ŁX-4* MARYLAND Seeding a licensable home improvement? Can seeding of a home lawn be classified as a "home panies' improvement" and should lawn care businessmen who apply seed as part of their lawn care program be licensed by a state regulatory agency? At present, the answer to this question in Maryland is "yes." But meetings and discussions being held right now could change that situation in the future. Thomas Emenizer is ex-ecutive director of the Maryland Home Improvement Commis-sion. He told LAWN CARE IN-DUSTRY that in the past the Commission has taken the stance that since seeding adds value to a property, it comes under the jurisdiction of the Commission. And he says that lawn care busi-nessmen who apply seed in that state have to be licensed by the Commission. He also said that lawn mowing and applications of fer-
tilizer and pesticides does not, in to page 14 MARKETS $300-600 million spent on turf maintenance in New York,study shows As much as $600 million could be the total maintenance expen-diture for turfgrass in New York 
State, according to a recent study conducted by Cornell University. Between $190 million and $380 million of this total figure is spent on residential properties, the study showed. Figures were released at the Professional Turf and Landscape Conference held recently at the Tappan Zee Inn in Nyack, N. Y. The study, conducted by J. Gruttadaurio, E. Hardy and A. S. Lieberman of Cornell, showed that there is a total of 1.18 million acres of turfgrass in New York 
State. More than 763,000 acres of la page 14 REGULATION ypi^M-Indiana state fertilizer law could squeeze smaller companies A February 1 notice to In-diana lawn care companies explaining the requirements of that state's Commercial Fertil-
izer Law stands to increase substantially the paperwork for lawn care companies, and even force some of them out of 
business. One of the biggest concerns of lawn care businessmen in that state is the labeling section of the law enacted in 1953. The notice, from the office of the Indiana State Chemist and Seed Commis-sioner. said: "The fertilizer law provides that fertilizer may be dis-tributed only when properly 
labeled with (a) the brand and grade, (b) guaranteed analysis (c) net weight and (d) name and address of registrant. This information must accompany all distribution of fertilizer without exception, whether packaged or bulk, dry or fluid, and be sup-plied to the purchaser at time of delivery." According to Dr. Ray Freeborg, a turf professor at Pur-
due University, West Lafayette, L4WN Serving lawn maintenance Ł JUI^^ki and chemical lawn ^^ M^mm I care professionals. INDUSTRY APRIL 1979 Ł VOL. 3, NO. 4 Ł A Harvest Publication PURDUE Starting out in lawn business analyzed at Midwest conference Probably almost as many peo-ple were talked out of the lawn care business as were talked into it after hearing a panel of suc-cessful lawn care businessmen 
discuss their start-up blunders and successes at last month's Midwest Turf Conference at Pur-due University, West Lafayette, Ind. More than 500 turf managers attended the three-day confer-QUICK STARTS New bluegrass offers disease resistance page 14 Compatibility important in tank mix page 15 New turfgrass fungicide labeled by EPA page 15 Revamped fertilizer program helps control disease .. page 16 Knowledge helps establish Massachusetts company .. page 16 
Lawn care training: How the majors page 19 MEMOS MEETING DATES NEWSMAKERS TOOLS, TIPS & TECHNIQUES MARKETING IDEA FILE ^©rAr>rv MONEYWISE OÊAKL? 28 COST CUTTINGS CpOftllQN 36 
PRODUCTS 36 For a complete market study of the lawn care industry in San Fran-cisco, see MARKETPLACE, page 22. This is part of a continuing series of indepth looks at regions of the countrv where the lawn care business thrives. The study includes a profile of the city, potential lawn care customers, lawn care companies that operate there and how 
they go about getting and keeping customers. ence March 12-14, and almost 2UU persons packed the seminar room for the all-day lawn care session on the second day of the conference. Those 200 lawn care business-men got an earful of what to do and what not to do in the lawn care business from people who have already been through the growing pains of starting up a lawn care business. As an added bonus, many of the Purdue turf alumni in atten-dance got a chance to see a vic-tory by that university's basket-ball team over Dayton in the National Invitational Tourna-ment. Conference coordinator Dr. William Daniel had last-minute tickets for sale and made 
them available to conference attendees. Growing fast. Joe Bredeson, Swift Agricultural Chemicals 
Corp., kicked off the lawn care 
sessions with facts and figures to back up the industry's average 25 percent growth per year. "If you check the Yellow Pages," Bredeson said, "every year you see three companies go 
