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Bryan Izatt

  • Karma: +0/-0
Superintendants - Diagnose a Disease?
« on: October 11, 2012, 01:47:57 AM »

At my club the greens (bent) are getting infected with what look like green mouldy patches.  I was told that they were a form of mould, but I can't find any pictures online that look like it.  The patches were dark green and smooth.  When dug up the roots sort of looked mushroomy.  I though they might be moss, but am certainly not knowledgeable at all.  Here are three pictures of the patches. Can anyone hazard a guess as to what it is?  The course is located in southern Ontario which is a temperate zone with cold snowy winters and hot humid summers and everything in between.

The greens were recently aerated and the white specs are the sand top dressing.








Grant Saunders

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Superintendants - Diagnose a Disease?
« Reply #1 on: October 11, 2012, 02:03:36 AM »
Hi Bryan

Who told you its a mould and is there reason to doubt their assessment?

Diseases can look quite different at varying stages and under a range of climatic conditions. Trying to diagnose just on photos can be a risky business. There should be a service in your area that can undertake disease analysis based on samples sent to a laboratory if identification is proving difficult or treatment isnt working.

As an example, we have a moss that can be easily confused as algal slime in its early life stages. Im certainly not implying this is what you have but rather throwing it out there purely as an example.

http://www.turfmanagers.co.nz/files/turf/silver-moss.pdf
« Last Edit: October 11, 2012, 02:06:57 AM by Grant Saunders »

RJ_Daley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Superintendants - Diagnose a Disease?
« Reply #2 on: October 11, 2012, 02:10:42 AM »
Could it be a algae outbreak?

never mind
« Last Edit: October 11, 2012, 11:06:14 AM by RJ_Daley »
No actual golf rounds were ruined or delayed, nor golf rules broken, in the taking of any photographs that may be displayed by the above forum user.

Neil White

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Superintendants - Diagnose a Disease?
« Reply #3 on: October 11, 2012, 03:59:13 AM »
Bryan,

Looks like Silver Thread moss to me.

Here are links to a few page detailing it http://archive.lib.msu.edu/tic/gcman/article/2005mar103.pdf
http://archive.lib.msu.edu/tic/gcman/article/2009jan137.pdf

Cheers,

Neil.
« Last Edit: October 11, 2012, 04:05:44 AM by Neil White »

Don_Mahaffey

Re: Superintendants - Diagnose a Disease?
« Reply #4 on: October 11, 2012, 07:25:16 AM »
I'm with Neil, looks like the moss we used to battle in Oregon.

Moss, like algae, is opportunistic and takes hold in thin areas. Once it establishes, it can be very difficult to eradicate.

Cultural practices include raising the height of cut and increasing fertility. (Like so many issues on greens, its usually a result of the push for speed)

I haven't dealt with it for 7 years so I may be out of date, but when we had small outbreaks, we used to sprinkle a little baking soda on it which dries it out and gives the turf a chance to reclaim the spot. Heavy infestations were treated with metal based chemicals, Cholorothalonil ZN, Quicksilver....lots of info on the web.

Used to be a huge problem, don't hear as much about it anymore so I'm guessing there are plenty of success stories out there you can learn from.     

Greg Chambers

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Superintendants - Diagnose a Disease?
« Reply #5 on: October 11, 2012, 10:18:56 AM »
I agree that it's moss.  If it's not too bad yet, ferrous sulfate should help to keep it under control.
"It's good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling.”

Peter Ferlicca

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Superintendants - Diagnose a Disease?
« Reply #6 on: October 11, 2012, 10:30:26 AM »
Also agree that is looks like some silver thread moss.  When I was doing my internship up in Washington this summer we had bent grass greens that had silver thread moss, like Don said, where there by cutting too low.  We tried to compat it with spraying either quicksilver, or ferrous sulfate which helps stun the moss and let the turfgrass try to establish.

