A few greens were damaged by the nematicide Multi-Guard that was applied last Tuesday evening. This chemical was applied in an attempt to control plant parasitic stunt nematodes which are extremely small, yet potentially destructive wormlike creatures that feast on plant roots. Left unchecked, greens with high nematode populations can fail during the prime playing season of summer. Soil nematodes are the most populous animal on earth and most species are not destructive to plants. Soil samples were sent to the University of Massachusetts on May 31st. Here are the numbers of stunt nematodes they counted from those samples:
Green 1 5024 adults per 100 cc's of soil
Green 3 4660 adults per 100 cc's of soil
Green 15 6660 adults per 100 cc's of soil
A count of 800 nematodes per 100 cc's of soil is the threshold number suggested by UMASS where turf damage may occur. At this level, turfgrass damage can be expected, especially on close cut greens during the heat of summer. With the high observed population of nematodes present, you can see why we decided to pursue a chemical control option.
The green that took the most severe hit is 15, followed by 16 and the practice green. A few others are affected as well. The most common damage looks like pimples or speckling in a few spots. Overall, damage is minor and will heal over during the next two or three weeks. We will re-seed 15 to aid its recovery. I am not writing to alarm anyone because overall the greens are still very nice, but I just wanted to explain why a few greens aren't looking their best at this time.
Previously, Bayer's Nemacur was a wonderful, yet extremely hazardous nematode control product. Nemacur was pulled for sale in Spring 2005 leaving no chemical control options until mid 2011 when Agrium Advanced Technologies released a product named Multi-Guard. Multi-Guard (chemical name of furfural) has demonstrated positive control results in university testing, especially with the species present at Potowomut, the dastardly stunt nematode. (There are five or six species that affect turfgrass.) Because nematodes can devastate greens practically overnight, Superintendents have enthusiastically purchased and applied Multi-Guard during the last few weeks to control nematode populations just before they typically skyrocket.
Unfortunately, we are not the only golf course with greens' damage from Multi-Guard. We have heard of another golf course in the northeast with damaged greens. This golf course applied the product last Monday (one day sooner than us) with similar results. Because of these two negative results, representatives of the South African manufacturer of the material and from nationwide seller Agrium will spend time Thursday at Potowomut to assess and discuss the situation. We will keep you posted with any updates.
In the meantime, greens were fertilized Saturday evening and will be fertilized again as early as tomorrow (Wednesday) to hasten growth and recovery. Again, greens are still in wonderful condition and we expect them to continue to improve in coming weeks.
****We can assure you that left over Multi-Guard will be sent back....and this chemical will not be used at Potowomut again because this result in unacceptable.
Thanks for your patience and understanding.
Patrick M. Gertner CGCS
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
It's already June!!
Thanks to everyone for helping us keep the bunkers in better condition. Everyone is placing the rakes on the painted spots and I believe bunkers are much improved! These last few weeks have seen plenty of rainfall changing our fast golf course into a slow one more normally associated with spring weather. Greens were aerated and fertilized in early May. Frequent rains (9 inches since April 23) and aggressive growth kept greens slow while they healed from their biannual breath of fresh air through aeration.
With greens and fairway turf aggressively growing again, we have taken steps the last week to speed things up. Growth regulators have been applied and have begun to work. Of all the applications we make in a year, the first spring application that slows plant growth is my favorite because of the dramatic change to greens and fairways. Because of the recent rains growth of the rough has exploded. The second rough mower has been sent out to keep the rough manageable. Another extra step will be done weekly until grass growth slows later in June. After rough mowing has concluded for the week, we have been mowing three or four loops around each fairway every Friday. This will help to keep the rough closest the fairways at a consistent length for weekend golf.
GREY LEAF SPOT..revisited.
Remember the grey spot damage fairways saw last September and October? We certainly do, and the memories aren't fond ones. Fairways have mostly healed quite well from that disease and I'd like to illustrate one point. At the beginning of the seventh fairway, thin turf is still evident. Damage was worse on other fairways but healing is slower here because this turf sees less quality sunshine than other areas that were hit even harder. The slow healing on seven fairway demonstrates even further the turf's need for quality sun all day long. This week we will begin adding sod to green edges from our turf nursery. Later in the year we will re-sod both the bunker edges and face of 16 bunker. Ongoing projects include clubhouse beautification projects and re-seeding stump holes that were worked on earlier during the season.
WHY DO WE APPLY TONS OF MUCH SAND WHEN WE AERATE GREENS????
The golf course was drenched by almost an inch of rain Saturday morning just before golfers were to go out for the Walter Johnson tournament. Carts would have done plenty of damage to the golf course so carts were not allowed Saturday. However, greens drained quickly and were ok to play on for golfers who walked. Greens performed well after this (and other) rainfall events because of the 40 tons of pure sand that are added every year during aeration and topdressing processes. There is now an impressive layer of pure sand on top of greens that removes water quickly. Please join me on twitter at PotoGreens!
We hope to see everyone on the golf course very soon....!
With greens and fairway turf aggressively growing again, we have taken steps the last week to speed things up. Growth regulators have been applied and have begun to work. Of all the applications we make in a year, the first spring application that slows plant growth is my favorite because of the dramatic change to greens and fairways. Because of the recent rains growth of the rough has exploded. The second rough mower has been sent out to keep the rough manageable. Another extra step will be done weekly until grass growth slows later in June. After rough mowing has concluded for the week, we have been mowing three or four loops around each fairway every Friday. This will help to keep the rough closest the fairways at a consistent length for weekend golf.
GREY LEAF SPOT..revisited.
Remember the grey spot damage fairways saw last September and October? We certainly do, and the memories aren't fond ones. Fairways have mostly healed quite well from that disease and I'd like to illustrate one point. At the beginning of the seventh fairway, thin turf is still evident. Damage was worse on other fairways but healing is slower here because this turf sees less quality sunshine than other areas that were hit even harder. The slow healing on seven fairway demonstrates even further the turf's need for quality sun all day long. This week we will begin adding sod to green edges from our turf nursery. Later in the year we will re-sod both the bunker edges and face of 16 bunker. Ongoing projects include clubhouse beautification projects and re-seeding stump holes that were worked on earlier during the season.
WHY DO WE APPLY TONS OF MUCH SAND WHEN WE AERATE GREENS????
The golf course was drenched by almost an inch of rain Saturday morning just before golfers were to go out for the Walter Johnson tournament. Carts would have done plenty of damage to the golf course so carts were not allowed Saturday. However, greens drained quickly and were ok to play on for golfers who walked. Greens performed well after this (and other) rainfall events because of the 40 tons of pure sand that are added every year during aeration and topdressing processes. There is now an impressive layer of pure sand on top of greens that removes water quickly. Please join me on twitter at PotoGreens!
We hope to see everyone on the golf course very soon....!
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