out of business, but eight new 
ones coming in. The people who are not professional are the ones falling by the wayside." Bredeson said that between 20 and 25 percent of the lawn care's businessman's gross is spent on fertilizers and chemi-cals, and that the businessman ID puge 12 Ind., the law views lawn care companies as distributors of fer-tilizers, and customers as pur-chasers. The notice went on to say: "Micronutrients and pesti-cides incorporated into the mix-ture must be guaranteed and ap-
pear within the guaranteed analysis statement. Micro-nutrient guarantees must be ex-pressed in terms of the element and pesticide additives must be 
expressed in terms of the active pesticidal ingredient. Accepted common names for pesticide in-gredients may be used in lieu of chemical names. Brand or trade names of pesticides are not ac-ceptable unless they coincide ID puge 11 PESTICIDES EPA orders halt on sale, use of 2,4,5-TP The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has declared an immediate halt to most uses of the herbicide 2,4,5-T and 2,4,5-TP (silvex), a chemical used in 275 lawn products. The agency said that the emergency suspension was nec-essary because the spring spraying season was scheduled to begin soon, and that an es-timated four million people could have been exposed to the 
herbicide. Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich, a major manufacturer of the herbicide, and 10 other plain-
tiffs have asked for an injunction to prevent the EPA from enforcing its ban on the sale of the two herbicides. A federal district court judge in Flint, Mich, agreed to hear a motion for the injunction on April 3, but rejected the com-panies' request for a temporary stay of the EPA's ban. EPA deputy administrator Barbara Blum said the agency lit page 14 What is your organiza-tional structure? Other 3% Company-owned chain 6% Franchise 9% Independent business 82% Source: 1H7H LCI Survey t * V-'v. ?. Ł ua *.,, ^; .^jJ^Lh rl i * * Łir' i v V 7 f \ k V Ł a A. '« V ? 5/ more, When there's no compromise in performance, they're worth even more. Introducing Toro Front Runner rotaries. They re self-contained vacuum grass collecting systems designed specifically to hag and 
carry heavy loads without 
penalizing performance. Result? They stop, start, steer and maneuver as well loaded as many mowers with add-on bag systems do empty. Since they're designed for big grass loads, strain on engines, transmissions and other components is cut way down. Which cuts way down on repairs and down time. What's more, Front Runners offer the largest grass collection capacities available. The GMT (left) handles up to 20 bushels and mows 48" or 60" wide. The Turf Truck, with hydraulic dump system, handles up to 50 bushels and mows 60" wide. Benefit: More mowing between grass dumpings. Or, for wide mowing without bagging, choose the giant 80" batwing deck on either unit. Outer wings follow contour of ground to eliminate scalping. To make your GMT worth even more, choose a snow plow, snow blower or sprayer. Increase the worth of your Turf Truck with all season cab. Toro Red Wagon Service is one more reason your Toro is worth more. Every Red Wagon mobile van comes with a trained pro and the equipment and parts he needs to perform most maintenance on the spot. Call 800-328-2858 toll-free for the name of your nearest Toro distributor and a demonstration. d tono fl^ « * Ł lip h ; . i .. V- \ - « ' ME3 WES gSM Mk - ff&L*! FiWJPi*:täm" ,: Ł itCE-^' > Even fully loaded, Front Wide track design, long Runners maneuver as well wheel base and flotation as most riding mowers, tires provide excellent thanks to 'bend in the stability, even when middle" articulated steering. capacity loads are carried. TORO. Worth more. Circle 118 on free information card oc cu < oc H 
co 
D Q Z w oc < u Z < j TEXAS Heavy nitrogen use in spring can hamper root growth, study says A critical time lag in produc-tion of new roots by both bermudagrass and St. Augustine-grass in the early spring has been discovered by turfgrass research at Texas A & M University. Leaf growth of these grasses greatly exceeds root production in the first few weeks of "green Dr. James Beard, agronomist in charge of turfgrass research, and J.M. DiPaola conducted the research study. "We have discovered," Dr. Beard said, "that both Floratam 
and Tifgreen turfs in late March produced significant amounts of 
new green leaves without any outward signs of new root initia-tion. "Instead, within one week roots changed color and began to die. There was a three- to four-week delay between old root browning and an individual new Delaying nitrogen applications beyond spring may be a vaulable practice for St. Augustinegrass and bermudagrass. up." Heavy applications of nitro-gen, the fertilizer element that encourages leaf production in plants, can worsen the situation and cause the new growth to 
