Here is an unnerving update from the Turf Pathology division of NC Extension, whose team of research agents has been tracking the effects of the unseasonably hot weather on fescue and other cool season grasses.
They summarize just how hot its been:
This summer has been extremely tough, to say the least. Raleigh, New Bern, and Wilmington are on pace for the hottest summer ever recorded, while Asheville, Charlotte, Fayetteville, and Boone are heading for the second hottest summer.
More importantly, the nighttime lows in Raleigh this summer have been 6 degrees above the long-term average for the season! Average nighttime temperatures have been 72.9 degrees, which hinders cool-season recovery. [In short] … our summer is comparable to that of San Antonio, Texas!
So, its been really, really hot. But also wet, with a lot of rain. What happens to cool season grasses under such circumstances?
When cool-season grasses undergo prolonged heat stress, they experience lower relative water content in their leaves, reduced chlorophyll levels, and decreased plrotochemical efficiency. This results in severe damage to their cells. Additionally, when heat stress is combined with saturated soil conditions and/or traffic, it can lead to complete failure of cool-season turfgrass.
High heat plus excessive rain and/or traffic, and cool season grasses can die off. Best practices might mitigate the damage somewhat, but despite such efforts, “cool-season turfgrasses will likely suffer after a summer like this … “
Here are photos of NC Extensions’ field lab fescue & bentgrass plots which have almost entirely died out due to the extreme heat and excess moisture.
That is not a pretty sight. And needless to say, if they are having this type of damage at the NCSU turf center, summer is going to be hard on everyone’s turf.
Read the whole article. In sum, be sure and use best practices in lawn maintenance this summer and keep traffic across your lawns at a minimum. And then hope for the best. You can find best practices here for cool season grasses, together with relevant links.
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