THE WEEK IN REVIEW

HUMBLE PIE

 

Superintendents across the land have all eaten their fair share of humble pie.  Sometimes it's force fed to us by mother nature and sometimes we eat it on our own.  Following our preventative chemical application to greens and tees on Friday we experienced some phytotoxicity.  What is Phytotoxicity?
It's the burning or toxic response from a chemical application.  Last Friday we applied our standard preventative disease control heading into the weekend. As always, we applied these products in the morning to avoid the heat of the day.  Doing so reduces the chance of a phytotoxic response.  Later in the day the temps reached 97 degrees.  This was not a surprise as these temps were anticipated.  What was a surprise was the plant response and subsequent burning.  The affected areas were already weak and the phytotoxic response caused further set back.  The good news is disease is in check, the bad news is we suffered some collateral damage in the process. Most areas will grow out of this effect in a few weeks.  Some will require additional inputs.  Today we dimple tined and seeded these areas to promote and speed recovery.  I apologize for the aesthetics while we recover.

New GCSAA TV Spot

 

 

Back in early June GCSAA TV interviewed me about managing Bentgrass in the Mid-Atlantic for a company called Tee-2-Green.  They are the breeders of A1/A4 Bentgrass, the variety we have on our greens.  At the end they asked if  I could film another spot for a segment they call What's in your Cart?.  The main interview will be released soon. 

 

Stay Tuned! 

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Breath of Fresh Air

Why Aerate?
Turf requires four essential growth factors for optimal growth: sunlight, air, water and nutrients. A well-designed aeration program will help maintain proper water and air movement within the soil encouraging deep, dense rooting for a firm, consistent turf. Here’s what solid tine aeration can do for the turf:

Benefits of Solid Tine Aeration

1. Improves gas exchange. Solid tine aeration opens the turf, alleviating compaction and allowing efficient gas exchange between the soil and the atmosphere.
2. Minimizes turf damage and downtime. Because no cores are removed, the disturbance to the turf surface is minimal. Best of all, the turf can be used immediately after aeration.
3. Can be done all-season. Solid tine aeration minimizes turf stress, so it’s well suited for summer temperatures.
4. Increases surface drainage (infiltration and percolation). Aeration allows water to move freely between plant roots and the environment for vigorous growth.
5. Requires less manpower. Solid tine aeration typically requires less labor, because there’s no need for core removal/processing or top dressing.

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

 

 

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!



 

The battle is on and summer has begun.  Humidity and high temperatures present a challenge to turfgrass health by creating mother nature's petri dish.  Fungal pathogens need moisture and warmth to grow and thrive.  The disease triangle below illustrates the (3) factors needed for diseases to attack turfgrass.

As you can see, we are working with an 0-2 count.  Mother Nature controls the weather and its ability to create a pathogen.  What we control is the susceptible host.  By providing the plant with the proper amount of sunlight, water, nutrients and oxygen, we give the plant the tools to mount a resistance.  Similar to the disease triangle, all four components are needed for plant health as well.  In addition, we supplement the plant's natural defenses with a preventive plant protectant program.