Wet Conditions Promote Fungus in Lawns

 

 by Tom Samples, UT Turfgrass Specialist

If you grow or manage a bermudagrass lawn in Tennessee, you may notice that this year several plants may have strange looking seedheads. Experts with University of Tennessee Extension say the odd seedheads may not contain seeds at all.

​These strange looking seedheads on bermudagrass are really bermudagrass inflorescence smut, which is caused by a fungus. Photo by A. Windham, UT Institute of Agriculture

“A dark, powdery substance may appear where viable seeds should be. This condition, referred to as bermudagrass inflorescence smut, is caused by a fungus,” said Tom Samples, a UT Extension turfgrass specialist. His colleague in the Department of Plant Sciences, Brandon Horvath, added that symptoms often go unnoticed until black, powdery spores, called teliospores, become noticeable to humans, for example when the teliospores discolor shoes and socks after you walk across the diseased turf.  Pets may also track spores indoors.

The fungus, Ustilago cynadontis, lives inside the bermudagrass plant. Both common and hybrid bermudagrasses are susceptible. Alan Windham, a plant disease specialist with UT Extension, says fungicides will not control this systemic fungal pathogen.  He also says you need not worry for the health of your lawn.  “Although unsightly, the fungus does not pose a threat to bermudagrass leaves, tillers and above- or below-ground stems. Applying a fertilizer containing nitrogen may help maintain vegetative growth, and frequent mowing will remove the infected seedheads,” Windham said.   

 

Bermudagrass inflorescence smut is just one of more than 1,400 species of fungi that are usually more prevalent during rainy periods in late spring and early summer. Fungal activity slows down somewhat as summer progresses, the UT experts said.

For more information about turfgrass production and maintenance go online to the UT Extension turfgrass website: http://tennesseeturf.utk.edu or visit the UT Extension publications website: http://utextension.tennessee.edu/publications You may also look online at the national extension website:  http://extension.org

UT Extension provides a gateway to the University of Tennessee as the outreach unit of the Institute of Agriculture. With an office in every Tennessee county, UT Extension delivers educational programs and research-based information to citizens throughout the state. In cooperation with Tennessee State University, UT Extension works with farmers, families, youth and communities to improve lives by addressing problems and issue at the local, state and national levels.

 

Fayette County's Best Tomato Contest

On Saturday, Fayette County’s Best Tomato Contest was held at the Fayette County Farmer’s Market.  Winner in the adult category for the largest tomato was Judy Mason with a 'Beefsteak' tomato that weighed in at 1 lb. 8 ¼ oz.  and was 16” in circumference.  The tastiest tomato in the adult category was grown by David Lee.  It was a 'Goliath' that was nearly 15” in circumference.  In the youth division, Austin Ourth brought a 'Brandywine' that was 1 lb. ¼ oz.  and 13 ½” in circumference.  Cade and London Arwood won the trophy for tastiest tomato in the youth division with their sweet cherry tomatoes.

Left to right:  David Lee, Austin Ourth, Judy Mason  front row:  Cade and London Arwood

 

 

 

If you want to grow prize winning tomatoes next year, try some of the following tips:

 

 

Choose a location for planting that gets at least 6 hours of sun a day, and is close to your water source.  I water my tomatoes every other day, but you may need to adjust your watering to the conditions in your garden.

 

During the fall before you plant in the spring, do a soil test and lime as needed according to the results.  Come by the Extension office to get a soil test kit. Liming is important because it adjusts your pH so that the plants can take up your fertilizers.  Proper liming also helps prevent blossom end rot. It takes a while for the lime to work, which is why you do this in the fall.

 

Never plant your tomatoes in the same spot two years in a row.  It is best if you can stretch this to 4 years between planting in that spot.  This helps with preventing soil-borne fungal diseases. Also don’t plant peppers, eggplants, okra, or Irish potatoes in that spot, as they are all in the same plant family with the tomatoes and get the same diseases. 

 

Mulch your tomato plants to provide a barrier between the soil and the tomato foliage.  This prevents fungal spores from getting splashed onto your plants.

