KSU Entomology has been getting reports of Green June beetle larvae being noticed crawling around right now.
You can read more about it here:
http://blogs.k-state.edu/kansasbugs/2019/10/10/green-june-beetle-larvae/
June beetles are described in more detail in this publication:
https://www.bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/mf2901.pdf
As stated in that publication, “Although Phyllophaga grubs can be recovered from most turf venues, populations rarely are sufficient to cause visible damage.”
The University of Missouri recently held a Turfgrass and Landscape Field Day on July 30th, 2019 at their South Farm Research Center. They shared an update on their website, covering weeds, billbugs, diseases and bees.
Find more about their field day program in this link.
Here is the link for their Field Day Booklet.
The KGCSA Legacy Scholarship offers educational aid to the children and grandchildren of KGCSA members. A $1,000 scholarship will be awarded. Applications are due August 27, 2019.
Eligibility
1. One or more of the applicant’s parents or grandparents must have been a KGCSA member for five or more consecutive years and must be a currently active.
2. The student must be enrolled full-time at an accredited institution of higher learning, or in the case of high school seniors, must be accepted at such an institution for the next academic year. Graduating high school seniors must attach a letter of acceptance to their application.
3. Past winners are ineligible to apply the following year. They may reapply after a one-year hiatus.
Criteria for Selection
1. Applicants will be evaluated based on academic achievement, extracurricular and community involvement, leadership and outside employment.
2. The student must submit an original essay of up to 500 words.
You can download the application at www.kgcsa.org
SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY – 2019
The Heart of America GCSA Scholarship Program offers educational aid to deserving students in the turfgrass program at an accredited college or university in Kansas or Missouri.
A total up to $5,000 is allocated each year to deserving students. Applicants will compete based on their overall qualifications determined by the Scholarship and Research Committee.
Applicants:
2019 academic term
(Must carry a 2.75GPA or higher for consideration.)
Application:
Scholarship Application – 2019
Deadline:
October 31, 2019
Submit to:
Heart of America GCSA
Scholarship & Research Committee
638 W. 39th Street, Kansas City, MO 64111
Questions:
Kim Weitzel; kweitzel@westerneda.com
Minimal Water Requirements of Cool-Season Turfgrasses for Survival and Recovery After Prolonged Drought
Mu Hong, Dale Bremer, and Steve Keeley
Thermal Imaging Detects Early Drought Stress in Turfgrass Utilizing Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Mu Hong, Dale J. Bremer, and Deon van der Merwe
High and Low Management Input Regimes Result in Similar Net Carbon Sequestration Rates in Zoysiagrass Golf Course Fairway Turf
Ross C. Braun and Dale J. Bremer
Herbicide and Application Timing Effects on Windmillgrass (Chloris verticillata) Control
Nicholas Mitchell and Jared Hoyle
Influence of Herbicide Combinations and Sequential Applications on Windmillgrass (Chloris verticillata) Control
Nicholas Mitchell and Jared Hoyle
Winter Survival of Experimental Bermudagrasses in the Upper Transition Zone
Mingying Xiang, Jack Fry, and Yanqi Wu
Evaluating Large Patch-Tolerant and Cold Hardy Zoysiagrass Germplasm in the Transition Zone
Mingying Xiang, Jack Fry, and Megan Kennelly
2017 National Turfgrass Evaluation Program Perennial Ryegrass Test: 2018 Data
Mingying Xiang and Jack Fry
By: Judy O’Mara
A little unusual… this past week a fungal disease called southern blight took out a landscape planting of Lamium or dead nettle in south central Kansas. In my years at K-State, I’ve seen southern blight occur on hosta plantings a few times and have also picked it up on Echinacea, Hibiscus, Liatris, Pasque Flower, Penstemon, Rudbeckia, Solidago, as well as, tomato. Southern blight (Sclerotium rolfsii; Athelia rolfsii) is a serious disease, particularly in the south (hence the name). It has a history of being damaging to over 500 plant species including field crops, vegetables, flowers, weeds, and even some woody landscape plants.
Plants infected by the southern blight fungus may wilt quickly and collapse, or they may turn yellow and slowly decline. There are frequently dark stem lesions at the base of the plant, a crown rot and/or a root rot. The most distinctive symptoms of southern blight are the presence of sclerotia and a white matt of fungal mycelium. Sclerotia are small seed-shaped fungal structures that allow the disease to survive in plant debris and soil for several years. They range in color from light tan to reddish-brown becoming somewhat inconspicuous as they age. A fan of white mycelium may grow along the basal stem lesion or in the soil.
