Reviewing Summer Stress on Golf Course Turf, Control Strategies & More

We still have a lot of summer left in 2025 and that means potential stress on your turf. Turfgrass stress occurs when external factors force the plant to allocate its resources toward surviving adverse conditions rather than thriving and growing. Such stress can be triggered by pests, extreme weather, poor soil quality, competition with other plants, heavy turf use, and certain management practices. These stressors divert the plant's focus from normal growth, often requiring intervention through maintenance practices like pest control, cultural methods, or additional inputs to help the turf recover and perform better.

Turf Vulnerability

The vulnerability of turfgrass to abiotic stressors, such as heat, drought, salinity and UVB radiation is recognized as an important concern in the field of turfgrass management.

Turf vulnerability consists of three components:

1. Exposure: Type, magnitude, and duration of stress on turfgrass.

2. Sensitivity: Turfgrass's reaction to stress exposure.

3. Adaptive capacity: Turfgrass's ability to adjust to the impact of exposure and sensitivity. When stress exceeds its coping range, turfgrass becomes vulnerable.

Today, stress on managed turf is higher than ever due to:

• Mowing height/rolling frequency

• Wear/traffic

• Aeration, spiking/venting, dethatching, topdressing

• Herbicides/insecticides/nutrients and timing

• Environmental factors (heat, drought, cold, ice, salinity)

• Soil factors (texture, pH, fertility)

Expectations for professionally managed golf tournament conditions include:

• Playability

• Uniformity

• Color

• Consistency

• Turf vigor

• Plant density

To help meet these expectation, work with your Clesens Turf or Irrigation Representative. A few things you can do together: take soil and tissue samples, introduce new fungicides and plant health products, and review irrigation adjustments, programs and schedules.

Summer Stress Products To Try

Envu NOW Solutions Starts August 1 with Special Pricing and 2026 Terms with the following products:

• Banol

• Castlon

• Chipco Signature

• Densicor

• Fame SC

• Indemnify

• Interface Stressgard

• Mirage Stressgard

• Rayora

• Resilia

• Serata

• Signature XTRA Stressgard

Syngenta's Prepare Now & Pay Later Starts August 1 with Special Pricing and 2026 Terms with the following products:

Qualifying Products

• Acelepryn

• Acelepryn XTRA

• Ascernity

• Briskway

• Headway

• Instrata

• Posterity Forte

• Posterity XT

• Posterity

Qualifying Pallets & Multipaks

• Ascernity + Medallion SC Multipak (NEW)

• Posterity XT + Ascernity Multipak

• Winter Solution Pallet

• Contact Solution Pallet (NEW) includes 5 Cases of Daconil Action & 1 Case of Secure Action

Summary of Managing Summer Stress on Golf Course Tees, Greens, and Fairways (Top Ten) 

1. Proper frequency of irrigation.

2. Soil management includes aeration with soil nutrition for both plants and roots.

3. Awareness of traffic patterns before, during and after summer stress.  

4. Mowing practice and adjusting height of cut during temperature fluctuation.  

5. Pest and disease control that is targeting leaves, stems, and roots.  

6. Light sand top dressing is frequent for surface playability and uniformity.

7. Foliar applications (including sugars and humic/fulvic acids) that are balanced for color and recovery.

8. PGRs for turf quality. 

9. Syringing applications during the heat or low ET to cool playing surface and stress.

10. Venting by removal of trees for improved air circulation. 

Partnering with Envu in 2025

Envu, a company specializing in turfgrass management, provides products and strategies to address summer stress in turf, focusing on preventative measures, plant health, and disease control, including their Stressgard fungicide line. Here is a breakdown of Envu's approach to managing summer turf stress:

Preventative Fungicide Program:

Envu advocates a preventative strategy, starting in mid-spring with regular applications of fungicides like Signature XTRA Stressgard to minimize disease inoculum and support plant health.

Stressgard Fungicides:

Their Stressgard fungicides, including Exteris, Interface, Tartan, and Mirage, are formulated to manage summer diseases and assist in reducing abiotic stress such as heat and drought.

Plant Health Benefits:

Research indicates that Stressgard fungicides increase chlorophyll and improve photosynthetic efficiency, leading to enhanced rooting, stress tolerance, and turf density.

FMC products are now available through Envu acquisition:  

Envu has expanded its portfolio with products such as Fame, Serata, and the innovative DMI Kalida.  Fame is an advanced Strobilurin that becomes rain fast within 15 minutes, offering rapid mobility. It effectively controls dollar spot, summer patch, and exhibits activity against pythium root dysfunction. Serata, a novel active ingredient to control Pythium, can be utilized in rotation to effectively manage Pythium Root Rot, Blight, Dysfunction, and damping-off.

Envu has launched a new innovative combination fungicide, Tarvecta.

Tarvecta combines the active ingredients in the Qol fungicide Fame® (floxastrobin) and the next generation DMI fungicide Rayora® (futriafol). 

Tarvecta offers both root and foliar disease control that can be applied preventatively or used curatively.  Consider benefits on greens/tees and/or fairways:  

• Prolonged residual activity. 

• Inhibits future fungal growth through systemic activity.

• Prevents future fungal growth through systemic action.

• Rapid uptake within plant.  

Tarvecta is available now from Clesens. 

Reach out to your Clesens sales team to discuss summer management programs and agronomic needs.