Its rained and its warm- Disease alert – February 2014
We have finally got some significant rainfall in Adelaide, regional NSW including Sydney and surrounding areas from the mid north coast to Canberra. Even our PM was in drought areas and it started raining (maybe he should head out there more for it to rain if this is the case). The rain is very welcoming by everyone.
However I just wanted to point out that there a high risk of disease pressure this week. The My Results disease app was showing height to extreme pressure for Sydney over the weekend for pythium dollar spot and brown patch. (for more information on the My Results disease app visit My Results site )
If you haven’t had a chance to spray a preventative spray beforehand do so asap. If you have keep an eye for disease symptoms as the pressure right now is very high and a follow up spray may be warranted depending on the health of your turf. I say this as we have gone from no rain and dry conditions to no rain and humid conditions and now to rain and very humid conditions. (Proplant is a very good option for pythium here as it has preventative and curative properties with a mix with Ippon for curative control then a look at any group 11 fungicides as prevention only (to reduce resistance risk as they are better used as preventative products).
As well with warmer temperatures forecasted from Tuesday onwards disease pressure will stay high and greens will start to dry out so watch you watering and make sure you don’t let the greens dry out too much.
Don’t be surprised to see some moss and algae around as well from the wet weather. This will come up in areas that have been weakened from stress and the turf canopy has been opened slightly due to the heat stress and worn areas. Simple cultural methods to deal with theses issues are increase mowing height, improve drainage, reduce leaf wetness (DewCure is an option here), and get some sunlight into the area. If you have shade issues try to trim back some branches to allow light and airflow intothe area. There are also limited chemical options (moncozeb is an example to deal with algae and Surrender to deal with moss).
Moss
Algae
Thanks to Micah Woods for the above pictures.
As usual if you need any help or want to discuss anything please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Regards
Nadeem Zreikat