Our Buckeyeturf email account regularly receives pictures of dead or brown grass from turfgrass managers seeking advice on diagnosing the issue and making corrective measures .

Q & A WITH PAMELA SHERRATT

Like many turfgrass Extension programs throughout the country , our turf team is multi-disciplinary and includes a diagnostic lab where turf managers can send samples . However , diagnosing problems over email , text or social media presents challenges — especially without a site visit . .

In summer especially , brown grass can result from issues such as drought , heat stress , disease , insect attack or human error such as a fertilizer spill or incorrect PGR / pesticide application . It ’ s also common to see multiple problems simultaneously . For example , drought or heat-stressed grass is more susceptible to insect and disease attacks . I remember taking a turf sample to our pathologist expecting one diagnosis and getting three . The turfgrass system is a dynamic and diverse ecosystem of living organisms .

As the turfgrass pathologists at NC State recently stated in their timely post on disease diagnosis , “ Turfgrass Disease Diagnosis : A Bit of Science and a Lot of Art ,” 10^9 bacterial cells and 10^6 fungi can be found in 1 gram of soil in turfgrass systems . So , many pathogens are present at any time . Whether they cause a turf problem depends on the host species and current environmental conditions ( think disease triangle ). Often , the environmental conditions are not right , so even though the pathogen is present , there may not be any turf problems .

All of this is to say that diagnosing why turf is brown in summer is a complex-but-not-impossible challenge . It involves various turf management skills – using environmental data to predict problems , conducting agronomic testing , field scouting , accurate diagnostics , documenting , recording and monitoring . There are also some excellent resources to make the process easier to navigate . One of my favorite resources is Michigan State ’ s Growing Degree Day Tracker ( gddtracker . msu . edu ).

If a physical visit or phone call is not possible , here are some tips for digitally submitting pictures and questions to your local turf Extension team :

1 . Tell us which turfgrass species you are managing , as this will narrow down the possibilities . For example , I once visited a baseball outfield where the Kentucky bluegrass was dead and dying , but the other grasses like perennial ryegrass were alive . The culprit was bluegrass billbug larvae feeding on the bluegrass crowns , resulting in loss of roots and plant death .

2 . Provide a brief summary of any recent chemical applications . Some herbicides , for example , can inhibit the germination of turfgrass seed and establishment .

3 . Include information about any recurring issues like grub infestations , damage from digging varmints , patches of rough bluegrass ( Poa trivialis ) going dormant or annual bluegrass ( Poa annua ) dying , disease damage and other anomalies . State when the problem typically occurs .

4 . Share any supplemental documentation you think might be helpful , such as soil and tissue tests , product labels , etc .

5 . Send clear , wide-angle and close-up pictures . If you have bleachers or an elevated view , include that picture too . Include pictures of the affected leaf tissue or plant part . Take pictures of symptoms ( e . g ., leaf spots , discoloration , tissue collapse ). If there are physical signs of a pathogen ( fungal mycelium , fruiting bodies or other structures ), take pictures of those as well . Signs are usually more visible first thing in the morning . Good pictures are imperative .

6 . If you suspect one of the more devastating turf diseases and are losing turf quickly , call us and get a live sample to your local turfgrass diagnostic lab asap . Follow their turf sample submission process to the letter . They ’ ll have directions on how to drop off or mail live samples . SFM

Pamela Sherratt Sports turf extension specialist The Ohio State University

Questions ? Send them to Pamela Sherratt at 202D Kottman Hall , 2001 Coffey Road , Columbus , OH 43210 or sherratt . 1 @ osu . edu

Or send your question to Dr . Grady Miller , North Carolina State University , Box 7620 , Raleigh , NC 27695-7620 , or grady _ miller @ ncsu . edu

50 SportsField Management | August 2024 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com