Recently, I have been battling several issues on several of the greens here. Late summer always proves to be a challenge in maintaining healthy greens. About two weeks ago I began noticing issues with turf health on several of the greens. Many, many factors contribute to declining turf health.
Stress to the turf in several forms can start a cycle of problems. Weather is probably the most significant factor in all of this. The common belief is that the hot summer days of South Florida provide ideal conditions in which to grow bermudagrass. While high soil temperatures are absolutely necessary, afternoon thunderstorms, high humidity and periods of extended cloud cover are also factors that put stress on the plant. One of the things that we try to do is to reduce the stresses that can occur. We generally raise the height of cut and refrain from any aggressive verti-cutting. Unforeseen factors such as irrigation issues may arise and that is what happened on a couple of the greens. Through several fungicide applications, I am confident that I have stopped the culprit which is referred to as Bermudagrass Decline. The areas that have been affected have become thin and weak. Now we have to do several things to bring the turf back to full health. These include frequent fertilizations of nitrogen sources, topdressing and spiking. We are also mowing the affected greens by hand at higher cutting heights. I have already seen improvements in these areas.
