mechanical wear? or something else Cancel The title field is required!

1. Jennings Dustin T

   
   5/22/2013 5:05 AM

   I have a green on the back nine where in the back part of the green, mostly on the clean-up lap, is looking extremely weak and grass is slowly receding away from circular patches. It LOOKS like mechanical wear, but none of my other greens are showing any sign of such a thing. Just this one green. I skip the clean-up laps pretty frequently to prevent mechanical wear. This green is pretty shady on the back-side, but in mid-day gets plenty of sunlight. So at first I thought shade might be the issue, but now I'm stumped. I've seen and identified many diseases and I don't know what this could be. Diamond zoysia greens. the weak spots kind of look like they are being scalped and the bare areas are getting larger even though I've stopped mowing it completely. I've done a Prostar application and also a chlorathalanil app and no signs of improvement...

   
   
   
   
2. Casavant Gerry

   
   5/22/2013 6:05 AM

   Is it just wet .. possibly an irrigation problem? How about spot aeration in this shaded area to firm things up?

   
   
   
   
3. Matt Falvo

   

   0 posts
   
   5/22/2013 6:05 AM

   Since none of your other greens show signs of mechanical wear maybe it's the roots of the trees that are creating the shade on the back of that green. This is just a guess since I'm not a Turf Pro, Equipment Manager here, but I have seen some guys do some "root pruning" with a trencher before for a similar situation with very good results.
   
   
   Bret Hart
   Equipment Manager
   Turning Stone Resort

   
   
   
   
4. James Schmid

   

   1 posts
   
   5/22/2013 7:05 AM

   Dustin T Jennings said: I have a green on the back nine where in the back part of the green, mostly on the clean-up lap, is looking extremely weak and grass is slowly receding away from circular patches. It LOOKS like mechanical wear, but none of my other greens are showing any sign of such a thing. Just this one green. I skip the clean-up laps pretty frequently to prevent mechanical wear. This green is pretty shady on the back-side, but in mid-day gets plenty of sunlight. So at first I thought shade might be the issue, but now I'm stumped. I've seen and identified many diseases and I don't know what this could be. Diamond zoysia greens. the weak spots kind of look like they are being scalped and the bare areas are getting larger even though I've stopped mowing it completely. I've done a Prostar application and also a chlorathalanil app and no signs of improvement...

   
   
   post a picture

   
   
   
   
5. Jennings Dustin T

   
   5/22/2013 9:05 AM

   the trees are far enough away to where I don't think roots are a problem, plus when the irrigation loop was trenched out it would have cut through any roots anyway.

   
   
   
   
6. Sandy Clark

   

   0 posts
   
   5/22/2013 9:05 AM

   Your pictures make it appear that the tress are certainly close enough to be a root issue. The thing to remember about sunlight is that morning sun is the most critical. Sun throughout the day is less important than having morning sun. The shade will keep the are damper and the longer it is damp the greater the disease pressure. Just a guess but I would think some careful professional tree trimming might be your first option. Also probe down and see what type of root encroachment you might be dealing with. Which direction does your daily prevailing breeze come from? That may also be a factor. Maybe you air circulation is limited on this green compared to others.

   
   
   
   
7. James Schmid

   

   1 posts
   
   5/22/2013 11:05 AM

   Its probably too wet. how often do you water that green? Turn off the sprinkler heads and only water it when needed with a hose. Wait until it gets dry.
   
   There's too many trees too close.
   Tree trimming/removal
   
   stop putting sand on it. sand is abrasive.

   
   
   
   
8. Jennings Dustin T

   
   5/22/2013 12:05 PM

   James Schmid said: Its probably too wet. how often do you water that green? Turn off the sprinkler heads and only water it when needed with a hose. Wait until it gets dry.
   
   There's too many trees too close.
   Tree trimming/removal
   
   stop putting sand on it. sand is abrasive.

   
   
   
   I have watered it very little. It's gotten probably 8 turns of the head since march, but we've had plenty of rain this season. The picture is kind of misleading, but the shade trees are at least 60 ft away from the back of the green, however they are very large trees so the shade is significant. I've been hitting it every 2 weeks with primo apps (3oz/ac) as research has shown that bi-weekly primo at a low rate helps zoysia tolerate shade much better. I've checked the soil moisture and the profile is fairly dry. I think now I've narrowed it down to air movement. But I do plan to take out some more trees.

   
   
   
   
9. Keith Pegg

   

   0 posts
   
   5/22/2013 7:05 PM

   Dustin T Jennings said: I have a green on the back nine where in the back part of the green, mostly on the clean-up lap, is looking extremely weak and grass is slowly receding away from circular patches. It LOOKS like mechanical wear, but none of my other greens are showing any sign of such a thing. Just this one green. I skip the clean-up laps pretty frequently to prevent mechanical wear. This green is pretty shady on the back-side, but in mid-day gets plenty of sunlight. So at first I thought shade might be the issue, but now I'm stumped. I've seen and identified many diseases and I don't know what this could be. Diamond zoysia greens. the weak spots kind of look like they are being scalped and the bare areas are getting larger even though I've stopped mowing it completely. I've done a Prostar application and also a chlorathalanil app and no signs of improvement...

   
   
   Dustin,
   If you have grooved rollers go back to smooth rollers and fertilizer with a organic (millorganite) on that circle around the green in addition to normal fertilizer. Skip clean-up pass to only every other mowing time on the weak greens. Do soil test just collar and then in the green best areas. They will come back in time. Reseed as needed. Don't over maintain, the more traffic the weaker they will get.
   Keith