starve, the research study 
showed. Root systems of Floratam St. Augustinegrass and Tifgreen bermudagrass are now being studied in the Texas A & M University turfgrass rhizotron at 
facilities in College Station, Texas. The field root facility has rows of root observation boxes with one glass side facing the in-terior of the rhizotron to permit continuous direct root observa-tion. root reaching a one-foot depth 
during the spring of last year. Dr. Beard said that the lack of a strong root system in the spring increases the susceptibility of these warm-season turfgrasses to injury from low-temperature, pesticides, drying winds, traffic, diseases, insects and iron deficiency. 1 le said that delaying nitrogen applications beyond this critical period may prove to be a valuable practice for these two turfgrasses. Also, early potas-sium applications may prove to be beneficial, because potas-sium fertilization promotes root 
growth. L4WN GIRE INDUSTRY Editor: ROBERT EARLEY Associate Editor: BRUCE SHANK Technical Editor: RON MORRIS Assistant Editor: DAN MORELAND Graphic Director: RAYMOND GIBSON Publishing Director: RICHARD J. W. FOSTER Executive Editor: DAVID J. SLAYBAUGH Research Services: CLARENCE ARNOLD Advertising Production: CHRIS SIMKO MARKETING/SALES Circulation & List Rental: TERRI HUTSENPILLER (216) 651-5500 Marketing & Merchandising Services: FRAN FRANZAK (216) 651-5500 New York Office: BRIAN HARRIS (212) 421-1350 757 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017 Midwest Office: JOE GUARISE (312) 236-9425 333 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60601 Southern Office: DICK GORE (404) 252-4311 3186 Frontenac Court, N.E., Atlanta, Ga. 30319 Northwest Office: BOB MIEROW (206) 363-2864 1333 N.W. Norcross, Seattle, WA 98177 Classified: DOROTHY LOWE (216) 651-5500 9800 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 44102 OFFICERS President: HUGH CHRONISTER Senior Vice President: BERNIE KRYS Senior Vice Presdient: DAYTON MATLICK Vice President: CHARLES QUINDLEN LAWN CARE INDUSTRY is published every month by The Har-vest Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. at 9800 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 44102 (216) 651-5500. Copyright ' 1979 by The Harvest Publishing Company. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not ne repro-duced either in whole or in part without consent of copyright owner. Controlled circulation postage paid at Cleveland, Ohio. SUBSCRIPTIONS: to Lawn Care Industry are solicited only from owners, managers, operators, buyers, merchandisers, agronomists, technicians, dealers, distributors and manufacturers of products associated with the lawn care and maintenance business. Position ana company connection must be indicated on subscription orders. Publisher reserves tne right to approve all subscription re-quests. Single copy cost $1.00 for current issue. All back issues $1.25 each. Foreign $1.25. Subscription rates: $10.00 one year, $18.00 two years, $23.00 three years. Group and foreign air mail rates available on request. SUBSCRIBERS: Send change-of-address notices, correspondence regarding subscription service to Fulfillment Manager, Lawn Care Industry, 9800 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 44102. Change of Address notices should be sent promptly, provide old as well as new address, attach address label from recent issue. Please allow one month for change of address to become effective. POSTMASTER: Please send form 3579 to Fulfillment Manager, Lawn Care In-dustry, 9800 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 44102. The Harvest Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., publishers of WEEDS TREES & TURF, PEST CONTROL, NPCA Extra. GOLF BUSINESS. HARVEST MEMOS Gas availability and lawn care: Newspaper headlines across the country have been trumpeting news of cutbacks of gas supplies and price increases and lawn care businessmen have been discussing what it will do to the industry whenever they get together. Dick Wood of Morral Chemical Co., Morral, Ohio, a distributor for Ashland Chemical Co., feels that it will mean that homeowners will be staying closer to home and paying more attention to their landscapes. And he feels this will mean more business for the lawn care industry. Gordon Ober, general manager of Davey Lawnscape Ser-vice, a division of Davey Tree Expert Co., Kent, Ohio, says that a price increase of one cent at the gas pump means in-creased gasoline costs of almost $50,000 for the Davey fleet of trucks across the country, something to be reckoned with. And John