I've never been a huge Florida Gator fan but in the last 10 years, I found a huge appreciation for the school. Let me explain....
So what is a nematode anyway?
Nematodes are unsegmented roundworms. Not all nematodes are bad; in fact, most species are beneficial, feeding on bacteria, fungi, or other microscopic organisms. There are even nematodes that can be used as biological control organisms to help manage important turf insect pests. However, there also are genera of nematodes that are pests or pathogens of animals or plants. Nematodes that feed on plants are called plant-parasitic nematodes. Plant-parasitic nematodes are very small, and microscopes are required to see them.
It was 2005 and the Clubhouse renovation was just getting finished. I will always remember that spring. It was my second full season as the superintendent and of course, I was still nervous about the job. It was the time of ones life you worry about everything, even the stuff you have no control over. I remember the 16th green didn't look right that spring. All of the greens were healing nicely from aerification and I was looking forward to the season. The only problem was 16 green. I studied it in a number of ways. I was always pulling plugs looking for signs of some pest. By late April, the green even started to thin slightly. Most members never noticed, but I did and knew it was going to be a long summer if I didn't figure out what was wrong. There were no patches to indicate a disease, just uniform thinning. I started to send off cup cutter plugs everywhere. My private lab, Turf Diagnostics in New York, Penn State and NC State University. Each lab called the next day and said, "you are clean, no fungal spores here." I also used different fungicides trial and error that spring. Its no different when your doctor tries a medicine to see if you will respond to it. A week later I did everything I know I could and 16 green responded to nothing. Then it occurred to me...nematodes. I called NC State to inquire about testing the plug they already had and was told, "Brian, it isn't worth doing a nematode assay (when they take a volume of soil and actually count how many nematodes are in the soil- all under a microscope) because you won't see nematodes in your area of NC." I responded by saying I exhausted every known thing that I knew could be wrong. The environment it was growing in was fine. It had all the nutrients in needed. I confirmed there were no insects or fungal disease attacking it and still, the green kept getting thinner. I immediately hung up and called Dr. Crow, the only Nematologist in the US, at the University of Florida. I sent a plug of 16 green overnight. The next day he called and said he had bad news. The nematode assay revealed I had a spiral nematode count of 2,300 per 100cc of soil. The threshold for damage is 600 per 100cc of soil! I was lucky because I finally found the problem. Like anything in life, it is difficult to find a solution if you can't pinpoint the cause of the problem One year earlier, the EPA announced Nemacure, the only known control for nematodes, was being taken off the market. For some reason, I bought 5 bags to have just in case. My time was now. #16 was treated and within one day, the grass perked up and started to respond. Finally! This was a major growing experience for me. Persistence paid off as did following my gut instinct. I am thankful I didn't listen to some opinions or I would have been in trouble.
This picture is a fairway with nematode issues. The left was treated and the right side was not. See how the overall appearance of the turf is thinner and not as green...this is why it is so hard to diagnose in the field. There is no trademark "patch" that diseases express themselves in. It could even pass for a nutrient deficiency.
-Nematodes are carried in by sand. They can come in on loads of topdressing sand and that is how they reach our area.
-They usually are only prevalent in sandy soils and warm temperatures. This is why late April in Highlands was very odd.
-Sting nematodes are the most destructive and most common in Florida. The threshold is only 1-2 per 100cc of soil.
-It is very rare for nematodes to cause damage in our area but not impossible. Changing things like height of cut to allow the turf to be healthier is often effective while the populations shift.
-We may have one or two greens every 10-20 years show signs of damage. There are many course in Florida with sandy soils who deal with this big time...100 acres or more! My heart goes out to those guys!
-I also learned to take what "experts" say with a grain of salt. While beneficial, no one understands this property and the micro-environment as I do. That goes for professors, consultants etc. When you see the day to day response of turf over 15 years as I have, you come to know and expect how different greens will perform any given day based on weather and other factors. That is the advantage of being at the same Club for a long time. It benefits the Super and the Club.
This photo shows how destructive they can be, feeding on turf roots.