Some Firsts: 1st of April Arrives, 1st Diagnostic Visits and When To Expect 1st Warm Days?
April Fools? Warmer than average temperatures for the upper Midwest in April, 2022 is about a 50/50 chance. But maybe that’s just April Fools…
March Weather Summary by Shehbaz Singh, MS
Cold Dips. Air temperature for March 2022 is mostly higher than the normal range for this month except a dip around 12th of March when temperature was lowest (11° F). This repeated on the 27th and 28th with about 22° F. A year ago, the lowest temperature in March was 22° F.
Temperature Highs. Highest temperature recorded in 2022 was around 74° F on 21th of March. Last year, the temperature ranges for the month of March were also relatively higher than the normal temperature range for this month. Highest temperature for March 2021 was 69° F.
Snow and Precipitation. The snow accumulation for march month is about 4 inches which is lower than the normal (5.1 inches) for this month. However, the snow accumulation for March, 2021 was only 1.8 inches which is quite low in comparison. Total precipitation for this month was about 3.8 inches and is quite higher than the normal March precipitation of about 2.4 inches.
April Forecast. For the first 10 days of April, the maximum air temperatures for Chicago will be lower than 60 ° F and the minimum temperatures will be around 35-40 °F. The Chicago area is predicted to see highs greater than 60 °F for 3-5 consecutive days beginning on April 11th and this is about a week earlier than normal. Overall, temperature ranges for this year’s April is pretty much similar to normal trends.
1st Diagnostic Visits — Microdochium Patch/Pink Snow Mold and Winter-Kill by Derek Settle, PhD
Microdochium patch or pink snow mold
Good news. This year, we have not seen many signs of snow molds on golf greens. It means the conditions required of extended periods of (deep) snow cover didn’t materialized. However, a winter with a late start of snowfall (like this one) or one with intermittent snow events (like this one) is still good enough. Good enough for one snow mold disease called Microdochium patch.
Greens the concern. Microdochium patch is caused by the fungal pathogen M. nivale. It can develop with or without snow cover — hence the name pink snow mold isn’t entirely accurate. Microdochium patch is what we see every spring in Chicago. Damage by this disease is a primary concern on one playing surface = greens. Where ball roll characteristics are necessarily important. In tees, fairways, roughs (the taller grass areas) we do not worry as much. For the “tall grass”, natural recovery of turfgrass can and will occur during spring green-up and regrowth. And will begin sometime in April. It’s April!
Fungicides. Many chemistries exist. Prevention in the fall is the preferred method of control. Curative or post-infection strategies are also effective but turfgrass recovery is dependent on weather. A cool spring will slow needed growth. Chemical Control of Turfgrass Diseases is a very good reference (see page 15). http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/ppa/ppa1/ppa1.pdf
Winter-Kill
Scouting. The other issue(s) that we can see in early spring are related to turfgrass physiology. In this case, we are “scouting” for signs of any winter -kill caused by freezing. Greens are the main concern. It usually occurs when an area is not able to drain as well as it should. The fix has more to do with cultural practices that can improve drainage and/or eliminate the annual bluegrass (Poa annua) component of golf greens. You see creeping bentgrass is just way more cold tolerant in the early spring. Better genetics. Poor Poa.
CDGA Fact Sheets. For more on this story please see a portion of a new CDGA Fact Sheet on Winter-Kill by Shehbaz Singh (below).