Latting, of Professional Turf Specialties, spray tank truck manufacturer based in Normal, 111., says that many units in the future will be manufactured with the capability to adapt to diesel fuel if the gas crunch gets any worse. How to borry money: We get a lot of calls in the offices of LAWN CARE INDUSTRY from people like David Harvey, owner of Reno Green Landscaping, Reno, Nev., asking for information about how to go to a bank to get a loan to expand their business. Global Enterprises recently announced the publication of a new report Š How to Borrow Money from a Bank: A Banker Reveals Secrets You Need to Know for Suc-cessful Borrowing Š that might provide some help for lawn care businessmen. The publication addresses the issues that 
every borrower needs to be familiar with in order to be assured of receiving a loan. It is available from Global Enter-prises, Box 539, Dept. 30A-14G, Baxter Springs, Kan. 66713. The value of landscaping: A recent research report published by the Nursery Marketing Council says that one 
benefit in living plants, lawns, related products and services named by 91 percent of the consumers interviewed is "ap-pearance and beauty." Second on the list, mentioned by 41 percent of the consumers is "satisfaction and pride." "Adds 
property value" was a benefit volunteered by 27 percent of the consumers interviewed. This may give lawn care busi-nessmen a better idea of how to design their promotional 
copy. Liquid lawn care competition? A Medina, Ohio firm is beginning what it hopes will be a new trend in lawn care for the homeowner. Heritage House Products Corp., says it has 
taken the liquid lawn fertilizer commonly used by profes-sional lawn care firms and packaged it for consumer use. Cleveland is the first major area to be tapped for widespread marketing of the product, according to company vice presi-dent Carl Fazio, Jr. Name of the product is Liqui-Lawn. Home building skid: New home construction plunged in February for the second consecutive month to the lowest level in nearly 2V2 years, the Commerce Department reports. Housing starts dropped to an annual rate of more than 1.411 million units in February, the lowest since starts of 1.401 million were reported in July 1976. "It's the beginning of the housing recession," a spokesman for the National Association of Home builders said. More help for nutsedge control: It was reported last month j in LAWN CARE INDUSTRY that BASF Wyandotte Corp., j Parsippany, N.J. gained label clearance for its Basagran her-bicide for control of yellow nutsedge on turf. Ernest Koch of Stauffer Chemical Co., Westport, Conn, reports that work 1 was started in 1977 and is continuing by his company for a herbicide that will also control yellow nutsedge, which should be good news for the lawn care businessman. "A ticking time bomb": "Like a ticking time bomb" is the I way John McDaniel, University of Delaware extension pesti-cide specialist refers to poorly stored pesticides. So many ac-cidental things can happen to pesticides left in busy areas, he said. They may be knocked over, the can may be punctured, or the paper container may be torn. Labels may be lost through just falling off, becoming stained or unreadable, or 
torn. He says that lawn care businessmen should store pesti-cides under lock and key in a separate building whenever possible. If it is impossible to do this, use a a locked room in an existing building for this purpose. The storage area should have at least one window and should be marked in case of fire. Pesticides should be arranged in the storage area so that 
herbicides are not near insecticides or fungicides. Since some liquid pesticides are rendered useless by exposures to tem-peratures of 40°F. or lower, some arrangement should be made to keep the storage area warm. LAWN CARE INDUSTRY READER SERVICE CARDŠ APRIL 1979.(expiresin90days) Use this prepaid reader service card to get additional Information on products or services mentioned In this issue (Card must be completed before processing) BUSINESS ADDRESS If you would like a subscription to LAWN CARE INDUSTRY circle number 101. Subscription cost is $10.00 per yei To help us better service you editorially, please answer the following: Are you primarily Involved in. Ł Chemical lawn care and maintenance services Ł Chemical application only 
Ł Mowing and other maintenance services Ł Other (specify) Application Ł Liquid Ł Granular Ł Both Is your business location: Ł Headquarters Ł Branch office Is your business: Ł Independent Ł Chain Ł Franchise Ł Other (specify) Title: Ł President 
Ł Owner Ł Manager Ł Technician Ł Other (specify) . 5. Number of accounts: Ł Less than 500 Ł 500-1,000 
