(2) Friday Greens Applications

With warmer temperatures, wet conditions and high humidity, different disease organisms become active and potentially destructive. If left uncontrolled, they would damage all short cut turfgrass before too long, rendering our golf course unsuitable for the game of golf.

Greens were sprayed twice on Friday, June 27th. In the morning, greens received these ten chemical materials:

1. A combination of two different fungicides. These materials were applied to prevent the disease anthracnose. Combinations of two or three different materials are always used to combat this Northeast disease. Like a boxer who uses two different punches, such as a body shot and a jab to topple his opponent, we are doing the same by using chemicals with different modes of action in the same application. Thanks to Dr. Bruce Clarke at Rutgers University whose tireless research has provided control strategies for Superintendents on anthracnose. If you would like to learn more about anthracnose, I have attached a Golf Course Superintendents Association of New England Newsletter that begins with a 2007 report from Dr. Clarke and associates. This can be found in the "links" section.

2. A growth regulator was applied to slow turfgrass growth on greens. While growth is slowed, plants use less water and provide superior putting surfaces in speed and smoothness.

3. A low dose insecticide was added to prevent damage from hyperodes weevil's second generation of the year. Larvae (small grubs) of hyperodes have caused problems at NE courses this year. To date, we are free of this pest that consumes turf stems, crowns and roots, and plan to stay that way!! This material also controls damaging cutworm, so we are getting broad spectrum control with this one application.

4. Six different high tech greens soluble fertilizers were mixed and applied in the morning application. Greens may take on a darker green appearance for the next week or so, and this healthy look can be attributed to these products supplied by Floratine and Rootex. Healthy plants withstand stress and provide the highest quality and most reliable putting surfaces.

This first application was allowed to sit undisturbed on plants all day, because leaves were absorbing these materials into cells where they will be utilized and
transported by the plants.

At close to 7:00 PM, we began the evening application.

First, a different fungicide "ProStar" was applied that works on soil borne disease Fairy Ring. This was used to eliminate the small and large dark green circular patches present on a few greens. Fairy ring damages greens, especially at later stages of disease development, and is quite difficult and expensive to control. This was the second treatment this month to eliminate Fairy Ring. I believe these patches will take a week or two to finally disappear.

Because this fungicide works in soil, we added a wetting agent material to the application. The wetting agent will help move the ProStar fungicide where the pathogen resides....into the soil. To assist the movement of the fungicide, we ran ten minutes of irrigation on each green, split into two five minute cycles.

Please feel free to email questions, or stop me to ask, anytime!!