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How to Manage Pests

The UC Guide to Healthy Lawns

Index to Contents

Abiotic disorders

• Compaction
• Dog injury
• Dull mower blades
• Fertilizer burn
• Herbicide damage
• Item damage
• Nutrient deficiencies
• Poor watering practices
• Scalping
• Shade
  

Aerating—top of page

• Aerating methods
• When to aerate

Dethatching

• Dethatching methods
• When to dethatch

Diagnosing turfgrass problems

• Diagnostic key to problems in turfgrass
• Diagnostic tips
• Patterns and locations of the problem

Diseases—top of page

• Diagnostic key to problems in turfgrass
  
• Anthracnose
• Dollar spot
• Fairy ring
• Fusarium blight
• Fusarium patch or Microdochium patch (Pink snow mold)
• Leaf spot
  
• Nuisance fungi
  
• Powdery mildew
• Pythium blight
• Red thread
• Rhizoctonia blight
  
• Rust
  
• Southern blight
• Spring dead spot
• Summer patch
• Take-all patch

Fertilization—top of page

• Amount of material to use and frequency of application
• Fertilizer burn
• Fertilizers vs. soil amendments
• Fertilizing established lawns
• How to apply fertilizer
  • Broadcast spreaders
  • Drop spreaders
  • Hose-end spreaders
• Nutrient deficiencies
• Recommended fertilizer rates
• Setting your spreader
• Starter fertilizer
• Weed-and-feed products
• What to apply
• When to fertilize

General lawn care

• Lawn care for established lawns
• Lawn care for new lawns
• Manage pests

Grass development—top of page

• Bunch-type grasses
• Creeping-type grasses
  
• Grass seed germination rates
• Identification characteristics of grasses
• Seasonal growth pattern of grasses

Insects and other invertebrates—top of page

• Diagnostic key to problems in turfgrass

• Beneficial nematodes
• Distinguishing features of common lawn insects
• Drench test

• Bermudagrass mites
• Billbugs
  
• Black turfgrass ataenius
• Crane fly
• Cutworms and armyworms
• Dichondra flea beetle
• Earthworms
• Fiery skipper
• Lawn moths (Sod webworms)
• Leafhoppers
• Masked chafers (White grubs)
• Southern chinch bug

Irrigation—top of page

• Determine your sprinkler output
• How many times a week to water
• How to water
• Installing a turf irrigation system
• Interactive program to scheduling your irrigation
• Irrigating established lawns
• Irrigating new lawns
• Irrigation design
• Irrigation scheduling
• Parts of an irrigation system
  • Automatic timers
  • Control valves
  • PVC pipes and risers
  • Sprinkler heads
• Plan your irrigation system
• Poor watering practices
• Sprinkler systems
• When to water

Mowing—top of page

• Dull mower blades
• Grasscycling
• How much, when, and how often to mow
• How to mow
• Lawns requiring special attention
• Mowing equipment
  • Adjusting mower height
  • Maintenance
  • Reel mowers
  • Rotary mowers
• Mowing established lawns
• Mowing new lawns
• Removing one-third of the grass blade
• Scalping

Nematodes

• Plant-parasitic nematodes

Planting—top of page

• Choose your species
• Comparison of planting methods
• Establishing a lawn from seed
  • Planting times and rates for grasses that can be established from seed
  • Purchasing high quality seed
  • Seed package labels
• Establishing a lawn from sod
  • Installing sod
  • Ordering sod
• Establishing a lawn from sprigs, stolons, or plugs
• Hydroseeding
• Prepare your site
  
• Preplant weed control

Renovating lawns—top of page

• Complete renovation
  • Kill the existing turf and weeds
  • Prepare the soil
  • Remove the remaining turf
  • Rethink your irrigation system
• Overseeding
  • Closely mow the turf and rake up debris
  • Dethatch and aerate
  • Maintenance
  • Seed, fertilize, and irrigate
• Patching
  • Dig out the affected area
  • Replant with seed, sod, sprigs, stolons, plugs
  • Work the soil

Soil

• Prepare your site
  
• Soil amendments
• Soil analysis
• Soil preparation
• Soil solarization
• Soil types
  

Turfgrass species—top of page

• Choose and identify turf species
• Key to identifying turfgrass species

• Bentgrass, colonial
  
• Bentgrass, creeping
  
• Bermudagrass
  
• Bluegrass, Kentucky
  
• Bluegrass, rough
  
• Buffalograss
• Dichondra
• Fescue, hard
  
• Fescue, red
  
• Fescue, tall
• Kikuyugrass
• Ryegrass, annual
  
• Ryegrass, perennial
• Seashore paspalum
• St. Augustinegrass
• Zoysiagrass

• Turfgrass species best adapted to most California conditions
  
• Turfgrass species not adapted to hot climates
  
• Turfgrass species somewhat adapted to summer heat

Vertebrates

• Ground squirrels
• Moles
• Pocket gophers
• Raccoons and skunks

Weeds and weed management—top of page

• Hand-weeding
• Herbicides
  • Herbicide classification
  • Herbicide damage
  • Herbicide success tips
  • Weed-and-feed products
• Identification key to weeds in turfgrass
  • Distinguishing broadleaves, grasses, and sedges
  • Identification characteristics of broadleaves
  • Identification characteristics of grasses
  • Identification characteristics of sedges
• Kill the existing turf and weeds in renovations
• Preplant weed control
• Soil solarization
• Special weed problems in lawns
• Weeds in turfgrass

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