July FAQs 2022

Here’s the July 2022 Monthly FAQ blog. A run through of the questions that get thrown my way during the month. After all, if one person asks the question a lot of other people are thinking the same.

It’s been a fairly quite month this July, I suspect the decent growing conditions at the beginning of the month and the heat towards the end of the month have been enough to keep people pretty occupied.

 

A few common themes:

 

Light stress, Red thread, Primo GDD model in hot weather and anthracnose

 

Q: Can grass really suffer from too much light?

It seems crazy to even suggest that grass, which has evolved to turn sunlight into usable energy, can have too much light, but with more and more research in this area it can become another stress factor which can eat away at turf health. See the recent blog...

 

 

Q: I'm seeing a lot of Red thread - What would you recommend?

It's that time of year when turf is stressed, weak and susceptible. Firstly I'd always say to look at your nutrition, Red thread is generally more prevalent in weak turf. An application of Nitrogen is often enough to reduce the pressure.

Seeing a lot of Red Thread - What should I do?

Instrata Elite has Red Thread on the label so this on top of your Nitrogen application will give the best levels of control. Here's a blog on what goes into getting additional disease on a existing products label....

 

Q: Does the GDD model still stack up for Primo use in a heat wave?

With unprecedented temperatures recorded this month in the UK its understandable to question the status quo, do I need another fan? shall I look again at aircon? Is the GDD model able to stand up to such extreme heat?

We tease through the issue here....

 

Q: My Anthracnose is rumbling along - what can I do?

Anthracnose is an annual challenge and whilst the damage shows itself during the backend of the summer the damage is done earlier in the year.

Here's a nice article we put together for Greenkeeper International....

 

This is certainly an area that needs increased work to understand the best integrated approaches to management.

What can I do about Anthracnose

However - if you have problems, you want to know where to turn - Instrata Elite is your best bet but it will only stop it progressing significantly further. The nature of Anthracnose means that if you can see damage then more plants will be infected and Instrata Elite will only protect the plants that have not yet been infected.

 

Q: So what interval should I use for Primo, if I don't use GDD?

Simplest version - for the time strapped

  • Cool weather – every 4 – 5 weeks
  • Warm weather – every 10 – 14 days
  • In the middle – In the middle

But make some time to look at GDD models and you will be pleasantly surprised...

 

Q: Is this Waitea patch or confused fairy ring I'm seeing?

I've definitely had more conversations about Waitea patch this month, it's something that's relatively new to the UK and is easily confused with fairly ring, causing some of the same symptoms (greening up the surrounding area). I'll be looking it it a bit more closely when I'm out and about and I'll put a blog together. Get in touch if you think your struggling with it.

 

 

Its been a tale of two half's this month, some of the hottest days we've ever seen since records began, but also some standard weather for the time of year, lets hope it evens out moving forward.

Enjoy the summer holidays.

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