Green World AN INDUSTRYWIDE PUBLICATION OF THE NEW JERSEY TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION Volume 7, Number 3 Fall 1977 YELLOW TUFT DISEASE A Downy Mildew of Turfgrasses Noel Jackson, Professor of Plant Pathology University of Rhode Island, Kingston For over 50 years golf superintendents have been aware of a disease symptom on bentgrass turf referred to commonly as yellow tuft. Various causal agents have been proposed over the years with nematodes and viruses as the prime candidates, but recently a fun­ gus has been established incontroverti- bly as the pathogen involved. Yellow tuft disease on bentgrass turf is usually evanescent and seldom ser­ ious; consequently, the problem has received only cursory attention. A ren­ ewed interest in the disease was prompted in the early seventies by the widespread appearance of yellow tuft on Kentucky bluegrass sod in Rhode Island. In some instances, the symptoms were so severe as to render the sod temporarily unsaleable. A detailed examination of diseased turfgrasses from Rhode Island and elsewhere revealed that the typical symptoms are always associated with a systemic infection of the plants by a downy mildew, Sclerophthora macro- spora. SYMPTOMS Early symptoms of yellow tuft are often hard to discern. Leaf blades may be thickened or broadened slightly and if unmown, the infected plants may show some degree of stunting. In regu­ larly mown turf this characteristic is masked, and even heavily infected plants may appear normal in color and texture for long periods of time. Advanced symptoms on bentgrass and red fescue turf appear as small yellow spots 1/4 to 1 inch in diameter; on bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, the spots are larger in the range of 1 to 3 inches in diameter. Each spot is comprised of a dense cluster of yellow shoots due to proliferation of axillary buds at crowns or at the nodes and terminals of creeping stems. Individual shoots making up the tufts form few adventitious roots and the tufts are easily detached from the turf. (Page 3, Please) What You Can Do About EPA’s List of RPAR’s Paul Sartoretto, Ph.D. Technical Director, W.A. Cleary Corporation How will the Environmental Protec­ tion Agency’s list of chemicals classi­ fied as RPAR affect you? If a pesticide is classified as a Rebut­ table Presumption Against Registra­ tion, it means that EPA presumes the pesticide poses an environmental hazard and, if the manufacturer cannot rebut this presumption, the pesticide will not be reregistered under the new FIFRA law. That’s the end of that product. What are the guidelines EPA is using? Such tests as carcinogenic (can­ cer producing), teratogenic or muta­ genic (abnormal birth defects), onco­ genic (tumor producing), and persis­ tence in the environment. Of course if it is mutagenic or oncogenic, there is a remote possibility that the product used in the turf field poses minimal exposure to the applicator and no exposure to food crops, water, fish or wildlife. Risks vs. Benefits Having cleared that hurdle, the manufacturer must present a good case in the next phase of risk-benefit assess­ ment. What is now considered by EPA are the number of acres treated, the effi­ cacy of the product, and the conditions under which it is used. An assessment is then made of whether the risks are greater or less than the benefits. (Page 4, Please) Aspirin, Soap as Poisons More children were poisoned by aspirin, vitamins, soap, detergents and cleaners than by insecticides in 1975, according to HEW’s National Clearing House for Poison Control. Fewer than 6 percent of all poisonings were from pesticides and less than half of the pesticide-related poisonings required medical treatment. Yellow tuft on bentgrass turf Comments and Opinions POTASH ‘ROBBERY’ It’s too bad that the world’s largest potash deposits and one of the world’s poorest governments had to occur in the same province in Canada. Why couldn’t the Good Lord have put one at one end of that great country and the other several thousand miles away? Premier Allan Blakeney, who sounds like something out of Treasure Island, says he’s going to name the price he’ll pay the potash mining companies and if they don’t like it, he’ll simply take over. Something like a billion dollars, nearly all of it from private investors, has gone into the development of Sas­ katchewan’s potash industry and now that things are going well, the local police state is going to make the big grab. It’s the old story, repeated many