Ł 1.001-5,000 Ł 5.001-10.000 Ł 10.001-25.000 Ł 25,000 or more 6. Estimated annual sales volume: Ł Less than $50,000 Ł $50,001-100.000 Ł $100,001-250.000 Ł $250,001-500.000 Ł $500,001-1.000.000 Ł $1,000,000 or more Ł Please send product information only on items circled Ł Please have a salesman call me about Items circled. Best time to call me is . SIGNATURE. CIRCLE THE ITEM 101 102 103 121 122 123 141 142 143 161 162 163 181 182 183 201 202 203 221 222 223 
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180 200 NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS PERMIT NO. 2675 CLEVELAND. OHIO POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE ATTENTION: THE EDITORS LAWN CARE INDUSTRY 9800 Detroit Ave. Cleveland, Ohio 44102 NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS PERMIT NO. 665 DULUTH. MINN POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE LAWN CARE INDUSTRY P.O. BOX 6136 DULUTH, MINNESOTA 55806 Editor's Information Card . . . HELP US TO HELP YOU The editors of LAWN CARE INDUSTRY would appreciate your comments on the magazine's contents. Please write your message below, tear out the card, and mail. Postage is prepaid. Which article in this issue did you find the most interesting and/or helpful? What subjects would you like us to cover in future issues of LAWN CARE INDUSTRY? B CITY .STATE. ZIP DERBY Turf Type Perennial Ryegrass Setting a New Standard of Excellence r* > ? Z n > PC m Z a c CO H pa Derby is the dark green beauty which joined Manhattan and Pennfine on the "highly preferred list of ryegrasses." That was last year. Now Derby is setting a new standard of excellence. In the eyes of many Golf Superintendents it reigns supreme among the turf-type ryegrasses today. Why? Because it performs! And a Superintendent knows fciuims are great, but performance counts. Ł Consistently performs better than other leading varieties from California to Florida Ł Durable, dark green and has excellent mowing qualities Ł Tolerates a variety of soils 8c responds rapidly to fertilization Ł Germinates in a week (or even less) under ideal conditions Ł Better-than-average heat and drought tolerance Ł An adaptable and disease resistant cool-season grass 1 I ^H ^H Ł An excellent record as a Southern winter grass Ł Thrives when close-cut INTERNATIONAL SEEDS, INC. P.O. Box 168 Ł Halsey, Oregon 97348 (503) 369-2251 Ł TWX 510/590-0765 19 rf-I Ł 1 a Ł MEETING DATES OC CU < oc H C/3 D Q 2 w oc < u 2 < Southern California Turf and Landscape Institute, Convention Center. Anaheim, April 18-19. Contact: Ed McNeill, 1000 Concha St.. Altadena, Calif. 91001, 213-798-1715. Arizona Turfgrass Conference, Tucson, Ariz., May 9-10. Contact: Dr. W. R. Knee-
bone, Professor of Plant Sciences, Uni-versity of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz. 87521. Symposium on Turfgrass Diseases, sponsored by Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, ChemLawn Corp., University Holiday Inn, Columbus, Onio, May 15-17. Contact: Dr. P. O. Larsen, 2865 E. Orange Rd., Galena, Ohio 43021, 614-422-6987. Texas A & M University Turfgrass Research Field Day, TAMU Turfgrass Field Lab, College Station, Texas, May 24. Contact: Dr. Richard Duble or Dr. James Heard, Department of Soil & Crop Sciences, Texas A & M University, 
College Station, Texas 77843, 713-845-1551. The Fertilizer Institute Marketing Con-ference, The Greenbriar, White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., June 10-13. Contact: Doug Culkin, TFI, 1015 18th St., N.W., Washing-ton, D.C. 20036, 202-466-2700. American Seed Trade Association, Annual Conference, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Washington, D.C., June 24-28. Con-tact: Association, Executive Building, Suite 964,1030 15th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005. Michigan Turfgrass Field Day, Crops Barn, Michigan State University, East Lansing, July 10. Contact: Dr. John K. Kaufmann, 322 Agriculture Hall, MSU, 
East Lansing, Mien. 48824. American Sod Producers Association Summer Convention and Field Days, Hilton Inn East, Columbus, Ohio, July 18-20. Contact: Bob Garey, ASPA, Associa-tion Building. 9th and Minnesota, 
Hastings, Neb. 68901, 402-463-5691. Penn Allied Nursery Trade Show, Hershey Convention Center, July 24-26. Contact: S. Howard Davis, 169 W. High St., Carlisle, Pa. 17013, 717-243-1786. Massachusetts Turf Field Day, South Deerfield Turf Plots, July 25. Contact: Dr. Joseph Troll, Stockbridge Hall, Univer-sity of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass. 01003, 413-545-2353. Illinois Landscape Contractors Associa-tion Annual Summer Field Day, Kankakee Nursery, Aroma Park, Illinois, August 8. Contact: Carole Rachesky, 665 Forest Ave., Glen Ellyn, 111. 60137, 312-858-8574. 34th Annual National Hardware Show, McCormick Place, Chicago, August 13-16. Contact: Samuel Black. 535 N. 5th St., Reading, Pa. 19601, 215-373-4267. Iowa Turfgrass Field Day, Iowa State University, Ames, August 14. Central Plains Turfgrass Foundation, Turfgrass Field Day, Kansas State Uni-versity Turf & Research Plots, Manhat-tan, August 15. Contact: Dr. Robert Carrow, Department of Horticulture, Waters Hall, Manhattan. Kan. 66506, 913-532-6170. Rhode Island Turfgrass Field Day, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, August 22. Contact: Dr. C. R. Skoeley, Department of Plant & Soil Science, Uni-versity of Rhode Island, Kingston, R.I. 022881. The Fertilizer Institute Trade Fair, 
