Isaac  in  MO  Hooray!  PRR  would  not  be  OK    

 

 

Weather    

   

August  temperatures  have  been  a  blessing  with  a  slight  above  average  monthly  temperature  (+2.5°F)  compared  to  the  previous  July,  which  ranked  as  5th  highest  all-­‐time.    Cooler  temperatures  were  nice  and  aided  in  turf  recovery  from  this  brutal  summer.    Precipitation  did  occur  for  many  on  8/26  and  8/27,  with  about  1”  in  St.  Louis,  0.5”  in  Kansas  City,  and  0.3”  or  so  in  Springfield.    Don’t  brag  to  those  of  us  in  mid  Missouri  or  in  the  Bootheel,  as  we  got  none,  zero,  and  zippo  from  the  previous  system.    Columbia,  MO  may  be  the  poster  child  for  this  current  drought,  and  the  lack  of  precipitation  numbers  are  staggering.    We  will  have  the  driest  May  1-­‐  August  31  period  in  the  123  history  of  recorded  weather,  unless  we  get  0.64”  of  rain  tomorrow.    Drier  than  the  dust  bowl  era,  drier  than  1911.    The  current  deficit  is  running  at  about  13.5”  in  the  hole.    Believe  it  or  not,  this  is  not  the  “driest  span”  in  history  as  pointed  out  by  our  state  climatologist  Pat  Guinan.    From  January  1952  –  December  1956,  the  total  deficit  was  48.09”,  and  an  extraordinary  46  out  of  61  months  had  below  normal  precipitation.    So  it  could  be  worse…    but  not  much.    Trees  are  defoliating  all  throughout  mid  MO,  and  many  landscape  plantings  are  beyond  recuperation.        For  this  reason,  now  tropical  depression  Isaac  may  be  just  what  the  doctor  ordered  for  Missouri.    This  statement  is  made  with  all  due  respect  to  the  destruction  that  has  occurred  in  Louisiana  and  Mississippi,  but  this  tropical  system  is  exactly  what  this  region  needs.    The  first  tiny  wave  of  precipitation  is  hitting  southern  MO  now,  and  hopefully  minus  the  tornadoes  or  other  severe  weather,  we  will  get  a  good  multi-­‐day  soaker.    If  it’s  out  by  6  pm  on  Saturday  for  the  first  Mizzou  football  game  that  

Near average August, Dreadful Precip TotalsA. August continued the streak of above average temperatures (now at 11 straight), but at a relatively mild + 2.5℉.B. May - August precipitation totals are downright scary to look at it. If significant rains don’t occur by tomorrow, it will be the driest period ever.

BA

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

100.0

110.0

8/1 8/3 8/5 8/7 8/9 8/11 8/13 8/15 8/17 8/19 8/21 8/23 8/25 8/27 8/29 8/31

Tem

pera

ture

(°F)

Columbia, MO August Daily Max/Min Temperature

Normal vs 2012

Avg Max Temp Avg Min Temp 2012 Max Temp 2012 Min Temp

Aug 1-31, 2012 Avg: 78.7°F Dept. from Norm: +2.5°

Top 5 Hottest Aug 1-31 1936: 85.1°F

1947: 85.0 1913: 83.0 2007: 82.9 1983: 82.1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1890 1895 1900 1905 1910 1915 1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

May

-Aug

Pre

cip.

(in.

)

May-Aug Precipitation Columbia, Missouri (1890-2012)

1993 1943

1995 1981

1901 1976 1936 2012

1990

1911

Isaac  in  MO  Hooray!  PRR  would  not  be  OK    

 

 

would  be  a  bonus,  but  I  could  handle  getting  rained  on  a  little  to  receive  the  great  benefit.          Quick  Hits    

 

Renovation:    I  mentioned  renovation  in  the  previous  update,  but  reseeding  may  need  to  wait  until  after  TD-­‐Isaac  passes.    I  realize  it’s  kind  of  late  to  mention  now,  but  I  didn’t  want  to  jinx  it!    The  rain  (hopefully  we  get  it)  will  do  a  few  things  –  potentially  positive  and  negative.      #1  The  system  should  green  up  truly  dormant  turf,  and  allow  for  identification  of  truly  dead  areas.    Finding  out  what  areas  are  not  going  to  recuperate  may  save  in  seed  costs.        #2  The  first  wave  of  precipitation  will  probably  not  hit  receptive  soils.    Water  will  run  off  or  into  cracked  clays  and  potentially  drag  small  turf  seed  with  it.    Seed  down  gutters  doesn’t  do  much  good.    If  seed  has  been  applied  recently,  it  may  help  to  put  mulch  or  pine  straw  down  tomorrow  to  keep  it  in  place.        #3  Previously  unworkable  soil  may  become  workable  again  early  next  week.    Unfortunately,  this  is  not  the  time  to  aerify  zoysia  lawns/fairways  as  it  may  spark  unwanted  infection  by  the  large  patch  pathogen.    However,  if  reseeding  is  your  aim,  lightly  scarring  the  soil  surface  to  ensure  good  seed-­‐soil  contact  will  be  beneficial  and  much  easier  after  the  system  passes.        

     

Much Needed Isaac RainCurrent radar imagery (6 pm Thurs.) from weather.com showing the 1st waves of Isaac precipitation reaching southern MO. Above: Current drought status of the state.

Isaac  in  MO  Hooray!  PRR  would  not  be  OK    

 

 

Diseases    

   No  diseases  have  come  into  the  diagnostic  lab  in  the  last  two  weeks.    However,  it  is  necessary  to  put  out  an  alert  for  Pythium  root  rot  and  damping  off  diseases  since  leaf  wetness  and  saturated  soils  may  finally  occur  throughout  Missouri.    For  golf  courses,  root  health  on  bentgrass  putting  greens  are  in  the  first  stages  of  recovery,  and  maybe  vulnerable  to  attack.      On  golf  greens  with  a  history  of  Pythium  root  rot  (PRR),  a  watered-­‐in  preventive  fungicide  application  of  Banol,  Segway,  or  Subdue  may  be  warranted.    For  those  that  have  seeded  a  few  weeks  ago  and  have  young  seedlings  established,  it  would  be  wise  to  closely  monitor  them  after  the  storm  passes.    Damping  off  diseases  caused  by  Rhizoctonia  and  Pythium  spp.  can  be  prevalent  and  devastating  in  saturated  conditions,  and  the  kick  from  a  starter  fertilizer  can  be  the  fuel  to  that  fire.      As  an  aside,  the  national  plant  pathology  society  I  belong  to,  (the  American  Phytopathological  Society)  just  released  a  video  promoting  our  profession.    Not  a  lot  of  exposure  for  turf,  but  it  is  a  window  into  the  types  of  research  conducted  by  plant  pathologists.    If  you  have  some  time  while  its  raining,  you  can  view  it  at  the  link  here.              Short  updates  normally  mean  good  news.    Hopefully  we  all  can  enjoy  the  rain!    Go  Tigers!    

Isaac  in  MO  Hooray!  PRR  would  not  be  OK    

 

 

           Lee  Miller  Follow  on  Twitter!    @muturfpath  Extension  Turfgrass  Pathologist  University  of  Missouri