Annual Bluegrass Weevil :
We have bypassed Spring and gone straight into summer. The past week has seen almost vertical climbs in growing degree days (GDDs). State College is currently at 215 GDD (Base 50). Forsythia development went from full bloom (where it had been for 2 weeks) to half green half gold late last week. This would have been an ideal time to make an adulticide application. However, in many cases, the plants went well beyond half green half gold over the weekend. I still believe that many who did not get a chance to make an application until this week are still OK. If you have not made an adult application, I would recommend focusing on larvae at this point. Be vigilant and scout for larvae INSIDE the plant. Removing soil cores and placing the soil and plant material in a saturated saline solution will irritate the larvae out of the plant. They will float to the surface of the solution, but may require a hand lens for identification. Rhododrendron catawbiensis will be our next indicator. Full bloom has been correlated with the time the insects move from within the plant to the soil, and can be targeted with many of our larvicides.
ANTS!
Turfgrass ant activity has sprung up in a major way. The hot and dry conditions have brought major mounds to collars and roughs surrounding greens and tees. Few mounds have made it to the center of the greens. The traditional approach to managing ants has been to make a chemical application when mounds start to appear. Most choose a pyrethroid, as it leads to rapid decreases in mounding. However, it is short lived. The mounding will resume in 7-10 days. Please dont get into a situation of repeating applications (esp. with pyrethroids). Some people have told me they make 10+ applications per year to control ants! This is a dangerous strategy especially if you have ABW in the same areas (i.e. creating pyrethroid resistant weevils). Neonics are an alternative, although the shut down of mounding is much more gradual (no instant satisfaction). If you are using a neonic, either use an granular product or make sure that you irrigate immediately after a liquid application to ensure the residue does not dry on the leaf. These strategies will help reduce risk to foraging pollinators.
Black Cutworm:
Black Cutworm is an annual pest of bentgrass areas on golf courses in PA. However, it is incapable of surviving the winters. The moths migrate on the wind from southern locations where it is capable of overwintering. Currently, Black Cutworm moth captures are high in several counties in PA. Check out this update from PSU entomologist Dr. John Tooker (John works in corn- the other monocot!) to see if your area is under high alert.
http://extension.psu.edu/plants/crops/news/2015/05/black-cutworm-update
It is important to capture BCW infestations early. The smaller the larvae, the better chance you have of controlling the caterpillars. Be on the lookout for dew trails in the morning (prior to mowing) as the younger larvae are capable of travelling great distances when foraging. Older larvae barely leave their holes and cause a sunken ball mark-like damage. If you have had serious BCW issues in the past, make sure that you are not dumping clippings on the edges of greens and tees. The eggs are laid on the distal end of the plant and are capable of surviving mowing. Dumping clippings on the edges of greens allows them to hatch out and wander back on to the green.