Kansas State University

search

K-State Turf and Landscape Blog

Author: kennelly

Thank you and best wishes to Dr. Hoyle!

The K-State Turf Team would like to give a heartfelt farewell, thank you, and best wishes to our friend and colleague Dr. Jared Hoyle.

As you saw in Jared’s recent message, he is leaving KSU to join Corteva Agriscience. We will miss Jared, but we are excited for him to pursue other opportunities. We are glad he’ll still be based in Manhattan, at least for now.

Jared joined KSU as an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in 2013. He was recently promoted to Associate Professor with tenure. He’s had an extremely productive academic record in both research and extension. Jared has been particularly active in social media, with more than 2,300 followers on Twitter and around 200 blog posts. He has created videos for KSRE, KSUTurf YouTube and other channels with more than 2,700 views. Jared has developed “flipped classroom” online resources to support the Extension Master Gardener Program. Jared also served a critical role as Director of the Rocky Ford Turfgrass Research Center in Manhattan. We will miss Jared as a KSU colleague, but we look forward to working with him in new ways.

Cheers and best wishes to Dr. Hoyle!

Sincerely,

The KSU Turf Team

Megan Kennelly, Jack Fry, Steve Keeley, Dale Bremer, Christy Dipman

Turf research and extension update – KSU COVID19 implications

Hello everyone,

It is an unprecedented time at KSU. We are under highly limited on-campus operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At present, only “mission critical/essential” functions are occurring on campus. Faculty, staff, and students are primarily teleworking from home. Courses have shifted to online-only, extension includes no face-to-face interactions until at least mid-May, and many research labs are essentially closed or running at very minimal levels. However, the KSU Turf Team is still here to support the industry as best we can while carefully following all the public health policies and guidelines.

Currently, much of our long-term turfgrass research is still operational at Manhattan (Rocky Ford Turfgrass Research Center), Olathe (K-State Olathe Horticulture Research & Extension Center), and Haysville (JC Pair Center) but under highly restricted conditions. We have developed Continuation of Operations Plans to work safely following all CDC guidelines and policies of our College of Agriculture and KSU. We have reduced time on-site to essential tasks only. The KSU Plant Disease Diagnostic lab is still open, but with some changes. Details can be found here.

The situation evolved very rapidly over the past 2 weeks, it is still evolving,  and things could change.

In addition, our colleague Dr. Jared Hoyle is leaving KSU to take an exciting opportunity in industry. You can read Jared’s farewell here and our turf team message here. This is additional change for the Turf Team to navigate right now. We are in conversation with college leadership about this topic as well.

In the meantime you can reach us by email and phone.

As always, your local K-State Research and Extension Agent is a best first contact. You can click on this map to find your local office. Agents are also primarily teleworking due to the COVID19 situation but they are responding to email and phone.

Jack Fry: jfry@ksu.edu, turf management questions from professionals.  913-353-6823 (cell)

Megan Kennelly: kennelly@ksu.edu, plant diseases. 785-532-1387

Raymond Cloyd: rcloyd@ksu.edu, insects 785-532-4750

Stay well and best wishes for good health to you and your families. We know many of you are affected both personally and professionally by the current situation. Our top concern is everyone’s health and well-being. Take care everyone.

Plant diagnostic lab open during KSU limited operations due to COVID19

(Megan Kennelly, KSU Plant Pathology, kennelly@ksu.edu)

Hello everyone,

It is an unprecedented time at KSU. We are under limited on-campus operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At present, only “mission critical/essential” functions are occurring on campus. Faculty, staff, and students are primarily teleworking from home. All teaching has converted to online, and research operations have ramped down significantly. Mail and package delivery systems have changed.

