from a Nematode infestation, and then a mild case of basal rot anthracnose. The anthracnose is a secondary problem brought on from the Nematode damage to the roots. Nematode populations reach their peak in August and September, but the damage is not recognized until later once stress from severe weather patterns, mowing, rolling, etc. is introduced. The stresses cause the turf to die back slowly in the areas where the Nematodes damaged the root system. Unfortunately, the damage is done and we need to deal with the turf loss since recovery is next to impossible until growing conditions in March and April allow the turf to rebound. In the meantime we will be doing the following to promote healthier roots heading into Spring.

We will be aerating the greens with "needle tines" periodically. These tines are 1/4" diameter and penetrate 3 inches deep. This should have minimal disturbance to ball roll. I believe they will recover by May 1st, but the most important thing for full recovery is to reduce stress. We aerated the putting green 10 days ago as a test run and even though it is a little yellowish right now, it actually has recovered and we are seeing more turf where it was bare after the cold snap 3 weeks ago. Aeration is a key factor in anthracnose control and Nematode damage recovery. Just take note of the healthiest spots on a green, they are the dots from Septembers aeration. Anthracnose is a stress related disease. It has likely taken hold from the stress of Nematode damage in the root zone. That, coupled with weather conditions like the long hot summer, 45 day wet spell we had and then a dry cold snap, have put many areas of the greens in jeopardy. All of these weather patterns over the past 6 months are considered unusual and stressful for our turf.

The goal over the next 3 months is to stop the progression of the anthracnose and grow a solid root system going into spring and summer. The nematode problem is not good. It seems as though nematodes are becoming a concern for golf courses in the Northwest. It is totally new to us. Monterey Peninsula, the Northeast, and areas of the Southeast have had severe issues with nematodes the last decade. There is currently no cure for nematodes at all! Anthracnose is a disease pathogen and can be remedied.

We will be monitoring the populations of Nematodes starting next June. They become a problem as the temperatures get warmer. Once again, there is little to nothing we can do for them except back off on some of the stress that allow them to populate greens at higher numbers.

This is an excerpt from literature on Nematodes and describes the issues we've dealt with the last 3 months.

Nematode survival, growth, and reproduction are largely dependent on soil moisture, temperature in the soil or host tissues, and the suitability of the host plant. Populations of damaging nematodes often peak in late summer or early fall. Few nematodes are found on turfgrass root systems in late winter or early spring.Plant parasitic nematodes are found usually at very low levels in all soils. The heaviest nematode injury is found most often on turf grown in well-drained sandy or sandy loam soils. Few nematode problems are seen on turf grown on heavy clay soils. Soil moisture levels at or near field capacity favor nematode activity. Nematode movement through the soil is slow. In most cases, nematodes are spread in soil clinging to turfgrass roots, on tillage equipment, by flowing water, or in the turfgrass roots.

Symptoms

Common symptoms of nematode injury to turf are slight to severe yellowing of the foliage, thinning of the turf canopy, reduced growth, wilting under light moisture stress, and premature death. The foliar symptoms of nematode injury on turf are similar to those caused by low fertility, root-feeding insects, soil compaction, drought stress, and other sources of stress to turfgrass root systems.Because nematodes are unevenly distributed in the soil, patches of injured turf vary greatly in size and shape. The margin between the healthy and nematode-damaged turf is gradual, not sharp. Poor response to irrigation, fertilizers, or fungicide applications is often an indication of a nematode problem. Damaged turf is generally unable to withstand severe heat or even mild drought stress.Symptoms of nematode damage usually do not appear until injury to the turf root system is well advanced. Nematode damaged roots are often discolored, short, and stubby with few feeder roots. Visible galls or swellings are found on the feeder roots of root-knot-damaged turf.

Unfortunately, the one product that worked well on Nematodes, Nemacure, was deregulated in 2007 due it's high toxicity to humans. We will be investigating new forms of biological control going into next summer, but most importantly we will be monitoring the levels of stress we apply to our greens during the summer months.

The following links provide excellent descriptions of both nematodes and anthracnose.

http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/FactSheets/turfnematode/turfnematodes.htm

http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/FactSheets/anthracnose%20turf/anthracnose%20turf.htm

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