Stouffer's Riverfront Towers, Sheraton St. Louis and Mayfair Hotel, St. Louis, Mo., Aug. 22-23. Contact: Doug Culkin. TFI, 1015 18th St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036, 202-466-2700. Illinois Turfgrass Field Day, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, 111., Septem-ber 11. Contact: Dr. John Street, 106D Horticulture Field Lab, University of Illinois. Champaign-Urbana, 111. 61801, 217-333-2123. Garden Industries of America Conference and Trade Show, Convention and Exposition Center. Cincinnati, Ohio, 
Sept. 14-16. Contact: Paul Anderson, Box 
1092, Minneapolis, Minn. 55440, 612-374-5200. Northwest Turfgrass Conference, Pope 
and Talbot Convention Center, Port Ludlow, Wash., Sept. 24-27. Contact: Dr. Roy Goss, Western Washington Research and Extension Center, Puvallup, Wash. 98371, 206-845-6613. Florida Nursery and Allied Trade Show, 
Expo Hall, State Fairgrounds, Tampa, 
Fla., Sept. 28-30. Contact: FNATS, Inc.. P.O. Box 16796. Temple Terrace. Fla. 33687, 813-985-8511. Central Plains Turfgrass Foundation An-nual Meeting, K-State Union. Kansas State University, Manhattan, Oct. 3-5. Contact: Dr. Robert Carrow, Waters Hall, Manhattan. Kan. 66506, 913-532-6170. Florida Turfgrass Association Annual 
Meeting, Holiday Inn Central/Curtis Hix-son Hall, Tampa, Fla., Oct. 14-17. Contact: David DeBra, 1520 Edgewater Dr., Suite E, Orlando, Fla., 32804. 305-425-1581. 19th Annual Southern California Turfgrass/I.andscape Materials and Equipment Educational Exposition, Orange County Faii^rounds, Costa Mesa, Calif., Oct. 17-18. Contact: Ed McNeill, SCTC, 1000 Concha St., Altadena, Calif. 91001. 213-798-1715. Southern Turfgrass Conference, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, Oct. 18-19. Contact: Dr. Arelen Baltensperger, Department of Agronomy, Box 3Q, NMSU, Las Cruces, N.M. 88003! Professional Grounds Maintenance Soci-ety Annual Meeting, Baltimore Hilton, Oct. 21-24. Contact: Allan Shulder, 19 Hawthorne Ave.. Pikesville, Md. 212068, 301-653-2742. National Institute of Parks and Grounds Management, Opryland Hotel, Nashville, Tenn. Oct. 28-Nov. 2. Contact: Erik Madisen, P.O. Box 1936, Appleton, Wis. 54910, 414-733-2301. Atlantic Seedsmens Association Annual Meeting, Belmont Hotel Golf Beach Club, Warwick, Bermuda, Oct. 29-Nov. 2. Con-tact: Margaret Herbst, 101 Park Ave., New York, N.Y., 10017, 212-685-5917. South Carolina Turf Conference, Clemson University, Nov. 13-14. Contact: Dr. Landon Miller, Department of Horti-culture, Clemson University, Clemson, 
S.C. 29631. New York State Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show, War Memorial Stadium, Syracuse, N.Y., Nov. 13-15. Contact: Ann Reilly, 210 Cartwright Blvd., Massapequa Park, N.Y. 11762, 516-541-9034. Texas Turfgrass Conference, Texas A & M Conference Center, College Station, Texas, Dec. 3-5. Contact: Dr. Richard Du-ble, Department of Soil and Crop Science, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas 77843, 713-845-1551. Delaware Turfgrass Association Annual Meeting, Hercules Country Club, Dec. 4. Contact: Dr. William Mitchell. Agricul-ture Hall, University of Delaware, 
Newark, Del. 19711. Ohio Turfgrass Conference, Cincinnati Convention Exposition Center, Dec. 4-6. Contact: Dr. David Martin, 1827 Neil Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43210, 614-422-2592. Oklahoma Turfgrass Research Founda-tion Annual Meeting, Lincoln Plaza, Oklahoma City, Okla., Dec. 6-8. Contact: Dr. R. V. Sturgeon, 115 Life Science East, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Okla. 74074. Illinois Turfgrass Conference, Ramada Inn Convention Center, Champaign, 111., Dec. 11-13. Contact: Dr. John Street. 106D Horticulture Field Lab, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, 111. 61801, 217-333-2123. Your Trimec Distributor Your real competition in the lawn care industry is the quality of your work and the efficiency of your management. Read how we can help you, regardless of your present size. Your lawn customer judges your work every time he sees his yard. He looks for weeds; he expects to see no dandelions, no chickweed, no weeds whatever. If he finds his lawn immaculate, he'll tell his friends (your free salesman)! And your own sales will improve because you'll know with conviction 
