Bayer Green Solutions

Nematodes are detrimental turf pests found in golf course greens, fairways and tees across the United States. They are small, microscopic, unsegmented worms that feed on turfgrass roots, disabling their ability to take up water and nutrients. Nematodes can be devastating to root formation and overall turf health. Though the worst of the summer weather is hopefully behind us, protecting fall root growth from nematodes is critical in both cool- and warm-season greens to help maximize performance through the winter and next year. In his latest Talking Turf blog, Bayer Green Solutions Team Specialist Zac Reicher shares tips for controlling nematodes this year.   Symptoms of nematode feeding Below ground: Reduced rooting, root lesions, root knots or root galls, excessive root branching, injured root tips and root rots (rot associated with bacteria and fungi) Above ground: Patchy yellowing, thinning, wilting, poor response to fertilizers and irrigation, and overall unhealthy turf despite adequate management inputs Lab samples Laboratory diagnosis will confirm specie(s) and size of population(s), but labs vary widely in their threshold values for treatment Laboratory analysis can only help to determine that nematodes are involved in the symptoms but cannot confirm if they are the primary cause Maximize cultural practices Reducing stress to create healthier turf will help minimize damage and maximize control Control soil-borne diseases Pythium root rot, summer patch, take-all patch (creeping bentgrass), and take all root rot (warm-season grasses) will amplify damage from nematodes Apply Indemnify® in the fall Improves root and shoot regrowth for both ...