Illinois Pesticide Applicator Turfgrass Latest Update Graded A

Illinois Pesticide Applicator Turfgrass Latest Update Graded A IPM for Turf keeping pests at a level low enough to avoid major damage First step of IPM for turf developing and maintaining healthy turf healthy turf is obtained through soil management, turfgrass selection, and proper culture desirable pH level for healthy turf between 6 and 7 pH pH readings below 6, what can you add? lime high-pH soils can be fixed by adding? sulfur or acid forming fertilizer (ammonium sulfate/nitrate or urea) how often should you pH test? Every 3-5 years How to fix excessively wet soils? By adding sand, clay or organic matter Name of cool season grasses Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, fine-leaf fescue, and creeping bentgrass Name of warm season grasses zoysiagrass, bermudagrass, and buffalograss Kentucky blue grass Most common turfgrass in Illinois; medium tolerance readily recovers, requires well-drained fertile soil in sun Perennial Ryegrass Commonly mixed with Kentucky bluegrass; particularly useful for overseeding/renovation work becuase it germinates vigorously and strongly Tall Fescue Commonly used in low maintenance areas like parks or golf course roughs; especially drought and heat tolerant Fine-Leaf Fescues Often combined with Kentucky bluegrass for use in shady areas; poor to moderate wear tolerance Creeping Bentgrass smooth, dense turf; primarily used on golf-course greens and tees; high maintenace Zoysiagrass rugged turfgrass that turns brown during cool and cold weather; warm season grasses Bermudagrass Grown occasionally in southern Illinois; not able to tolerate cold weather; warm season grasses What is the one-third rule Never remove more than one-third of the grass blade at mowing How to properly irrigate turfgrass water to depth of root system; early in the day;well watered turf is attractive to grubs suggested ratios for fertilizers 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 which is 3 to 4 parts nitrogen to 1 part phosphorus to two parts potassium (N,P,K) best time of year to fertilize early September with early May second best and if 3rd application necessary then late fall Never apply more than 1 pound of soluble nitrogen per ______ square feet 1,000 Properly cultivate grass when turf is actively growing; reduces soil compaction and improves water and grass infiltration. NEVER do when turf stress or weed germinate How often should you scout 1-2 times per month;beginning when turf turns green in spring Most common turf insects in Illinois White grubs benefits of mapping locations of previous pests two ways weeds are commonly controlled cultural practice and herbicides Never remove more than how much when mowing one-third overfertilization can cause? will burn turf, cause roots to develop inadequately, heighten susceptibility to diseases bull thistle biennial; rose to reddish purple stiff spines, course hairs top, whitish hairs bottom; common during cooler seasons on poor open turf Mouseear chickweed perennial, shallow, fibrous roots weak hairy spreading stems;occurs in cool moist shaded areas Yellow nutsedge perennial; reproduces by tubers (nutlets), scaly rhizomes, upper surface is shiny/waxy lower is dull; occurs with pH 0f 5-7 Wild Garlic cool season perennial; bulb forming; two-ranked slender leaves; occurs in poorly drained Yellow Woodsorrel perennial; emerge from taproot; light-green clover shaped leaves, yellow with five petals white clover cool season perennial; fix nitrogen; useful in low management turf; stems from patches in turf and emerge from fibrous root system red sorrel perennial; arrow-shaped leaves with basal lobes; sour tasting; occurs in acidic soils violet cool season annual/perennial; low growing, kidney shaped with heart shaped bases annual bluegrass cool season annual; leaf tips are boat shaped and rooting at lower nodes on creeping stems; occurs on wet compacted soils goose grass (silver crabgrass) warm season annual; stems do not root at nodes, root system is fibrous; flowers are comprised of 2-10 fingerlike spikes; occurs in full sun and poorly drained areas large crabgrass warm season annual; stems are purple tinged and form a mat; occur is thin turf and areas mowed too short yellow foxtail warm season annual; grows up to 4 feet tall, emerges from shallow root system; sheath is flattened and smooth; occurs in new seedings, open turf or bare spots creeping bentgrass cool season perennial; spreads by stolons and forms puffy dense patches of grass forcing out other turfgrasses; occurs in most lawns nimblewill warm season perennial; fibrous roots; grayish to bluish green flat leaves; dense patches often a foot or more in diameter; occurs in older moist turf areas quackgrass cool-season perennial; white rhizomes with sharp tips; occurs in slightly acidic pH tall fescue cool season perennial; enlarges by tillering, distinctive veins; panicles that grow up to 12 inches long black medic summer annual; shallow rooted; clusters comprised of 50 individual flowers; somewhat square stems; seedpod is black and tightly coiled common chickweed cool season annual; slender tap root and greatly branching leafy stems which lie along the ground common purslane (wild portulaca) warm season annual; spreading mat up to 6 inches tall and 24 inches long; wedge-shaped leaves nearly opposite each other henbit cool season annual; hairy with greenish to purplish tender stems; leaf edges are rounded teeth and crinkled at edges prostrate knotweed summer annuals; oval papery sheath; at each node and node are swollen; heavily trafficked areas shepherd's purse winter annual; flowers are small and white; with four petals set in shape of cross; rosette leaves spotted spurge warm season annual; germination occurs in really high temps; exude milky sap when broken; flowers very small and cup-shaped dandelion cool season perennial; reproduces by broken taproot pieces; yellow ground ivy perennial; minty odor when crushed; long petioles and rounded, tooth margin curly dock perennial; dark green leaves are wavy/curly margins; inadequate maintenance common yarrow perennial; fernlike leaves are soft with covered with hairs; flowers develop in flat-topped clusters