Author: smith.3204

With this stretch of hot days and spotty rainfalls around the County many homeowners are all asking the same question, “Is my lawn really dead?”  Check it out, in some cases, the upper portions of the turf may be dead but the crowns may still be viable. Pull up a few plants and tease apart the crowns at the base. Healthy but dormant tissue will be white and succulent; new green growth may be present. Dead crowns will be brown, straw-like throughout.

Dormancy in the Lawn  –  Turfgrass plants need soil moisture to sustain normal growth and development. The water use rates of cool season turfgrasses during the summer period will often exceed the rate which natural rainfall returns water back into the soil. Once the soil moisture reserves are nearly depleted, the turfgrass will begin to wilt. This condition is evident as the turfgrass turns from green to either bluish-green or gray-green. Wilt is a sign of water stress and is usually most evident during mid to late afternoon periods. A period of continual water stress that limits or prevents the growth of plants is termed drought. Once drought conditions develop, the lawn will stop all growth and development and proceed into dormancy.

Dormancy is characterized by the development of brown turfgrass. The turfgrass is not dead but instead in a condition to preserve the vital parts of the plant. By becoming dormant, turfgrasses reduce water usage and can concentrate the limited amount of available moisture into the crown, rhizomes and roots. This dormant condition will allow the turfgrass plant to survive adverse conditions for extended periods until soil moisture reserves are replenished. The length of time lawn grasses can survive in a dormant condition is contingent on a number of factors including soil moisture levels, daytime temperatures, condition of the turfgrass at the onset of dormancy, etc. In general, turfgrasses can be expected to survive in a dormant condition for up to 4 to 5 weeks with limited damage if temperatures are at or below normal. If daytime temperatures are elevated (mid-80’s or higher) consistently through the stress period, only 3 to 4 weeks of survival should be anticipated. Dormant grass is lost once the crowns, rhizomes and roots begin to dehydrate.

 

Many would agree that one of the most pleasing sights that Fairfield County has to offer are the seas of green presented by fields of growing corn.

In mid-July, however, the careful observer will notice the emergence of yellow plumes reaching for the sky from the very top of the plant. Known to most as corn tasseling, these golden strands mark the commencement of corn reproduction.

Each tassel houses a plethora of pollen grains, between 14 million and 18 million, resembling a fine yellow powder that is easily dispersed by the wind. These grains contain the male co

rn genes, half of what is needed for a new corn kernel. Meanwhile, a few feet below await the female components needed for procreation. Hundreds of minuscule flowers are aligned on tiny, sheathed cobs, jutting upwards towards their male counterparts. Each of these tiny female flowers have the ability to develop into a kernel of corn…but only if a grain of pollen can find its way to it!

The process is further complicated by the fact that these female flowers and their cobs are enveloped by a husk and completely sheltered from the world, thus not allowing the pollen to make direct contact. Instead, each female flower sends out a single, sticky strand of silk with the purpose of securing a floating grain of corn pollen. It’s no coincidence, that these silky strands emerge on the very same day the tassel is set to release its powdery pollen.

The story only gets stranger when a grain of pollen aligns with the tip of a strand of silk. Once recognized, it tunnels its way down through the thread to finally unite and fertilize the female flower. This entire process can take several hours to complete, and upon achievement the silky threads almost immediately begin to dry up. The small, underdeveloped kernels you often find towards the end of an ear of corn resulted from flowers that were unsuccessful in engaging male suitors to venture down their tubes of silk, thus were not successfully pollinated.

So, the next time you smell that wondrously bright, musky odor emerging from a neighboring corn field, you’ll know that love is, indeed, in the air.

Source:   Carrie Brown, Fairfield County ANR Educator