times before in many parts of the world and it will come to the same conclu­ sion: The private investors will be robbed, the government will botch up the operation of the mines, the customers will pay more for less product and the poor citizens of Sas­ katchewan will have their taxes raised. The only ones to gain are a small bunch of power-hungry holdup men in the government. — Agrichemical Age DON’T COUNT YOUR CASH UNTIL ITS TAXED Allen Grant, American Farm Bur­ eau president, has called attention to a Chamber of Commerce estimate of average household expenditures in 1978 of $3,354 for food, $1,166 for clothing, and $985 for automobiles. But, says the Chamber, “the federal government will cost the average fami­ ly $5,797, based on the $440-billion budget for fiscal 1978. Congress will set the final cost, which means the amount per family could go higher.” Green World is published three times a year by the New Jersey Turfgrass Associa­ tion, P.O. Box 231, New Brunswick, N.J. 08903. Ralph Engel, consulting editor; Russell Stanton, managing editor. Please address inquiries concerning advertising to .lack Wittpenn, advertising director, Box 809, W. Caldwell, N.J. 07006 (575- 1322) ‘Food in Your Future’ “The Food in Your Future” is a book well worth your attention, according to William B. Seward, in Down to Earth, publication of the Dow Chemical Company. Written by Keith C. Barrons, the book is said to be more provocative than its title. It’s essentially about your food and what must be done to assure a continuing abundance. Here’s a brief summary of a few of the chapters, prepared bv the author: The Land Gobblers. Cities continue their sprawl, often in the direction of our most productive land. Developers like the economy of level ter­ rain. Shopping centers and single-story industrial buildings, all with their tremendous park­ ing lot requirements, are more cheaply built on level land, of­ ten the land that is best adapted to food production. The Organic Farming Promoters. If much of the world adopted the system of farming they recommend, we would soon have a serious food shor­ tage. This is not to say that manure should not be applied to the soil whenever available; that is the most ecologically sound way to handle it. But if all the manure generated by our livestock was divided up among the acres tilled we would still have a crisis in plant nutrition if fertilizer was not used. Indeed we would have a food disaster, a horrendous famine. The Far-Out Environmenta­ lists. Barry Commoner in “The Closing Circle” refers to the “addiction” of soil to fertilizer nitrogen. Apparently mimick­ ing Commoner’s views, Time magazine stated, “Just as peo­ ple get hooked on drugs, so the soil seems to be addicted to chemical additives and loses its ability to fix its own nitrogen.” The most charitable thing a soil specialist could say about these statements is that they are grossly misleading. I will say they are completely erroneous or in a less charitable mood, baloney! You can get a copy for $7.95 from your bookseller or the publisher, Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 450 W. 33rd St., New/York. Sees Yogurt Free of Cancer, Mice-wise In Bulgaria Anyway Washington columnist Dick West recently turned out a beautiful bit of satire on American science’s preoccu­ pation with mouse cancer. He reasoned that so many substances have been found to cause cancer in mice that the logical approach for scientists would be to go on a “crash program to try to isolate some substance that is comple­ tely harmless mice-wise.” West introduces an imaginary chemist, Merlin Tiddlehood, who is seeking a $650,000 grant from the National Institute of Health so he can conduct mouse experiments with yogurt. He believes this substance to be promising because of an article in the scientific literature about a small vil­ lage in Yugoslavia that once had a mice-infested yogurt plant. The plant was unique in that none of the mice that lived there ever died of cancer. Tiddlehood’s hope would be to deve­ lop yogurt deodorants, yogurt birth control pills, yogurt pesticides and yogurt bacon preservatives. It’s refreshing and useful to poke a little fun at the absurdities in some of the wacky scientific reasoning that ex­ ists today and it is particularly effective in the consumer press. We’d like to see more, believing this is a powerful way to help our regulatory and scientific communities keep their feet on the ground. — Agrichemical Age OFFICERS OF THE N.J.T.A. President