 
 

Fertilize during the growing season according to soil test results.

 

If you are getting lots of foliage, but no fruit, you may be using too much nitrogen.

      

 

If you are getting blooms that fall off before they make fruit, it could just be really hot outside.  At temperatures over 90 degrees, flowers will sometimes abort and pollen will sometimes desiccate. 

 

Stake your plants or use cages to keep the foliage off the ground.  This is for disease prevention.

 

After you plant your tomatoes, start spraying with a preventative fungicide such as chlorothalonil every 7-10 days.  Re-spray if it rains, because it washes right off the foliage.  This is to prevent foliar fungal diseases such as late blight. 

 

Don’t apply insecticides unless you need them.  Aphids and tomato horn worms are two very common insects on tomatoes, and are very easy to kill if you see them.  Do an image search on your computer to see what they look like. Call the Extension office (465-5233) if you are in doubt about an insect or what to spray.  Never kill a ladybug on your tomatoes.  They eat aphids for you.  Do an image search on your computer to see what a lady bug larvae looks like so you will be sure not to kill them either.

 

Choose disease resistant varieties to help prevent diseases.  The plant tag on the tomato seedlings at the store will have initials that correspond to the diseases that the variety is resistant to. 

 

Don’t worry if you don’t see bees around your tomato plants.  They are gravity pollinated and do not need help from our insect friends.

 

 

 

Wildlife Team Competes at State Contest

On June 13, four youth from Fayette County represented us well at the State 4-H Wildlife Contest.  The contest was held at Natchez Trace State Park, and was open only to the twelve best teams in the state.  The kids arrived the day before and participated in an educational tour that focused on forest management practices.  They got to stay the night with other 4-H youth in the cabins at the park before starting the contest the next day.

Marah Williams,Madison Morris, Jacob Baker, and Hunter Winstead



 

 The contest itself is a full day with five different activities to participate in.  The first activity is wildlife identification.  The kids have to correctly identify mammals, birds, and fish from feathers, pelts, tracks, and even bird calls!  The next activity is a written multiple choice test on the environmental conditions of the Eastern Deciduous Forest, the habitat needs of the animals in our region, and various wildlife management terms and practices.  Then, they go outside to a plot of land and are given a series of animals to manage for.  The youth have to know which practices to recommend for a certain species given specific habitat conditions.  The last two events have the team working together to write out a management plan for three species at the outdoor location.  Then, they have to go before a judge individually and give an oral defense of their management plan.  The evening ends with a recognition banquet for all the teams and certificates and awards are given out. Our Fayette County 4-Hers prepared for weeks for this contest.  They placed eighth in the state, moving up four spots since our last trip to the state contest two years ago!  If you would like more information on the 4-H wildlife program, or any of the other opportunities in 4-H, call 901-465-5233. 

 

 

Fayette Co. 4-H Archers Compete at State Shoot

Hunter Winstead, Cameron Hart, and Rebecca Winstead

 

On April 27, three members of the Fayette County 4-H Archery Club competed in the state 4-H archery shoot in Murfreesboro.  All three participated in the compound bow division, where each youth shot 30 arrows worth 300 total possible points.  Hunter Winstead came in second place with a score of 294 and Cameron Hart placed fifth with a score of 281.  They both competed in the high school division which had a total of 22 youth.  Rebecca Winstead placed 6^th out of 23 shooters in the Jr. High division with a score of 263.  This is Fayette County 4-H’s first year to have an archery program. 

It's Time for Tomatoes!

Warmer weather has finally arrived, and that means it’s time to get out your gardening gloves!  Of course no Southern garden would be complete without some tomato plants.  I can almost taste the B.L.F.G.T. (bacon lettuce fried green tomato) sandwiches now!  To make things more interesting, UT Extension will be hosting a friendly competition.  We’re calling it “Fayette County’s Best Tomato Contest.”  There will be adult and youth divisions.  In the adult category, awards will be given for largest tomato by circumference, largest tomato by weight, tastiest heirloom tomato, and tastiest non-heirloom.  The youth category will consist of largest tomato by circumference, largest tomato by weight, and tastiest tomato (any variety).  Your fruit must have been grown by you in Fayette County to qualify.  The contest will take place on July 20 at the Fayette County Farmers’ Market on Hwy. 64 between Somerville and Oakland near the Tractor Supply store.  If you want to try for the largest tomato, a variety called Big Zac is said to produce 4-6 lb. fruit.  For the tastiest tomatoes, heirlooms can’t be beat.  This year I am growing ‘Cherokee Purple’.  ‘Arkansas Traveler’ is another tasty heirloom that is reputed to withstand our heat and humidity. 

