Breeders have been busy developing darker green, finer textured and denser tall fescue cultivars. Most improved cultivars, however, are quite susceptible to dollar spot, red thread and Pythium blight. Brown patch, the “Achilles Heel” of tall fescue remains...

Crabgrass, goosegrass, Japanese stiltgrass and yellow foxtail are highly invasive annual grasses that germinate in spring and become objectionable turf competitors in summer. The most effective and economical means of controlling summer annual grasses is via the use...

As previously noted, lack of dew in circular or serpentine patterns on greens and elsewhere early in the morning is a good indicator that those areas will wilt rapidly as temperatures rise. Hand watering early AM and follow-ups of syringing should be performed as...

Knawel (Scleranthus annuus) also is known as German knotweed.  It is a winter annual that has a grass-like appearance. Knawel is mostly found in areas where there is little turf competition or where soil has been disturbed. Its grass-like appearance enables it to...

Slender speedwell (Veronica filiformis), also known as creeping speedwell or creeping veronica, is a perennial that produces an abundance of light blue flowers in late winter and early spring. It grows in sun and shade, but is most dominant in open and sunny...

March is the time when winter annuals (i.e., weeds emerging in fall, flower in spring, and die by early summer) spring into their full glory. Some are competitive, while others are merely objectionable or just curiosity plants. Hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta)...

Frosty nights in late autumn bring about pronounced physiological changes in plants. In creeping bentgrass and annual bluegrass, especially on golf greens, leaves may develop a purple, reddish or grayish-blue (wilt-like appearance) color. These colors persist all...

I don’t remember hearing of Kyllinga as a problem in turf until about 10 years ago. It is likely that it was misidentified as being yellow nutsedge for a very long time. Yellow nutsedge and Kyllinga are members of the sedge family. Sedges are neither grasses nor...

Conference season is upon us. Winter is the time to attend seminars and conferences, learn, and get recertified. Many learn by net-working in the hallway, over dinner or enjoying a libation among colleagues.  I recently attended the Eastern Shore Association of...