Paul Boizelle Chuck Wilson Vice President Ralph Engel Secretary and Consulting Editor William Ritchie Treasurer EXECUTIVE BOARD Dave Buchholz Fred Eden Edgar Krause Samuel Leon Paul Sartoretto Jack Wittpenn Bert Jones Past President TUFT, (from Page 1) Prominent symptoms usually appear in late spring and again in the fall, especially if cool, wet weather condi­ tions prevail. Whole tufts may wither and die during hot dry periods but commonly a portion of the many tillers comprising the tuft will survive the stress situation. Further depredation of the tillers may occur due to stripe smut and/or Helminthosporium leaf spot infections. By June of the following year, fall seedings may show well developed yel­ low tuft symptoms, noticeable first in low-lying areas subject to previous flooding. The disease spreads outward from the initial infection sites and once established in a turf, yellow tuft will recur indefinitely with varying severity. Although unsightly, there is seldom permanent injury to the turf. THE FUNGUS After clearing and suitable staining of the tissues, microscopic examination of turfgrasses showing symptoms of yellow tuft invariably reveals the systemic mycelium of the fungus Scler- ophthora macrospora within the crowns, stems and leaves. A few axil­ lary buds may escape the colonizing hyphae emanating from the crown tis­ sue and may produce an occasional healthy tiller free of mycelium. Mycelium has not been observed in roots. The fungus reproduces asexually by means of sporangia which are produced in large numbers via the stomates of both leaf surfaces and on leaf sheaths. Sporangia have been seen in Rhode Island from May to Novemb­ er. Pearly white, turgid sporangia are present in the early morning while leaf surfaces are moist but they collapse to a dirty white residue as the leaves dry. Given optimum conditions, sporangia mature rapidly, each releasing 50 or more motile zoospores. Zoospores are remarkably chemo­ tactic and respond to low concentra­ tions of sugars, yeast extract and sever­ al individual amino acids. Guttation fluid and glutamine are very active stimulants. Imbibed seeds and seeds in the early stages of germination in large numbers at the region of the mesocotyl and encyst there. Rapid germination of the spores ensues. The first leaf at the region of the ruptured coleoptile is also an area of attraction to the zoospores and a focus for germ tubes. Germ tubes of widely varying lengths become swollen at the tips and align with the cell walls but actual penetration has not bee demon­ strated as yet. Sexual reproduction in Sclerophthor- a macrospora is accomplished by means of oospores. Large numbers of oospores were noted in Kentucky bluegrass leaves obtained from infect­ ed sod in May and June of this year. Lesser numbers have been seen in bentgrass and bluegrass in late summer and fall. Crabgrass, a common conta­ minant of turf areas, may develop enormous numbers of oospores in the fall prior to frost. Germination of these resting spores has not been observed in Rhode Is­ land, but development of a single spor­ angium from the oospore and subse­ quent release of zoospores has been reported elsewhere. COMMENTS Sclerophthora macrospora is a well- documented and widely distributed pathogen causing “crazy top” of corn, “yellow wilt” of rice and “prolifera­ tion” diseases of sugar cane, small grains and many grasses. This seem­ ingly ubiquitous fungus has been found in Rhode Island on the follow­ ing turfgrasses and associated grass species: Turfgrasses — Colonial, creeping and velvet bentgrass Red fescue and tall fescue Annual and perennial ryegrass Annual, rough and Kentucky bluegrass Others — Quackgrass, orchard grass, timothy Crabgrass, velvet grass Red canary grass, rye and com The widespread appearance of the disease in bluegrass sod-growing areas and the attendant economic losses places the disease into a more serious category worthy of research input. The relationship of S. macrospora and yel­ low tuft disease is well established though the mechanism of infection needs final confirmation. At the Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station, work is progress­ ing on this and other aspects of the etiology of the disease under turf con­ ditions and on possible means of con­ trol, both cultural and chemical. Sporangia of S. Macrospora on bluegrass leaf SERVING THE PROFESSIONAL TURF INDUSTRY SINCE 1903 JOHNS-MANVILLE/BUCKNER IRRIGATION EQUIPMENT JOHN BEAN SPRAYERS FUNGICIDES HERBICIDES