Heat tracking damage on lawns
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- Created on Friday, 24 June 2011 20:08
Traffic from people or mowers on turf that is under stress from high temperatures may result in heat tracking damage.
Published June 24, 2011
Kevin Frank, Michigan State University Extension, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
The hot weather from a couple of weeks ago resulted in another outbreak of heat tracking on lawns. For the lack of a better term, I call the damage imposed from any sort of trafficking on heat or drought-stressed turf “heat tracking”. Often, heat tracking is the result of mowers running over the turf when it is near the wilting point. The resultant damage may look as if RoundUp was stuck on the tires of the equipment. If the lawn is starting to look bluish or if you notice foot-printing on the turf, it’s likely that any sort of traffic (mowers or people) will result in heat tracking. The only way to really avoid this damage is to avoid mowing during the hottest time of the day when the turf is under stress.
Although heat tracking damage can look really bad, the good news is that the recent rains and cool temperatures should help the turf recover within a week or two.
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http://expeng.anr.msu.edu/news/article/heat_tracking_damage_on_lawns