Steven Kammerer, PhD

🧠 Can plants remember past stress to prepare for future challenges? The Plant Mind: Unraveling Abiotic Stress Priming, Memory, and Adaptation bit.ly/4nGY2Ck

@PPLplantarum @MikeFidanza Absolutely - awesome publication Mike. I believe when we try to circumvent the natural host defense response from plants with biostimulants and exogenous hormones - other problems arise.

I hate publications like this that instantly conclude pesticides as the culprit. What about other risk variables for PD? Genetics & Race (caucasians more likely), age (older more likely), sex (males greater risk). Many other factors to consider… jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman…

@GCImagazine Just heard this sad news. Bruce made a tremendous impact on the turfgrass industry but more importantly on the people working in this industry. He will be remembered fondly and missed by many as well as by myself. His passion and the knowledge he imparted was infectious.

Bruce Martin, longtime top plant pathologist, dies at 71: From his South Carolina research lab, he helped golf course superintendents save their turf — even diagnosing one disease in the process. golfcourseindustry.com/news/bruce-mar…

7 day zoysia sod from pallet demonstrates effects of no sun or shade on grass. Underlying pieces had no sun. GA increases, stored carbs burned to produce top growth and clippings. Days of cloud cover can have same effect necessitating more vs less growth regulators.

With all the rain in S Florida and more on the way, tropical sod webworm moth warning for caterpillars to come

Never boring with paspalum - curious symptoms at fairway height. Following incubation, corded mycelium consistent with Limonomyces seen (circled). Pythium also found. Several species of Pythium and symptoms observed from (my) UF doctoral work with Waitea (Rhizoctonia) species.

Knights of Columbus 4th or July parade

New putting green 7 days after sprigging - increasing sprig density helps reduce thin areas from unexpected heavy rainfall events & minimizes weed outbreaks.

Mite symptoms and leaf spots are easily diagnosed. When trt’s don’t work, often nematodes or take all root rot are blamed leading to a lot of unnecessary pesticide apps. Billbugs, esp the larvae are very tough to find, even by someone skilled w/ a microscope (me).

Finding bermudagrass (and zoysia) presumed to be disease and/or bermudagrass mites, following ineffective pesticide apps, due to hunting billbugs. Difficult to identify & time apps for larvae vs. adults. This pest, a weevil, has history of developing insecticide resistance.

Research publications on non-major diseases of zoysiagrass and paspalum sorely lacking - Irregular blighting of zoysiagrass, low fertility, consistent with dollar spot but not very responsive to fungicides - lesions have black stroma associated with Curvularia. Comments welcome.

@UFcropnematodes What would be effects of yield on PRKN resistant varieties treated with fluopyram vs. on the high yielding Bailey II. When a resistant plant does not have to express that ‘response’ because a chemical is helping, would yield increase? Conservation of energy? Saw this in corn

New pub from my lab is available in the Journal of Nematology. Tested resistant Virginia-type peanut varieties and fluopyram for management of peanut root-knot nematode. Both worked well for managing abundances, but had some unexpected results with yield: sciendo.com/article/10.247…

@NematodeGuy I agree totally

The most intelligent man I have ever met!

My friend @Alto_Fuego took this beautiful photo of root-knot nematode infecting bermudagrass roots. How many pearly round females can you find?

High noon & all the mowers are idling, waiting for member Championship to end. Shot gun starts forces delays in maintenance - fortunately in FL it’s not the rainy season.

Started seeing a root surface in the grass. Upon digging - the analogy ‘tip of the iceberg’ comes to mind. Trees will clog drain lines, sprinkler heads, crack concrete, create hazards that can break wrists in bunkers and roughs if root pruning is not done.

How to test water infiltration rates - GCMOnline.com gcmonline.com/course/environ…

Last post today but good to appreciate, Bipolaris leaf spot on common bermudagrass but not being mown or compacted with carts and foot traffic, the grass withstands infection and only lowest leaves affected. (From common bermudagrass forage field).

Continuing in Florida agriculture tour - cattle stop - common bermudagrass is a desirable forage. Grazing vs mowing but same growth habit. Not great for supporting a golf ball. If mowed to 0.4 to 0.5-inches not a lot of upright canopy or leaves. A weed by any other name