Sports Turf Agronomy Advice - September 2024
The month of September typically sees a shift in weather conditions, which become more autumnal without a lower probability of extreme heat and long dry spells (location dependant).
There is typically more moisture around, with early morning and late evening dew formation, which for anyone that has put seed into the ground, really benefits good germination, establishment and early growth. Mornings and nights become notably darker and, crucially for turf managers, moisture management in terms of leaf wetness becomes a key management priority.
As the school holiday period comes to an end, hopefully many of you have been able to get away and enjoy a nice break and even some sunshine! August hasn’t been an extension of great summer weather but rather a mixed bag which we are typically seeing most months now. For some, it has been a particularly dry month, certainly in comparison to other months, however some areas have had considerable rainfall, therefore the averages for the month don’t always paint a clear picture.
Temperatures have been good, although we haven’t experienced many exceptionally hot days. This has meant growth potential has remained strong and actually averaged higher than the July figures. As well as GDD, base nitrogen and average temperatures, this has provided good recovery opportunities for anyone who has carried out some form of renovation work or maintenance.
Click here if you want to review weather data in your region for August. To keep up to date with the weather throughout September visit https://academy.agrovista.co.uk/category/weather
The forecast prediction for September does look like a continuation of the weather pattern from August. The month starts with dry weather and high temperatures remaining around the late teens early 20s. Towards the third and fourth week, these temperatures start to drop to mid-teens with more days showing showers. Towards the end of the month, conditions are predicted to settle, with more dry days. If this holds through the month, it will be most welcomed as we head into October in as strong and dry position as possible.
Disease
Conditions in September become more suitable for disease development with the increase in moisture levels in both the soil and on the leaf surface. The 3 constituents of the disease triangle combine, and surfaces can become damaged. Because of this, it can be an appropriate time to put in place a preventive disease management plan. This will ideally be an integrated plan which combines a multitude of different approaches in a bid to keep any disease outbreaks to a minimum. This will include carefully selected nutrition from an appropriate nitrogen source (one that isn’t going to contribute to disease development), preventive fungicide applications, non- fungicidal applications, biostimulants and moisture management, with dew control.
These can be utilised in a synergistic approach where each application complements the next in the effort to minimise disease outbreaks and maximise plant health. When planning management strategies through this period, having an overview of all the planned applications allows you to piece together each part of the plan. For example, where the nutrition is coming from (granules vs liquids), how many fungicide applications, what else can be done to supplement these and keep the sward as healthy as possible? All these factors need to be considered and overlayed with the forecasted weather to ascertain the predicted levels of disease pressure, leaf wetness, spray windows etc…. bearing in mind the best plans can be foiled by unpredictable weather patterns.
Pests
Adult crane fly activity typically increases in September and, therefore, being extra vigilant when on the turf for an increase in numbers will help to accurately time Acelepryn applications, if planning on doing so. The adult flies commence egg laying almost immediately, with hatching and larvae emergence about two weeks later. You can check reported sightings of crane fly species on the Pest Tracker (https://www.greencast.co.uk/turf-pest-tracker) on the GreenCast website.
To aid effective timing of treatment, ensure the product is in the soil around a month after recording the peak activity of them flying on the wing. Where a complete approach to control is required, due to high levels of infestation, alongside an acelepryn application, entomopahogenic nematodes can also be applied with warm soil temperatures and available moisture being ideal conditions to get the best out of an application, with entomopahogenic nematodes swimming in the water film on soil particles in their bid to search out a larval host.
Tom Wood
B.Sc (Hons) | BASIS | FACTs