that you are doing truly superior work. Acceptable profit requires that you excel the first time around. Your profit margin has little room for mistakes. Your phone is for sales Š not for complaints, call-backs and retreatments. What's the answer? First, know the Problems The most persistant bugaboos are weed Your Authorized Trimec Distributor: control and customer relations. The Gordon Turf Team can help you with both. Being trained and experienced, you unders-tand that weeds do not magically disappear with the touch of a spray wand. Good, systemic herbicides are slow. But if your customer doesn't understand that Š expect a problem. ALABAMA Birmingham Ł Norala Company. Inc. Ł Tieco. Ine Gadsden Ł Marker's of Clubview Montgomery Ł CASSC0 Ł Tieco. Ine Semmes Ł Al Tex Nursery ALASKA Palmer Ł Alamasu. Inc. ARIZONA Phoenix Ł Arizona Agrochemical Co Ł Capitol Nursery Supply Tucson Ł Copper State Chemical Company ARKANSAS Alexander Ł Capital Equipment Company CALIFORNIA Anaheim Ł Eagle Chemical Company Bakersfield 
Ł Abate A Weed Company Cerritos Ł Target Chemical Company Chula Vista Ł Wilbur-Ellis Company Coachella Ł Foster-Gardner, Ine Gilroy Ł El Camino Crop Supply. Inc. Manteca Ł L & A Enterprises Orange » Robinson Fertilizer Company Oxnard Ł Coastal Ag Chemicals Sacramento Ł Orchard Supply Company San Diego Ł Butler's Mill. Inc. San Gabriel Ł J Harold Mitchell Company San Jose Ł Moyer Chemical Company Ł Northern California Fertilizer Company Ł Plant Gro Ł Target Chemical Company San Leandro Ł Custom Chemilene Santa Ana Ł Moyer Chemical Company Santa Barbara Ł Agri Turf Supplies, Inc. Santa Clara Ł Eagle Chemical Company Santa Rosa Ł Purity Chemical Products Co. South Gate Ł Los Angeles Chemical Co. COLORADO Colorado Springs Ł Gorby, Inc. Pueblo Ł Pueblo Chemical & Supply Westminister Ł S.A.J. Turf Products CONNECTICUT Devon Ł Somers Turf Supplies Greenwich Ł Emanuel Shemin Greenhouses & Nurs Hazzardville Ł Old Fox Chemical. Inc South Windsor Ł Turf Products Corp. FLORIDA Homestead Ł Atlantic Fertilizer & Chemical Jacksonville Ł Bingham Seed Company Pompano Beach Ł Swift Agricultural Chemical Corp. Pensacola Ł Tieco Gulf Coast Sanford Ł Chase & Company Ł Southern Chemical Co Winterhaven Ł Swift Agricultural Chemical Corp. GEORGIA Atlanta Ł Regal Chemical Comply College Park Ł Stephenson Chemical Co Conyers Ł Lawn & Turf. Inc Doraville Ł Georgia Golf & Garden Ft. Valley Ł Woofolk Chemical Works. Inc. HAWAII Hilo Ł Occidental Chemical Company Honolulu Ł Occidental Chemical Company Kahului Ł Occidental Chemical Company Lihue Ł Occidental Chemical Company IDAHO Boise Ł Steve Regan Company ILLINOIS Barrington Ł Olsen Distributing Company Chicago Ł George A Davis, Inc W. Chicago Ł Turf Products, Ltd. Decatur Ł Drake Scruggs Equipment. Inc Trimec Can Solve It Trimec is not a her-bicide newcomer; it has been a leader for years. Repeated tests have proved it's the most effective, most cost-efficient, widest-spec-trum broadleaf herbicide on the market. Yet it contains absolutely no Silvex. It never did. Trimec is a unique, patented formulation of 2,4-D, Mecoprop and E. Peoria Ł Leon Short & Sons. Inc. Geneseo Ł C. D Ford & Sons Morton Grove Ł V-G Supply Company Normal Ł Professional Turf Specialty Rockton Ł Turf Management Supply Wheeling Ł Arthur Clesen. Inc INDIANA Indianapolis Ł Deseo Chemical. Inc Ł Cory Orchard Supply Company Nappanee Ł Deseo Chemical, Inc IOWA Davenport Ł Tri State Toro Company Des Moines Ł Toro Service Center W. Des Moines Ł Big Bear Turf Coe Ł Resthaven Turf Service Elkader Ł Meyer Equipment Company Iowa City Ł Little Wheels, Ltd Sioux City Ł W R Anderson Dist. Co Waterloo Ł Foster's Inc Waukee Ł Baer Ag Supply KANSAS Garden City Ł Pueblo Chemical Co. Kansas City Ł Rhodes Chemical Company Salina Ł Landsco Corporation Wichita Ł Bartels & Shores Chemical Co. Ł Champion Turf Equipment Co Ł Robert S Wise Company KENTUCKY Florence Ł George W Hill & Co.. Inc. Lexington Ł Fayette Seed Company Louisville Ł Bunton Seed Co.. Inc Ł Ky-lnna Turf Supply Co.. Inc. LOUISIANA Baton Rouge Ł Gulfshore Turf Supply Ł Wyche's Golf Course Specialties. Inc Covington Ł Tammany Turf & Supply. Inc New Orleans Ł Southern Specialty Sales Co. Inc TRIMEC b'oaoleafherb^oe Plain Dealing Ł Wyche's Golf Course Specialties. Inc. MAINE South Portland Ł Yerxa's. Inc MARYLAND Baltimore Ł Cornell Chemical & Equip Co.. Inc Ł Miller Chemical & Fertilizer Landover Ł Vaughan Seed Company Ł Lofts/Maryland MASSACHUSETTS Arlington Ł Lofts/New England Natick Ł Richey & Clapper. Inc. Newton Center Ł Grounds Equipment Co., Inc. West Newton Ł The Clapper Company West Wareham Ł R F Morse & Son, Inc. MICHIGAN Birmingham Ł W F Miller Company Detroit Ł Terminal Sales Corporation Ł Turf