Fairy Ring, Dollar Spot and Bayer Fairway Solutions

Spring disease control on cool season turf in the Mid-Atlantic is a key part of having a successful season. Going into the summer months disease free and with optimum plant health can make life easier during the brutal summers. Fairy ring, dollar spot, take-all patch and brown ring patch are common spring diseases that are best managed preventively. Fifty-five degrees soil temperature is a great time to start controlling these. Later this year, Bayer will be introducing two new products, Fiata StressGard and Mirage StressGard to provide plant health and disease control solutions for fairway diseases.

55 is a Magic Number
As in the old Schoolhouse Rock! song "3 is a Magic Number", 55 is a "magic number" for spring disease control. When soil and air temperatures reach this range consistently, fungal activity really starts to ramp up, leading to disease development from fairy ring, dollar spot, take-all and brown ring patch.

Fairy Ring
Timing for fairy ring prevention is based on university research and begins in the spring when average soil temperatures at a 2 inch depth reach the 55-60°F range for five consecutive days.

Applications should be watered in to the depth of where fairy ring has been historically active. To avoid unwanted turf discoloration or plant growth regulator effects, do not tank mix Bayleton, Tartan or Chipco Triton FLO with wetting agents for application and space plant growth regulator applications (like trinexapac-ethyl, paclobutrazol or flurprimidol) a week apart from the DMI applications. For more information, contact your local Bayer area sales manager for a copy of the 2014 Bayer Fairy Ring Program.

Dollar Spot and Take-All Patch
Bayleton and Tartan are highly effective as preventive applications for both dollar spot and take-all patch. For early dollar spot control, Dr. Rick Latin at Purdue University suggests that fungicide applications made when temperatures are below 55°F are ineffective for dollar spot control, as the fungus is not active to absorb the fungicides. Thus, the preventive timing for fairy ring prevention (average soil temperatures & 55°F) makes sense for dollar spot prevention as well. To allow for dual activity against both a foliar (dollar spot) and soil borne disease (fairy ring), DMI applications can be allowed to sit on the foliage for up to 8-10 hours before watering in.

For take-all patch, early spring infections damage roots and result in severe symptoms when the plants are under heat and water stress in the late spring and early summer. Most spring infections take place at soil temperatures of 55-60°F. Timed for fairy ring control as part of the Bayer Fairy Ring Program, DMIs like Bayleton and Tartan can provide control of take-all patch with the 1st and 2nd applications of the program.

Brown Ring Patch and Other Annual Bluegrass Diseases
If you are managing annual bluegrass, Chipco Triton FLO provides a solution for many of the diseases that attack this turf species in the spring. Brown ring patch (aka Waitea patch) often begins to be active when soil temperatures are in the 55-60°F range. Brown ring patch control can be integrated into the Bayer Fairy Ring Program and Chipco Triton FLO is especially active against this disease. Additionally, this DMI has excellent activity against anthracnose and summer patch and when used in the fairy ring program, can provide early protection against these diseases.

New Solutions for Fairway Disease Control: Fiata StressGard and Mirage StressGard
Later this year, Fiata StressGard and Mirage StressGard will be available for plant health and disease management on cool season fairways as part of the Bayer Fairway Solutions program. Both fungicides have federal registration and are in the process of getting state approvals. The estimated availability for these products is May 1st.

Fiata StressGard is a plant health promoter and provides Pythium suppression for fairways. It is targeted for use at 1.7 to 2 gallons per acre at a 21 to 28 day interval. Fiata StressGard has been shown to improve turf quality and color for plants under summer stress in university trials.

Mirage StressGard is a broad spectrum DMI fungicide that has excellent activity against key fairway diseases such as dollar spot, brown patch and summer patch. Additionally, for warm season turfgrass fairways, it provides solid control of large patch and spring dead spot.

More information on both products will be made available when they have received final state registrations and are available for sale.

Spring Better Get Here Soon
Mother Nature hasn't been kind this year as far as letting go of winter, but hopefully warmer weather is right around the corner. Early disease control will help with a smooth transition for the best turf and playing conditions. Best of luck this spring and my fingers are crossed for an awesome spring.