August Cools: We Catch Our Breath, Flood Injury, Pythium blight, Physiological Decline, Fairy Ring Develops, Tim’s IS-AP18, and Peter says Microclimate
It’s now August and this summer now seems a little less ominous? Not a bad thing if you are a superintendent responsible for acres and acres of green. This week began hot as ever, but that all changed Tuesday night when cooler air moved temperatures 10 degrees in the right direction – that would be down. As the calendar page turned, the statisticians went to work. Comparisons of each season help us understand where we are with regard to “average” or “normal”. Nationwide this summer has already been written in the books as a hot one. It has broken records that were decades old – wettest July ever!?! With regard to high temperatures, Chicago has basically achieved its average number of hottest days but remember August hasn’t given us her total yet. The good news (for now) is the heat has broken and we can now summarize, better understand and assess the damage from a hot, record wet July which had our attention from the beginning.
In the wake of July we learned that the air was very wet. In regions of our area, the average dew point value had not been higher in July since 1980. That can help us understand and explain why turf loss on golf courses has been widespread for the second summer season in a row. In nearly every case the situation is the same – areas that flood midsummer are unable to survive. Oh one more thing, the break also allows us to recover. May you rest well, nights are once again 60s.
Boy I’m glad it’s August!
Derek
Derek Settle, PhD
Director of Turfgrass Program
Chicago District Golf Association
