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| Hi there,
I've got a 35,000 sq. ft. yard with big brown patch problems. I've been told that having a sprinkler system would help by being able to...turn it on for about 5 minutes every morning that there is dew, to rinse it off. Will this help anything. I'm looking for every possible way to minimize the need of fungicides and if this would help, I would consider putting one in. I do know that it couldn't eliminate all the problems of fungus because there is also the time when the grass is dry during the day but the humidity is high and the temp. is high as well. The reasoning for the sprinkler system makes sense to me because I have heard that fungus starts over "150" (meaning, a combination of temperature and humidity. i.e. 85 degrees and 80% humidity is 165 - 15 over the fungus breeding combo). Since the dew creates a fine layer over the grass blade that could simulate 100% humidity - meaning that the temperature could be as low as 50 and still have problems. I very well could be flawed in my reasoning, though. Thoughts are appreciated!! Jesse |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| If only it were that simple. Fungal lawn diseases are soil born, you can't rinse them off your grass. In fact that hit of moisture in the morning could make the problem even worse. I assume you have tall fescue, since KBG doesn't get brown patch nearly as much as tall fescue. If so you might want to read this study from Ohio State. http://buckeyeturf.osu.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&i d=1191&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=170 |
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- Posted by bassplayer7 Kansas (My Page) on Wed, Jun 8, 11 at 8:42
| that was a really cool article - thanks. Yep, I'm growing TTTF. The fungus is a pain. I was mostly thinking the system might knock the dew off in the morning (sort of like the article said), but I didn't know. To be honest, I've thought about replanting to KBG. I think I will bring my mowing height down (which I know is too tall, but I really like it that way - 3.25"). thanks a lot!! |
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- Posted by glenforest (My Page) on Wed, Jun 8, 11 at 8:52
| If you wet the grass via sprinkler, it will still have that "100%" environment you talked about, right? The reason it's suggested to water during the dew period is twofold, as I understand it. First, it doesn't prolong the wet period beyond the number of hours of the natural dew. Second, dew is not only water; it also contains plant exudates, which provide a food source for fungal organisms. Watering durning this period washes these exudates from the plant, thus robbing fungi of the food source. From a Colorado State publication on watering: |
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- Posted by bassplayer7 none (My Page) on Wed, Jun 8, 11 at 14:25
| Thanks. That makes sense. I was thinking for some reason, that by watering the grass with the sprinkler system, the droplets on the grass blades would be smaller then the dew and not completely coating each blade. That explanation makes more sense to me in that it doesn't necessarily improve the condition, but it does change the condition to be less favorable for disease. With the manual watering I do now. I do it during the morning. (typically starting from between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. and continuing until roughly 10 or 11 in the morning). Watering overnight because the grass is already wet sounds like a far better solution. As it is, I am continuing the wetness period by having the sprinklers on during the time that the dew is drying/has dried normally - not good, I guess! Thanks a ton! Jesse |
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