INSECTICIDES FERTILIZER PUMPS, VALVES, CONTROLS ANDREW WILSON INC. 1170 US. ROUTE 22 MOUNTAINSIDE. NEW JERSEY 07092 (201) 654-5800 Progress is evolutionary, not revolu­ tionary. Sporangia of & Macrospora Mercury, Cadmium Control Snow Mold Fungicides containing mercury or cad­ mium did the best job of controlling gray snow mold on the greens of a golf club in the Adirondacks, according to plant pathologists from Cornell. R.W. Smiley and M.M. Craven reported the results of their test in Hudson Valley Foreground, as follows: “Wettable powder and flowable for­ mulations, with and without an added residue extender, and granular formu­ lations of several fungicides were com­ pared at equivalent active - ingredient rates for evaluation of their efficacy for controlling gray snow mold. The test was made on a mixed stand of bentg­ rass and annual bluegrass maintained as a putting green at the Thendara Golf Club, Old Forge, N.Y. “Sprayable formulations were ap­ plied to 3 by 10-foot plots with a self-powered boom sprayer which deli­ vered 1.7 gal. suspension to 1,000' square feet at 65 p.s.i. Granular formu­ lations were applied to 2 by 10-foot plots with a drop-type spreader which was calibrated individually for each fungicide. Treatments were replicated three times in a completely rando­ mized design. “Snow first covered the test site in mid-October, 1976. A two-day snow­ free period occurred on Nov. 4 and 5, during which time the fungicide appli­ cations were made. Snow began falling again as the applications were being completed. Total snow coverage exist­ ed on the plots for 160 days after the fungicides were applied, and the soil was unfrozen throughout the study period. “The percentage of dead or appar­ ently dead plants in each plot area was assessed visually one day after the first snow melt in the spring, which oc­ curred on April 13, 1977. Data were analyzed by use of Duncan’s Multiple Range Groupings (equal P=0.05). “Gray snow mold in this Adirondack Mountain region is typically severe since winters are long. The disease was adequately cont­ rolled only by fungicides containing mercury or cadmium, although some other fungicides were not used at higher recommended rates in order to allow for efficacy differentiations among formulations. Additions of the extender Exhalt 800 improved the effi­ cacy of only two of six fungicides: Terraclor (PCNB) and RP 26019 (hydantoin). “Granular formulations were gener- Tough Shot Department — Our Collaborator ally less effective for disease control than were equivalent active-ingredient rates of sprayable formulations. The efficacy of four granular formulations of PCNB was indirectly proportional to the size of particles.” RPAR’s, (from Page 1) If there are economical adequate substitutes that are not on the RPAR list, forget it. The product will not be reregistered. What are some of the products you use on turf that are on the RPAR list? Be ready for some surprises: CADDY, CADTRETE, KROMAD, 1991, DSMA, MSMA, AMA, PROXOL or DYLOX, SEVIN, PARAQUAT, MALEIC HYDRAZIDE, MANEB, ZINEB, PCNB, 2, 4, 5-T, LEAD AR­ SENATE. If you want to help save any of these products, please cooperate with the manufacturers and answer honestly if they ask you whether or not the parti­ cular product is far superior both econ­ omically and efficaciously in getting rid of your pest problem. Your responses will be collated and sent to EPA in an effort to effectively rebut EPA’s presumption. USS Vertagreen... For the best, see the best! For professional turf products you just can't beat the Vertagreen lineup And this complete array didn't just happen It's the result of many years of experience, testing and proven use—designed and formulated to meet every need and contingency USS Vertagreen products contain those extra pluses that separate them from ordinary turf fertilizers — like urea-formaldehyde Best Products! / Best People! for sustained, long-term nitrogen release There's potassium sulfate to provide needed sulfur for lush growth and a dark healthy color. And iron is available in chelated and fritted form. Add a complete guarantee of secondary and micro-nutrients and you have turf products that are second to none And backing this line of Verta­ green products are the best turf teams in the business—your local Vertagreen distributor and a Vertagreen turf specialist. The two work together to help plan your trailor-made turf program and keep it running smoothly. And that makes it easy for you because when you want the best you just have to