The season is already flying by and some are still in 'catch up' mode (understandably).
This week Matt Shaffer and his staff are hosting the U. S. Open at Merion Country Club outside of Philadelphia. The course has been subjected to torrential rains for over a week and, as a result, it has challenged the human resources that are available in order to cope with all that needs to be done. Fortunately, a host of volunteers are on hand to help with those challenges and it appears that Mother Nature will lose the battle to the shear will, determination, ambition, and of course intellect of those on site.
The seedhead suppression of annual bluegrass this year, particularly on greens, is a very mixed review. Some courses had varied results from green to green (all treated on the same day with the same materials). That does emphasize how the different micro-climates, that exist on every property, can influence the results attained. Further, because of the way the weather stayed so fickle throughout the spring (particularly in the northeast and mid-Atlantic) the accumulation of degree days as an indicator of when emergence of seedheads would occur, was severely challenged. In many cases, the phenotypic indicator of the full bloom of Forsythia, turned out to be as good an indicator as anything else. In any event, high levels of seedhead suppression across the board was difficult to come by this year regardless of product used. That being said, even fifty percent suppression is better than none at all!
With all the rain, pre-emergence herbicides for summer annual grassy weeds, will be hard pressed to maintain the threshold concentration level needed in the upper soil profile in order to provide excellent control. Consequently, it well may be that this year will require the need for post-emergence applications of herbicides to keep the crabgrass and goosegrass from becoming a problem. Acclaim Extra is a very good choice as long as it is applied before the crabgrass begins to produce basal tillers. Drive is a good option once the crabgrass has begun to produce basal tillers. Both products are excellent herbicides, but the way in which they control the crabgrass is different, which makes the stage of growth important with regard to which one to use.
As the season moves further into the time when environmental stresses become more and more of an issue, be sure to have a pro-active approach to nutrition and carbohydrate management. Pre-stress conditioning of the turf should be underway now, with applications of nutritional supplements that contain bio-stimulants and anti-oxidant materials. In my opinion, turf health should become a very important component of your nutrient management strategy. If it already has, that is a very good thing.
Managing biology, i.e. turfgrass management, is often frustrating, confusing, and down right unfair, but the rewards can be great when a well thought out plan and its execution come together to produce amazing results. Thinking about strategies to handle the complexities of Mother Nature is extremely hard work, but coming out on top of Mother Nature is not always about working up a sweat.