Our plant diagnostic lab remains open. I will continue to work closely with Judy O’Mara on horticulture sector samples. Judy, as Director of the lab, provides this important update:

The KSU Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab continues to remain open at this time. However, we are working under limited operations and staff, so turn around may take a little longer than usual.  There have been a few changes to our submission procedures. Please read the information below:

  • No in-person sample delivery to lab. Instead, if you are in Manhattan please use the soil drop box located on the Northwest side of Throckmorton PSC.
  • US Postal Service sample delivery to 4032 Throckmorton PSC 1712 Claflin Rd Manhattan, KS 66506 is still available, but will be checked at a minimum of twice a week. Time sensitive samples  should NOT use USPS and instead use the new temporary address below for UPS/FEDEX.
  • The best mailing option for samples to the plant disease diagnostic lab is BELOW.

Please email us the tracking # so we know that a sample is coming to the lab.

Our NEW TEMPORARY MAILING ADDRESS for UPS/FEDEX packages

KSU Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab
1310A Westloop Pl #351

Manhattan, KS 66502

The growing season is about to kick off and we want to support Kansas growers and county extension offices. If you have questions, please contact us at clinic@ksu.edu

Judy O’Mara

Extension Plant Pathology, State Leader

K-State Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab, Director

jomara@ksu.edu

 

Natural needle drop, or plant disease?

(Megan Kennelly, KSU Plant Pathology)

Which of these is a disease, and which is natural needle drop?

If you guessed natural needle drop for the first and disease (Dothistroma needle blight) for the second, you are right!

If you were not sure, here are some resources to figure it out.

In a recent article in Horticulture News, Ward Upham mentioned some recent reports about natural needle drop on evergreens. You can read more about it here:

http://www.ksuhortnewsletter.org/newsletters/natural-needle-drop-on-spruce-arborvitae-and-pines

In addition, this publication talks about pine diseases and at the end there is a section about natural needle drop:

https://www.bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/l722.pdf

If you see yellowing, browning, or dropping of needles and you still are not sure you can reach out to your local K-State Research and Extension office or contact the KSU Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab:

Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab

1712 Claflin Road
4032 Throckmorton PSC
Manhattan, Kansas 66506
(785) 532-5810
Fax: (785) 532 5692
clinic@ksu.edu

 

Are you using the right gloves for pesticide safety? And a new resource to translate safety info into Spanish

With pesticides, usually we are thinking about the active ingredient that targets the problematic insect, weed, or disease. But did you know that the different “carriers” in the formulation can affect applicator safety, too?

Here is a quick article that summarizes some of the key points of selecting the right gloves for applicator safety:

If the Glove Doesn’t Fit (the job!), You Must Quit

 

Speaking of pesticide safety, the EPA recently announced a new program to help translate information into Spanish.

https://www.epa.gov/pesticides/epa-offers-guide-help-translate-pesticide-safety-information-spanish

You can find the full guide here:

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-10/documents/spanish-translation-guide-for-pesticide-labeling.10.10.19.pdf

 

Research in progress: zoysia seedhead suppression

(Megan Kennelly, KSU Plant Pathology)

I was out looking at our zoysiagrass breeding plots the other day and in a couple of plots I saw some seedhead development:

 

This was unusual, as we typically see this in spring, and it’s probably just a unique physiology of these couple of breeding lines. Anyway, this observation prompted me to mention that we are continuing KSU’s work on zoysiagrass seedhead suppression. You may have seen the articles about the prior excellent work by Dr. Hoyle and colleagues which you can view here:

Suppressing Meyer zoysiagrass seedheads

and here (academic peer-reviewed version)

https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/cftm/abstracts/4/1/180012?access=0&view=pdf

We are following up on this work with additional trials to hone in on the biology and management of seedheads, fine-tuning application timings of ethephon. Stay tuned for results in the coming 1-2 years as we collect data. The project team members are PhD student Manoj Chhetri, Jack Fry, Jared Hoyle, me, and Aaron Patton (Purdue). The project is funded by the GCSAA, Heart of America Golf Course Superintendents Association, and Kansas Turfgrass Foundation.