common mallow annual/biennial; leaves are heart-shaped with rounded teeth; abundant white hairs Canada thistle perennial; stems are 2-5 feet tall and grooved; spineless and pink-purple flowers buckhorn plantain cool season perennial; rings in flowerhead bullet shaped; drier sites neutral/basic soils broadleaf plantain cool season perennial; spreading upright basal; leaves are twisted/curled and tips are sharp; flower stalks are 6-30 inches tall how do annuals grow by seed large populations of weeds are indications of? improper turf selection, poor culture, insect/disease invasion, excessive traffic, unfavorable growth environment how to control perennials nonselective herbicides esters oil based; more toxic to plants, more subject to vapor drift amine low volatility turfgrass is brown and pulls up easy white grubs, billbugs, ants, earthworms turfgrass is brown but firmly rooted sod webworm, greenbug, chinch bugs, leafhoppers damage is primarily holes in turf insect feeding birds, green June beetle turf is removed or pushed out of place mole and voles white grubs white with brown head; C-shaped; live in turf root zone/eat the root; how are white grubs identified? hairlike structures on abdomen what color are actively feeding white grubs? blackish at end of body how many grubs per square feet is enough to cause dieback? 10-12 grubs blackturfgrass ataenius small white grub; found in maintained turf, end of abdomen has two large pads; 50 ore more enough to damage Japanese beetles major turf pest, emerge in June/early July; hatch by August; susceptible to milky spore disease Masked Chafers annual white grubs; strongly attracted to light at night May beetles true white grubs, important pests to turfgrass; known as May/June bugs; feed only at night billbugs Do not fly; found in same area year after year; white powdery dust at base of plants from damage blackcut worm pest because birds cause damage from eating them, leaving holes in ground; shallow hole where worms eat grass blades sod webworms problem during droughts; rarely fly higher than 5-6 feet; Problem with controlling ants? So numerous any control will result in nothing chinch bugs associated with hot, dry weather; fungi that kills bug is more common in damp weather greenbug always in shaded areas; unable to exist in intense sunlight mole dig underground tunnels, cause turf dieback voles field mice; surface runways that extend into thatch what causes nearly all the infectious disease in turfgrass? fungi Systemic pesticides move where in plant? Most do not move downward only upward movement fungicide has ability to stop progress of infections curative/eradicant anthracnose two phases: foliar blight and basal rot; yellowing or reddish brown discoloration; irregularly shaped patches brown patch round patterns of tan/brown grass; "smoke ring"; straw colored patches up to 2 feet or more conditions needed for brown patch hot, high humidity; 10-12 hours of leaf wetness for several days management for brown patch irrigate early in the morning; avoid excessive nitrogen dollar spot round patches; straw colored sunken spots; gray/tan leaf lesions management for dollar spot irrigate deeply and infrequently; core-aerify fairy rings dark green rings or arcs; up to 15 feet or more across gray leaf spot gray to light brown leaf lesions; purple to dark brown border; twist at leaf tip "fishhook" gray snow mold cold/wet weather becomes active; white/gray mold covers grass Helminthosporium "Leaf, Crown, and Root Diseases" dark brown/purplish red leaf spots with tan centers; rhizomes and roots may be blackened and decayed leaf smuts powdery mold on surface of grass blades; mold is gray/black; blades split and curl mushrooms and puffballs feed on decaying organic matter nematodes yellowing and dieback of foliage; stunted growth pink snow mold water patches that turn yellowish or reddish; snow melts white fungal growth at edge of patch turns pink conditions needed for pink snow mold prolonged wet, cold to cool weather; tends to reappear in same areas powdery mildew milky white to gray mold on leaves; easily rub off; founded in shaded areas pythium blight sunken patches 1-6 inches across; grass blades first slimy then withered red thread "scorched" patches with reddish brown cast; light pink/blood red threads emerge from leaves rust yellow/orange or red/brown powdery pustules; spores rub of easily; occurs mostly during drought slime molds feed on decaying matter, fungi, and bacteria; do little damage but may cause yellowing summer patch and necrotic ring spot scattered light green patches; form large light straw colored circle; "frogeye / doughnut" take all patch problem only on bentgrass; yellow/brown patches of dead grass yellow patch occurs in cooler temperatures; distinctly sunken appearance; forms large irregularly shaped yellow areas yellow tuft small yellow tufts; easily pulled from turf due to stunted roots zoysia patch irregular patterns exceeding 15 feet across; numerous and randomly distributed CFValve pressure regulating valve; allows fluid to pass only at certain pressure and flow flooding flat fan nozzle wide angled flat fan pattern; used for applications that require use of high flow rate nozzles high flow nozzles high flow rate and wide pattern of flooding nozzles but in flat fan nozzle design turbo flat fan nozzles utilizes both pre-orifice and turbulation chamber, increasing droplet size Air-Induction Flat Fan Nozzles Use pre-orifice but draw air into the spray like carburetor; All work together to make larger droplets HPG (Hydrozpropyl Guar) drift-control additive commonly used today GPA spray application for gallons per 1,000 square feet (GPA x 1000) / 43,560 Gallons of spray applied per 1,000 square feet (GPM x 136) / (MPH x W) Flow rate equation required from each nozzle (Gallons per 1,000 sq ft x MPH x W) / 136 Convert gallons per minute to OPM OPM = GPM x 128 How to find MPH (GPM x 5940) / (GPA x W) Flow rate required equation for GPM gallons per 1,000 / minutes per 1,000 equation for hand-operated walking booms application rate gallons per 1,000 = boom GPM x minutes per 1,000 Equation for number of turns for the wheels (granular application) 45837 / (wheel diameter (inches) x swath width)