It’s a sod story. Dead grass everywhere.

In north Georgia the problem is winterkill.

"Damage has been found everywhere," said Mark
Banta, a University of Georgia
Extension Service agent in Cobb County. "There’s damage on
golf courses, sod farms,
commercial sites, home lawns and athletic fields."

Temperatures below 25 degrees cause most sod damage. Georgia
had many days colder than
that this winter and spring.

"It turned cool early this fall and stayed cool later in
the spring than
normal," Banta said. "Throughout the winter,
temperatures were colder than
normal, with several seven- to 10-day stretches below
25."

Rainfall in October, November, January and February almost
doubled the historical
average.

"With these temperatures and rainfall amounts, we expect
sod damage in low, poorly
drained areas, particularly in water drainage channels,"
Banta said.

April lows in the 20s and soil temperatures that got up to
only 55 degrees didn’t help
green-up.

Gil Landry, an Extension turf specialist, said the damage
he’s seen has been severe. In
Bermuda sod planted after Oct. 1 of last year, he said, the
injury is "sometimes 60
to 100 percent."

Some areas show severe damage to zoysia and centipede turf,
too.

"Shaded areas and north- and west-facing slopes show the
most injury," Landry
said. "Just as in normal years, proper soil preparation,
sod quality, installation
and turf maintenance can affect winter injury.

"Established turf areas fared better," he said.
"And some weren’t lost,
but are greening up at a slower-than-normal rate."

Weakened turf plants are low on food reserves and likely have
shallow root systems. For
the turf to recover, Landry said, you have to keep the surface
soil moist.

To speed recovery, Banta recommends using complete fertilizer
and either applying more
or applying more often.

"If you’re choosing between two fertilizers, get the one
with higher phosphorus
content," he said. "Avoid severe cultural practices
such as vertical mowing and
topdressing until the turf has recovered significantly."

Pre-emergence herbicides, he cautioned, may keep new roots
from growing well.

Use higher-than-normal mowing during recovery, he said. That
will leave more leaf
surface in the turf to help rebuild food reserves.

To make matters worse, sod supplies are low. Some sod farms
were damaged, too, and
demand is high.

"The Olympics and rapid construction have sucked up the
supply," Banta said.
"Those who want to replant damaged turf may find limited
supplies and higher
prices."

In south Georgia, sod is suffering from a different problem:
pesky mole crickets.

"They are the single worst pests of turf," said
Will Hudson, an Extension
entomologist. "Fortunately for people outside the coastal
plain, mole crickets don’t
leave the area."

Mole crickets are underground insects related to grasshoppers
and crickets. They tunnel
through the ground and eat grass — just about any kind.
Researchers have yet to find a
type they won’t eat.

"Right now the biggest problem is in some of the golf-
course-type turfs,"
Hudson said. "But they’ll eat pasture grasses and get into
crops, too."

If you have a mole cricket problem, you know it.

"They don’t cause subtle damage," Hudson said.
"When they attack grass,
they really attack grass. They take it out completely."

You don’t have to dig under the soil to find the problem. The
grass simply disappears.

"They eat the leaves and stems, and their tunneling does
a lot of damage to the
roots," Hudson said.

Several things combat mole crickets.

"Depending on where you are, baits can work well,
especially on home lawns,"
Hudson said. "Insecticides work, too. But none is very
cheap. Your county Extension
agent can help you choose.

"In turf," he said, "it can be very expensive.
Golf courses on the coast
can spend as much as $1,000 per hole on insecticides. You can
see why they worry about it
so much."