While southern blight is a serious disease, it is not that common in Kansas. When it does occur here, it tends to show up during July and August under hot, wet conditions. The limiting factor for Kansas may be that when we have high temps, it also tends to be dry. Southern blight outbreaks in Kansas have been observed in irrigated landscapes (ie hot + wet). Crowded plantings can create a humid environment that can favor the disease.
Once southern blight shows up in the landscape, it can be a challenge to manage. Infected plants (plus the root ball) should be dug up, bagged and sent to the landfill. Do not compost plants from infested locations, as this can spread the disease across the planting area when the compost material is re-incorporated into the landscape. Rotate out of the infested area for 3-4 years, but make sure to control weeds because they can also serve as a host for the disease.
The bulk of the sclerotia will survive in the upper soil, so deep plowing or inverting the soil can help to reduce the amount of disease in the infested area. Another strategy for reducing southern blight severity, is to employ solarization of the target area. This can be done by covering the area with clear plastic for 4-6 weeks. It will be important to clean and disinfect tools, gloves and shoes after working in areas with southern blight. This will help to limit movement of the disease into new areas of the garden or landscape.
An article in the University of Illinois Home Yard and Garden Pest Newsletter indicated that they are also seeing southern blight activity this summer, particularly on Hosta. Another name for the disease is Hosta Petiole Blight. The article has some great photos of the disease on Hosta, which can be seen at http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=1087.
By: Judy O’Mara
Powdery mildew is a common disease on many ornamentals. It is easy to identify because it produces a whitish-gray mold on the surface of the leaf. This fungal disease is favored by high humidity and crowded plantings (i.e. poor air flow). Powdery mildew doesn’t kill the plant but susceptible hosts that have a chronic problem with it can be weakened. The best management strategy is through the use of resistant varieties.
The Home, Yard & Garden newsletter from the University of Illinois has a nice article on powdery mildew this week: http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=1092
By: Judy O’Mara
We’ve had several reports of rose rosette virus in the K-State Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab this spring. It is not hard to identify based on symptoms. Basically, the growth on the plant becomes increasingly deformed. It starts with an individual rose cane that either elongates, or gets bunchy with lots of shoots (witches broom). The foliage can be reddish-purple or green and strappy (see below). Very characteristic for rose rosette virus is the production of excessive thorns along the canes of the deformed shoots. Symptoms on the plant get worse over a few weeks. In an odd way, it can sometimes look like a bridal bouquet.
Left unchecked rose rosette virus will kill the infected plant and continue to spread to nearby roses via its insect vector (Phyllocoptes fructiphilus), an eriophyid mite. This tiny mite is not visible to the eye, resides in new growth and crevices, and is spread by the wind.
Pruning out deformed portions of the plant is not an effective control strategy as the disease can overwinter in the roots. Upon seeing symptoms, infected plants should be dug up (including the root ball) bagged, and removed from the site.
For more information on this disease see the K-State fact sheet on rose rosette virus.
By: Chandler Day
Have you seen yellow oak leaf or netted patterns on your rose bush leaves? If so, you most likely have a disease called Rose Mosaic Virus. This rose disease is relatively common in Kansas landscapes and symptoms can vary from wavy yellow lines or ring spots to mottled oak leaf and mosaic patterns. Rose Mosaic Virus spreads through vegetative propagation and does NOT move around via insects or mites. Another rose disease, rose rosette virus, will kill the infected rose plants, while rose mosaic virus disease will not. Plants infected with rose mosaic virus will produce symptoms on the rose plant every year for the remainder of its life.
The best ways to prevent viral diseases on your rose bushes are to start by buying non-symptomatic plants that have leafed out, or certified disease-free roses. Symptomatic plants in the landscape should be dug up (with the root ball), bagged and discarded.
Photos by Megan Kennelly/KSU
By: Brooke Garcia
Following an extremely wet spring, I’ve noticed several roses to be impacted by Black Leaf Spot. With continuous rainfall and high humidity, this fungal disease thrives. As this fungal disease develops, you can begin to notice black spots on the leaves. The leaves often times will turn yellow, eventually dropping from the plant. An easy way to spot this on plants (despite seeing the dark black spots and yellowing leaves) is to look at the bottom of the plant. The bottom portion of the rose shrub will most likely look bare, without leaves.
Despite having all of our recent rains, I’ve noticed some roses appear to be performing well given the circumstances. My recommendations are purely coming from an observational standpoint. On the other hand, many of these roses in particular were surrounded by other rose plantings that were impacted by both Black Leaf Spot and Rose Rosette Virus.