Randy Thompson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Superintendants - Diagnose a Disease?
« Reply #7 on: October 11, 2012, 10:44:26 AM »
Agreed it is a moss, we battle it down here in many clubs throughout South America. High rates of iron sulfate will knock it back but not kill it. There is a chemical, which is a herbicide made in Brazil that works excellent and kills it completly after three applications over a three to four week period. This moss forms under anerobic conditions. Your much better attacking the problem, not the symptoms, something is causing the surface to remain saturated. Many times its the result of topdressing with a finer sand than what was used for the base of the green. Kind of forms a mini perched water table. The area where we had the biggest problem was a course along the beach. We had dews every day and cloud cover until one or two in the afternoon. Ideal for maintaining the surfaces wet. You have to get water off the surface, spiking helps, raising the height of cut helps, aerifying helps, wetting agent help as does the iron sulfate applications up to two pounds per 1000 square feet. Becareful with the iron sulfate, depnds what your PH is, better to be used at this concentrations only in high ph situations and gradually build up to these high rates. Greens will turn black for a couple of days from tissue burn but recover quickly. The active ingredient of the product out of Brazil, that really works is Carfentrazone Ethly and the product is called Affinity. Porgram is, 250 cc / ha. the first application, the second application after fourteen days another 250cc/ha and then 2 weeks later follow up with a third application of 125cc. I battled this problem with limited results for over fifteen years and now have completly eliminated the problem through this program for the past three years at several courses throughout South America.
« Last Edit: October 11, 2012, 10:47:17 AM by Randy Thompson »

Bryan Izatt

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Superintendants - Diagnose a Disease?
« Reply #8 on: October 11, 2012, 12:01:00 PM »

Thanks all for the feedback.  It's encouraging that there has been some success in combating it.


Sean McCue

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Superintendants - Diagnose a Disease?
« Reply #9 on: October 11, 2012, 01:54:52 PM »
Quicksilver will take it out no problem.  Throw it in the spray tank each greens spray all season and before you know it will be gone.
Be sure to visit my blog at www.cccpgcm.blogspot.com and follow me on twitter @skmqu

Randy Thompson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Superintendants - Diagnose a Disease?
« Reply #10 on: October 11, 2012, 03:14:43 PM »
Bingo---Quicksilver is the same active ingredient as Affinity from Brazil!
Effective Date:  03/01/2012 
Expiration Date:  No Expiration Date 
Trade Name: QuickSilver Herbicide Emulsifiable Concentrate
Active Ingredient: Carfentrazone
For use in:  Canada
For use on: Turf
« Last Edit: October 11, 2012, 04:19:06 PM by Randy Thompson »

Sean Remington (SBR)

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Superintendants - Diagnose a Disease?
« Reply #11 on: October 12, 2012, 07:16:27 AM »
Yes  -  QuickSilver 

Duane Sharpe

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Superintendants - Diagnose a Disease?
« Reply #12 on: October 12, 2012, 08:33:16 PM »
100% is moss. Quicksilver is the ticket. Low rates every two weeks will wipe it out. Good luck

Dane Hawker

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Superintendants - Diagnose a Disease?
« Reply #13 on: October 19, 2012, 05:10:55 PM »
Moss but why? Overwatering?

Peter Ferlicca

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Re: Superintendants - Diagnose a Disease?
« Reply #14 on: October 19, 2012, 11:15:50 PM »
Dane,

From what I learned this past summer, when you have very low mowing heights on your putting greesn (trying to increase the speed) the grass has a hard time staying strong.  That is when the moss will take over the weak spots in the turf.  Everyone said that back when they didn't cut as low, they never had as much moss.  The lower you cut, the more likely you are to have moss creep in.  Actually, in general, the lower you cut your greens the more likely for a lot of bad stuff to come.  BUT, with members thinking that courses are only good if their greens roll 12+, you have to put up with this stuff. 

Steve Okula

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Superintendants - Diagnose a Disease?
« Reply #15 on: October 20, 2012, 04:44:44 AM »
In my observations, the moss invades when the grass canopy is thin and sunlight can reach the surface under the leaves. I think it has everything to do with sunlight and open surface and isn't necessarily related to moisture or watering. Like stated above, low mowing heights are a prime cause,  and they can be exacerbated by low fertility levels, another thing we do to increase putting green speed to please ever more demanding golfers. Unless my greens are 11'+ on the stimp I get complaints about "slow" greens, and I'm forever battling moss, but get no complaints about that. I think people here would be happy to putt on 100% moss if it rolled 12'.
« Last Edit: October 20, 2012, 04:46:39 AM by Steve Okula »
The small wheel turns by the fire and rod,
the big wheel turns by the grace of God.

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