TechNotes Tips - 05.03.01

Rust is a potential disease problem at this time of the year. Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass are susceptible to this disease. Orange pustules appear on the leaf blades turning the turf a yellowish or orangish color. Walking through a severely infected turf will result in your shoes turning orange from the pustules. Generally, this disease is most severe on turfgrasses that are growing slowly or under some sort of stress.

European Pine Sawfly eggs hatch from April through mid-May. The larvae will feed till June on susceptible plants including mugho, table top, Scotch, red, and Japanese pine. This pest is rarely found causing damage on Austrian or shortleaf pines. If the European Pine Sawfly is suspected of causing severe damage, the pest time to treat is when the larvae are small. For more information on the life cycle and control measures for the European Pine Sawfly see: http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ohioline/hyg-fact/2000/2555.html