see the best­ and that's your local Vertagreen distributor Agri-Chemicals Division of United States Steel PO Box 1685 Atiania Ga 30301 Are Your Fertilizers Working? From GCSA Newsletter Are your fertilizers working? Maybe ou should read the following: Nitrogen transformations in soil as affected by the fungicides benomyl, dyrene, and maneb. A.R. Mazur and T.D. Hughes, University of Illinois, Department of Horticulture. Agron­ omy Journal Vol. 67(6) pp. 755-758. In this study the objective was to determine the effect of benomyl (Ter- san 1991), dyrene and maneb (Dithane M-22 and Tersan LSR) upon the con­ version of nitrogen in the soil from NH4-N (ammonium) to NO3-N (nitrate). Nitrate is the form of nitro­ gen thought to be most readily utilized by the grass plant. Most slow-release fertilizers initially release the nitrogen as NH4-N and it must be converted by Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter bacteria to the utilizable N03-N form. There­ fore, primary interest was in the effect of the fungicides, upon nitrification (conversion of NH4-N to N03-N). High rates similar to those that might be found over a season’s appli­ cation of benomyl, dyrene and maneb produced varying effects upon the rate of conversion of NH4-N to N02-N (nitrite) and NO3-N. Benomyl applica­ tions had relatively little effect upon the rate of nitrification, and four weeks after application absolutely no effect was evident. Dyrene inhibited nitrifica­ tion more than benomyl. Ammonium (NH4-N) conversion was significantly reduced by all rates of application of dyrene. At the high rate of dyrene application it took eight weeks to con­ vert the applied NH4-N to NO2-N + NO3-N. Whereas with benomyl and plots receiving no fungicide the com­ parable rate allowed complete conver­ sion of NH4-N in two weeks. Maneb produced the greatest effect upon nitrification, causing conversion of the applied NH4-N to NO3-N to not be complete 16 weeks after fungicide application. Maneb completely blocked nitrification. From a practical standpoint these data might explain intermittent chloro­ sis noted after heavy applications of maneb to turf These fungicides may create chlorosis by effectively blocking nitrification and decreasing the supply of NO3-N available to the plant. This slight chlorosis is acceptable from a practical standpoint because the fungi­ cides provide very effective disease control. Much fine research is being conduct­ ed on turfgrass throughout the United States in an attempt to increase our general understand of how cultural, climatic, edaphic and geographic fac­ tors influence the turfgrass plant. Continuous support of turfgrass research is essential to achieving in­ creased understanding of the complex workings of nature. EDITOR’S COMMENT - The fungi­ cide selected can exert influence on turf in more ways than disease control. Sup­ pression of nitrification such as reported here could have good or bad effects according to growing conditions. — R.E.E. GROUNDHOG CONTROL WITHOUT CHEMICALS OR STEEL TRAPS Retaliation is human and Gene Tur- chi encountered his moment recently. He found himself within a kick’s length of a hefty groundhog. So he did what a lot of us might do. He administered a swift kick that required hospital treat­ ment of his leg. Presumably, the groundhog still digs, eats and waddles around his course. Come to think of it, Ron Boydston may be next if he gets too close to a goose. — Reported in Our Collaborator The food stamp program now makes up more than half of the Department of Agriculture budget — “a budget consumers and farmers must pay for,” according to the N.J. Farm Fureau. Fungicides 3336 Turf Fungicide A broad spectrum systemic fungicide that prevents and controls all six major turf diseases. BromosanTurf Fungicide The newest broad spectrum systemic fungicide for those persistent trouble areas. Spectro A combination contact and systemic which controls dollar spot, copper spot, brown patch, and leaf spot. • Caddy • PMAS (10%) •Cad-Trete • Spotrete Herbicides MCPP MCPP Plus 2.4-D Methar 80 Methar 30 AMA Plus 2.4-D AMA (Super Methar) Specialties All Wet Clear Spray Tru-Green Grass-Greenzit •Granular Turf Fungicide 1049 Somerset Street, Somerset, NJ 08873 (201)247 8000 ______ But Nobody Does Anything About It The Chinese aimlessly shot artillery rounds into thin clouds floating above their rice paddies this year. The cloud­ seeding chemicals coaxed down no raindrops, leaving China’s farms parched. In Scandinavia, however, where