Here are the following rose recommendations:
By: Michael Bear
Heat is one the leading causes of weather-related deaths and injuries in the United States. Excessive heat causes hundreds of deaths every year. Heat can affect people in a variety of settings and while dangerous heat is associated with the summer season, it can occur in the spring and fall as well.
When exposed to high temperatures your body sweats, which evaporates to cool your body. Hot and humid weather challenges your body’s ability to cool itself because your body sweats a great deal to try to maintain your body temperature. Over time this increased sweating leads to dehydration and your body temperature becomes elevated. 
Increased levels of humidity make this worse as the high water content of the air hampers the evaporation of sweat on your skin. This can result in heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Those most at risk for heat illness include infants, children, the elderly, overweight people and those who are ill or have certain medical conditions such as high blood pressure.
Heat exhaustion is a mild form of heat illness that may develop after days of exposure to high temperatures and inadequate fluid intake. If not treated, heat exhaustion may become heat stroke. A person suffering from heat exhaustion may have cool moist skin. Their pulse rate will be fast and weak and their breathing will be fast and shallow. Additional warning signs of heat exhaustion include:
Heat stroke is the most serious of heat-related illnesses. It occurs when the body is unable to cool itself because the ability to sweat fails. A victim’s body temperature will rapidly rise within a few minutes. Heat stroke can cause death or permanent injury if it is not treated quickly. Warning signs of heat stroke vary but can include:
Like many hazards, there are steps you can take to avoid becoming a victim of heat illnesses:
OLATHE, Kan. – Who doesn’t love the look and feel of a soft, green carpet of grass underfoot? Even better if it’s resistant to pests and requires less fertilizer than other grasses. A Kansas State University professor believes that zoysiagrass can fit the bill for home landscapes – even in Kansas and surrounding states.
Zoysiagrass is well known as a warm-season grass commonly grown across southern tier states for its dense, weed-resistant and slow-growing nature (think less mowing), plus it requires about half the water needed for cool-season grasses typically grown in the nation’s midsection.
Those who choose to grow zoysia should be aware, however, that as a warm-season grass, it goes dormant and turns brown in mid-October and may not green up again until late April.
“The determining factor for whether any warm-season grass that can be used here is winter survival,” said Kansas State University horticulture professor Jack Fry.
Kansas and other states across the middle of the country are in what’s called a transition zone, where both warm- and cool-season grasses can grow but weather extremes can prove challenging and sometimes injure or kill the grass. In order to improve on a longtime favorite zoysia called Meyer, Fry and his K-State colleagues teamed with Texas A&M Agrilife researchers to develop a new zoysia cultivar.
Their aim was to develop a cultivar that is as cold-tolerant as Meyer for areas in the transition zone, but also to offer improved characteristics, such as finer leaf blades and even better density which blocks out weeds.
The K-State team worked with Ambika Chandra, associate professor at Texas A&M, to develop a new hybrid that was ultimately named Innovation. The new hybrid can withstand the cold that can sometimes blanket the central U.S. as well as Meyer does, but also exhibits better quality, meaning it has a darker green color, finer leaf blades, better density and good uniformity.
Zoysiagrass is already widely used on golf course tees and fairways in Kansas and across the transition zone, but less so on home lawns, Fry said. When drought water restrictions come about, however, it’s a good choice for home lawns.
Zoysia, and especially newer cultivars like Innovation, also require less fertilizer or pest treatments to stay healthy than typical cool-season grasses such as tall fescue or Kentucky bluegrass.
To develop the new cultivar, the researchers used traditional plant breeding, crossing cold-hardy types with other southern-adapted types that offered high density and finer-textured leaf blades.
That density results in almost no herbicides being needed during the growing season, Fry said.
To get from initial crosses – about 1,500 in all – to the final product took about 13 years, Fry said. Along the way from those initial crosses, 35 looked promising, so were planted in 5-foot by 5-foot plots in Kansas and Texas and evaluated by the researchers, who then narrowed the list to seven.
Those top seven hybrids were tested at additional sites across the transition zone in Missouri, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The result is Innovation, which was released for commercial growth and sales in 2015. It is currently available via licensed distributors through a company called Sod Solutions, which has sub-licensed production to 15 sod producers in eight states.
What’s next? A new phase of the K-State-Texas A&M research is under way which aims to identify grasses that have superior resistance to a disease called Large Patch, and there may even be types that are promising for use on golf greens, too, Fry said.
Post featured by: https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/stories/2019/05/zoysia-for-home-lawns.html
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More information about zoysiagrass is available at
https://www.bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/mf683.pdf
or in a Clemson University fact sheet, https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/zoysiagrass/
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