On Friday, July 22, the temperature rose to 102 degrees with a heat index topping out at 116 degrees. Although we had many hot days last year, this day beat them all. Today is forecast to be pretty much the same.
We continue to do all we can to hold conditions. Cool season turfs such as bentgrass, blues, and ryes will decline in this heat. Poa annua, a winter annual, simply wants to“check out” as it has evolved to do and is supposed to do.
To relieve the heat we increase syringing – not watering. Syringing is the art of applying a small amount of water on the plant to cool it down. Just like us and any other life of cells, turf can suffer fatal heat exhaustion. Consistently cooling it down throughout the day can help to prevent turf from becoming over heated, increasing poa’s chance of survival, and suspending decline of the other grasses.
At the same time, as heat weakens turf and its natural defenses, diseases have an easier time of taking over. Brown patch, pythium, and anthracnose are the most active in the heat, and if left unchecked, these diseases can take out acres of turf in hours-yes! in hours!
We have applied preventative fungicide sprays to the greens, tees, and fairways to suppress these diseases. They can never be eradicated totally, so we have to be diligent and watch for any “breakthrough” so that we can reapply fungicides immediately.
The heat is not a good thing – it is really tough on the grasses, and on people. We will just continue to do the things we do and do them to our best ability so that the turf has its best chance of making it through these ridiculously hot periods.
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| Using ice to cool turf on 7 tee. Also, as the ice melts, the cold water seeps into the soil and drops the soil temperatures |
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| Poa yellowed due to heat stress, but will recover when the temps go back down. |
Edgar cooling down the 7th green
Close up of a syringe/ misting nozzle.
Pythium on ryegrass rough
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