Drechslera leaf spot/melting-out symptoms initially appear as leaf spot lesions. The lesions initially appear as small purple colored dots. These lesions turn a gray to tan color with a dark purple to brown border. In the leaf spotting stage these diseases do not normally cause significant injury to the plant. However, as temperatures increase, infection may occur in the crown, stems, and roots where the plants eventually turn a straw colored and die. This is known as the melting-out phase of the disease.
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With summer stress periods on the horizon, golf course superintendents often wonder why turfgrass species that are so carefully maintained are so easy to lose. From a management perspective, what makes for a stable putting green? Ecologically, one misnomer is that complexity leads to stability, suggesting single-or two-grass species greens are unstable.
Spring is an annual ritual for cool-season turf rejuvenation. Maximum root elongation and production occurs in the early spring with the foliar growth following shortly behind. Middle to late spring should be the time creeping bentgrass and/or Poa annua greens are on full "go" reflected in the ubiquitous green color of the season. In the last 15 years "go" has been replaced with a "caution or stop," characteristic of the yellowish-orange symptoms of anthracnose.
As much as an issue divides Republicans and Democrats, Poa annua divides those who try to manage it and those who try to kill it. For those trying to control it, straddling the issue may be the key.