Sports Turf Agronomy Advice - September 2026

August 2026 has followed an exceptionally warm and dry summer, although the weather pattern has become more changeable towards the end of the month.

July was exceptionally dry, sunny and warm, with the UK recording its second warmest July on record and only around 35% of average rainfall. Southern England was particularly dry, with just 3% of its average July rainfall. By August, low pressure became more influential and rainfall became more widespread, although distribution has been very uneven. The final part of August has turned unsettled, with showers, heavy rain and some thunderstorms. For turf managers, this means the transition from drought and irrigation led management towards natural rainfall and increasing leaf wetness is now underway.

The latest forecast outlook suggests that September will begin unsettled, with showers or longer spells of rain across many parts of the UK and rainfall likely to be above average, particularly in the northwest. Temperatures are expected to be close to average, although short lived warm or very warm spells remain possible, especially in southern areas. From mid-September the forecast signal becomes less certain, but there is an increasing chance of longer drier and more settled periods, particularly in the south and southeast, while wetter conditions are more likely to persist further north and northwest. This creates a potentially useful window for recovery and renovation, but also increases the need to manage leaf wetness and disease risk.

September is likely to be a month of transition. After the prolonged heat and dryness of summer 2026, improving soil moisture should provide valuable recovery potential, but the same moisture will increase leaf wetness and disease risk. The priority should therefore be to exploit favourable conditions for recovery and establishment while maintaining a proactive, integrated disease management programme. Overlay nutrition, wetting agents, dew control, biostimulants, cultural practices and any necessary managed amenity turf fungicide applications inline with the forecast rather than working from a fixed calendar.

Seed establishment and drought recovery

September should provide an important opportunity to move from drought survival into recovery and establishment. Where soils have become hydrophobic, appropriate wetting agent programmes and targeted irrigation can help improve infiltration and distribution of water before and after seeding. Overseeding should be targeted at areas where desirable turf cover has been lost. Good seed to soil contact, suitable cultivar selection and consistent moisture through germination are fundamental. Nutrition should support establishment without forcing excessive soft growth. Where renovation has opened the surface, combine appropriate nutrition with moisture management and sensible cultural practices to encourage rooting and recovery. Newly established seedlings are particularly vulnerable to moisture stress, wear and competition, so irrigation and traffic management should be reviewed throughout establishment rather than only at the point of seeding.

An integrated turf management approach

As soil moisture returns and nights become longer, September also marks a transition towards greater disease pressure. Disease management should be approached as an integrated turf management (ITM) programme rather than relying on fungicides as a stand alone solution. Leaf wetness duration is one of the most important factors to monitor through this period. Longer nights, dew formation, rainfall and poorly timed irrigation can extend the period for which the leaf remains wet and create a more favourable environment for diseases such as Microdochium patch. Regular dew removal, appropriate irrigation timing, good surface drainage and improved air movement where practical can all help reduce prolonged leaf wetness. Weather forecasts, on-site observations and disease-risk models can be used together to identify higher risk periods and appropriate intervention or spray windows.

Cultural practices

Cultural management should form the foundation of the programme. Maintaining appropriate mowing practices, managing organic matter and thatch, relieving compaction where conditions allow, maintaining surface drainage, improving airflow and light penetration, and avoiding unnecessary turf stress can all help create a less favourable environment for disease. Balanced nutrition is equally important, sufficient nitrogen is required to maintain plant health and recovery, but excessive or poorly timed inputs can produce soft growth that may be more vulnerable to disease.

Where fungicides are required, resistance management needs to be built into the programme. The FRAC mode of action classification groups fungicides according to their target site and provides a framework for resistance management planning. Products should not be considered true rotation partners simply because they have different trade names or active ingredients if they share the same FRAC code. The practical aim is to rotate suitable authorised fungicides with different FRAC codes/modes of action and avoid unnecessary treatments. FRAC also recommends integrating fungicide use with other disease management measures so that disease pressure and therefore reliance on fungicides is reduced.

Non-fungicide products and plant health

Non-fungicide products can play an important supporting role within an ITM programme. Rather than viewing these products as direct replacements for fungicides, they should be used to improve the growing environment, support plant health and reduce the conditions that favour disease. Depending on the site and product, this may include wetting agents to improve moisture distribution, dew control products to reduce leaf wetness, biostimulants and other plant health inputs.

These can be utilised in a synergistic approach where each application compliments the next in the effort to minimise disease outbreaks and maximise plant health. When planning management strategies through this period having an overview of all the planned applications allows you to piece together each part of the plan. Bearing in mind the best plans can be foiled by unpredictable weather patterns.

Tom Wood
B.Sc (Hons) | MBPR | FQA

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