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K-State Turf and Landscape Blog

Month: September 2015

Large patch prevention time

Posted on by kennelly

(Megan Kennelly, KSU Plant Pathology)

IMG_7026

It seems like we were just talking about all our summer diseases and summer stress, but now we need to be thinking about fall. September is the time to be thinking about large patch in zoysiagrass.

There is some great info about large patch control at this link, starting on page 14.

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/ppa/ppa1/ppa1.pdf

We’ve done quite a few trials at KSU over the years, and our results match pretty closely with the efficacy data shown at the above link. Regarding timing, we’ve had good control from most application timings in September.

Large patch tends to be in the same areas from one year to the next, so one option is to map out “hot spots” and focus on those.

If you just can’t get enough large patch info, you can check out some short videos here that I made awhile back:

Part 1: (5 min symptoms/biology)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD-dlw9NfLk

Part 2 (14 min – management): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIl0bsLYatI

Hot Holiday Weekend Didn’t Slow Down the Oak Leak Itch Mite

Posted on by jahoyle

(By Jared Hoyle, KSU Turfgrass Research and Extension)

Do you have a Pin Oak tree close by to your house? Well, if you do then you are a prime target for the Oak Leaf Itch Mite.  I was outside this past weekend and this morning I found little red bites on my skin with a tiny little blister in the middle.  I remembered this time last year the same thing happened to me and it was the Oak Leaf Itch Mite. After getting bit there isn’t much you can do other than use some anti-itch cream and try not to scratch the bites, that will make it worse.

I wrote a blog post about this last year but I wanted to let everyone know that with fall right around the corner and everyone picking up leaves be aware that you might find some bug bites on your skin.  Definitely don’t let you kids jump in the pile of leaves, especially if you have oak trees.

Below is some more information about Oak Leaf Itch Mites and what to do about them.

Three Quick Facts about Itch Mites:

1. The itch mites are microscopic and can not be seen by the naked eye.

2. DEET or other bug repellents will not prevent you from getting bit.

3. Itch mites can not live in your home.

Here is a link to the post from last year (with pictures):

https://blogs.k-state.edu/turf/got-unexplained-ichy-bites/

KSU Entomology has an article here (scroll down to see):

http://entomology.k-state.edu/doc/Newsletters/2014/KSInsectNewsletter24.pdf

and a fact sheet here:
http://www.bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/MF2806.pdf

and here is some more info:

http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pcitchmites.htm