mid-July is normally the height of the vacation season, Swedes watched glumly as their campgrounds were doused with rain and swept by cold winds. The damp, chilly weather gave one in every five persons in West Germany the “summer flu.” Searing heat is summer weather in the Middle East, but even burnoosed Arabs were unable to fight off temper­ atures up to 120 degrees accompanied by 80 percent humidity. Three persons in the United Arab Emirates died from the heat during a three-day spell of record temperatures. The bitter cold winter and the soar­ ing summer that distorted weather pat­ terns in the United States for eight months had their counterparts in bizarre climatic conditions around the globe. Meteorologists, discussing the situa­ tion with scientific caution, say world weather patterns portend no perman­ ent change in the pattern of the sea­ sons, but they concede it has been out of the ordinary. — Hudson Valley Foreground And If You’re Worrying............. ... about what the winter may do to your sprinkler heads, be glad you don’t have to deal with this living tank. The white rhinos are a real hazard to the plumbing in the San Diego Wild Ani­ mal Park. ABSTRACT Competition Between Basidiomycetes Attacking Turf Grasses, J. Drew Smith and K. Arsvall. The Journal of Sports Turf Research Institute 51:46-50. 1975. SUMMARY When macerated isolates of Typhula ishikariensis and Typhula fw were mixed and used as inoculum in patho­ genicity tests significantly less severe disease was produced than when the isolates were used separately. This is thought to be due to mutual antagon­ ism, and its effects should be avoided in testing for disease resistance. In some of the basidiomycete snow moulds, e.g., the non-schlerotial low temperature basidiomycete, ltb, Typhula ishikariensis and Typhula fw one colony may antagonize its neigh­ bor in turf or in culture. In this way they differ from Fusarium nivale and Selerotinia borealis, both ascomycetes, colonies of which may grow into or over each other. It seems unlikely that hydrogen cyanide is the cause of this fungal antagonism although it is a metabolite of many fungi and is impli­ cated in disease production by the basi-diomycete Marasmius oreades which causes severe fairy rings, and the low temperature basidiomycete (ltb). COMMENTARY: This research which was done in Cana­ da, is of special interest because it shows antagonism between species of fungi within a genus. Antagonism of organisms has been known for some time, but research is making it more clear that turf diseases have many complex involvements. Research in the area of antagonisms offers a lot of work and opportunities. Such findings help the turfgrass grower appreciate all the complicated actions that help or hjnder disease control; and make his work more specific — Ralph E. Engel New Jersey Turfgrass Association P.O. Box 231 New Brunswick. N J. 08903 SUSTAINING MEMBERS (As of October) Lawn-A-Mat of Mountainside Metro Milorganite, Inc. Leon’s Sod Farm Green Hill Turf Supply, Inc. The Terre Co. Andrew Wilson, Inc. Princeton Mfg. Co. Playboy Resort & Country Qub Seacoast Laboratories, Inc. Mercer Sod, Inc. Rockland Chemical Co., Inc. Limestone Products Corporation A-L Services Fertl-Soil Co. Lofts Pedigreed Seed, Inc. Vaughan-Jacklin Corp. Garfield-Williamson, Inc. Lewis W. Barton Co. W. A. Cleary Corp. The Country Greenery Techniturf (Mass.) Wide Sky Farms, Inc. FARMING ‘ENERGY-EFFICIENT An agricultural engineer at the Uni­ versity of Nebraska says that a farmer’s energy needs really don’t make a big dent in our total energy use. “Agriculture uses about one percent of the total energy in the United States for food production on the farm. That’s the energy the farmer uses himself, according to the engineer. “Then his fertilizer energy costs, plus some other indirect costs, bring it up to about 3 percent.” The processing of food is estimated to consume about twice as much en­ ergy as the farmer uses to produce it. — This Week Write or call for further information and current prices. LOFTS Lofts Pedigreed Seed, Inc. Bound Brook. NJ 05505 / (201) 356-1700 *US Plant Patent * 3186. Dwarf Variety **Protection applied for under te U.S. Variety Protection Act. The Lord’s Prayer contains 56 words. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address contains 266 words. The Declaration of Independence contains 3,000 words. But a government regulation on the sale of cabbages contains 26,911 words. This Week Only the young never require an eraser.