Disease Profile: Waitea Patch

Most of the turf diseases I encounter have been around for as long as I've been working on golf courses. This one, however, is fairly new and has become our most common disease. Waitea patch or brown ring patch (I like Waitea because it sounds sexy) is more cosmetic than harmful.

The first time I saw this disease, I confused it for another common problem called yellow patch or cool season brown patch. Yellow patch is entirely cosmetic and disappears when temperatures warm up. For that reason, I let it alone and watched it grow in strength, size, and number day after day. The warmer it got, the uglier these rings became.

Now that we know what we're dealing with, all we have to do is spray the correct product to clean things up. That simple task gets tricky when the sprayer goes does with an electrical problem. The sprayer is brand new and under warranty, so we won't be billed for the repair, but it doesn't do us much good while it's sitting in the shop.

Our old sprayer had been converted into a weed and turf killing machine. All we have used it for since acquiring the new unit is herbicide sprays including a Revolver application on #11 fairway. Revolver is a product that kills cool season grasses and many weeds while leaving the bermuda alone to spread without competition. This is not the type of thing you want in your tank before you go treat the greens with a fungicide.

I let the Waitea run wild for over a week until the repair date was backed up waiting for parts. We cleaned the tank on the 1992 model very thoroughly and went out yesterday to fix the problem. There is little to worry about with this phenomenal weather and a ugly, but weak disease.

We can let it flex its muscle for a week or so and then put it back in its place. We have the technology.

I won't bore all of you with product names, rates, and specific control measures. However, if there are any Superintendents who want to trade notes, I would be happy to discuss our control program and hopefully learn some new tricks. I can be reached via email at sgccturf@sbcgloba.net

From the blog of Jim Alwine, Superintendent of Stockton Golf and Country Club