 

Cherokee Purple

Now that you are ready to win, let me give you a few tips on successfully growing tomatoes. 

·         Practice Crop Rotation- Don’t plant your tomatoes in the same spot year after year.  Some fungal diseases overwinter in your garden soil.  You can break the disease cycle by moving your tomatoes around. 

·         Plant in the Right Spot- tomatoes need at least 6 hours of full sun each day.

·         Grow Disease Resistant Plants- If you are a new gardener, or if you know you are not going to spray any crop protectants, then I would suggest you grow hybrid tomatoes that have been bred for disease resistance.  Look for initials on the plant tags such as V for Verticillium wilt or F for Fusarium wilt. 

·         Use a Fungicide- If you want to harvest tomatoes until frost and prevent that scalded look towards the end of July, then you need to spray a protectant fungicide.  I personally spray my plants with chlorothalonil.  If you are strictly an organic gardener though, you could use a product containing copper.  Keep in mind that these are preventative measures.  If you don’t spray and you get late blight, there is nothing that can be done but pull up the plants.  No matter which you use, you will need to spray the foliage every 7-10 days and after every rain event, as it washes off. 

Of course if you run into trouble with your garden or find an insect that you need help identifying, just give me a call at the Extension Office and I will be happy to help you.  The number is 901-465-5233. 

 

4-H Archery Group gets Gifts From Friends of NRA

Early in the new year Fayette County 4-H started an Archery Project Group. The group typically meets once a week and is a big success! There are 18 youth enrolled in archery in the 4th -12th grade.  Since this is the first year for archery, we started out with limited supplies.  We asked everyone to bring whatever targets and bows they might have at home to share as 4-H only had four bows and five dozen arrows of our own. Fortunately, Fayette County 4-H Archery just received a big donation last week in the form of supplies from the Tennessee Friends of the N.R.A.  We were gifted with five large targets, five arm guards, five quivers, five finger protectors, and a new bow!   We immediately put these supplies to use, and everyone at the last meeting got a chance to shoot the new recurve bow.  Thank you Friends of the N.R.A. for your support!

4-Hers Hannah Williams, Marah Williams, Fisher Williams, Cameron Hart, and Mitchell McCreless with one of the new targets and the new recurve bow.

Rethink Impatiens for Your Shade Bed

If you have a shady spot in your yard where you usually plant impatiens, you may need to rethink your choice this year.  There is a new disease that is devastating to impatient plantings called downy mildew. 

Downy mildew is a fungal disease that cannot be controlled once your impatiens show symptoms.  If left in the bed, you wind up with nothing but green sticks.  In fact, the local growers are not even going to offer impatiens this year.  You may be able to find them in the big box stores, but I still would not recommend buying them. 

Bed of green sticks.

 Downy mildew shows up when the leaves yellow and curl.  If we have humid weather, you can flip the leaves over and see a white coating of the fungal spores.   Eventually, all the flowers and leaves will fall off, and all you can do is pull them up. 

Fungus on the underside of the leaves.

 

So, how does downy mildew get on them?  Well, unfortunately, more ways than one.  The fungal spores can be blown in on the winds of a thunderstorm.  After they are on your impatiens, the spores can be spread by water splash as you go around with the hose.  Replanting with new impatiens won’t work either, as researchers think that the spores may linger in the soil.  There is even talk that the disease may be seed borne, and the healthy looking plants at the big box stores may in actuality have the disease already. 

 The plant breeders are on the scene, working to make a selection that is resistant to this.  In the meantime, maybe try begonias for a change.