Supplies, Inc Grand Rapids Ł Mollema & Son. Inc Ł Parmenter & Andre Hartford Ł Desco Chemical. Inc Kalamazoo Ł J J Dill Company Royal Oak Ł Lawn Equipment Saginaw Ł Burdick s Seed Company MINNESOTA Eagan Ł Tessman Seed and Chemical Co. Minneapolis Ł The Castle Chemical Co.. Inc. Ł Minnesota Toro, Ine St. Paul Ł R. L. Gould & Company Ł Turf Supply Company MISSISSIPPI Jackson Ł Southern Seed Company. Inc MISSOURI Chesterfield Ł Beckman Turf & Irrigation Grandview Ł The Landsco Corporation Ł Robison's Lawn & Golf Supply FERTILIZERS Liquid/dry: Pros/cons Until recently, most of the fertilizers used in turfgrass management were in a granular formulation. Due in large part to the emergence of the lawn care industry, liquid and powdered materials are now widely pro-moted and utlized. According to Dr. Robert N. Carrow, turfgrass specialist at 
Kansas State University, each formulation offers unique ad-vantages under certain circum-
stances, but may not be the best materials under other con-ditions. If the lawn care businessman is to select the 
proper formulation, he should 
understand the pros and cons of 
each type. Granular formulations. Many different types of nitrogen 
carriers are available in the granular form. In addition to many common granular nitrogen carriers, many mixed fertilizers are available which contain two or more different carriers mixed together. For example, he said, a 
mixed fertilizer may contain 50 percent of its nitrogen from am-monium nitrate and the remain-der from ureaformaldehyde. Turfgrass response to a particular granular fertilizer depends upon its characteristics (i.e., slow-release, fast-release, long-residual, short-residual, etc.) Careful selection of a solid fertilizer can allow nitrogen availability to closely match the plants's needs. In spring and fall a higher proportion of nitrogen could be of the fast-release type 
for cool-season turf, while slow-release forms are appropriate for summer. The ability to 
release nitrogen over an ex-tended period is an advantage for many granular products. Dr. Carrow said that granular materials have some disadvantages if not used proper-ly. Physiological drought, leaching and excessive stimula-tion of growth can occur if water-soluble materials are applied at too high of rates. Volatilization and foliar burn are likely to result if water-soluble forms are not adequately watered into the soil. Liquid formulations. In granular materials, the nutrient carrier is a solid, while in liquid fertilizers the carrier is water. 
Since the nutrients are dissolved in water, absorption can occur immediately upon contact with leaf surfaces or roots. Most liquid fertilizers are combinations of salt fertilizers. Many different analyses can be produced by various com-... He Can Help You Grow! Dicamba Š a systemic that kills root and all. Active synergism gives it power greater than the sum of its components (it can kill actively growing 
weeds even in temperatures as cool as 50° F), yet it is very gentle. Trimec's root absorption is minimal, posing little threat to ornamentals and grasses. Drift hazard is negligible. Its chemicals are bio-degradeable. And it kills virtually all weeds with one application, costing less per acre 
than any other herbicide. Weed Control and More We are totally com-mitted to product devel-opment and field assis-tance. Your Trimec dis-tributor also has a complete family of pro-ducts for fungus control, soil problems, and more. A specialist himself, Trimec Contains No Silvex! Ł Trimec controls the widest range of broadleaf weeds Ł Gets hard-to-kiH species without repeated sprays Ł Gives wide margin of safety to lawn grasses Ł Minimum hazard from root absorp-tion to flowers, ornamentals, trees, shrubs Ł Effective weed control at a wide range of temperatures Ł Biodegradeable: friendly to the environment he has a direct line to our Technical Depart-ment, our Lawn Care Division and its field manager. Even if yours is a one- or two-man lawn service, your Trimec Distributor wants to help you. For starters, he'll sell you aslittleasagallonofTrimec to test. And include a complimentary supply of Trimec door-hangers with important weed-kill information for your customers. Many lawn care operators have told us that this literature stops many complaints and call-backs, while enhanc-ing their own image as a first-class service. Make Your Move Today Now that Silvex is suspended, this is the perfect time to make the switch to Trimec; to discover the many other superior products and the technical assistance available at your Gordon distributor. Give him a call... let him help you grow. Kansas City Ł Bartels & Shores Chemical Co Ł Champion Turf Equipment, Ine Ł Pest Control Supplies Ł Standard Seed Company Maryland Heights Ł Outdoor Equipment Co. St. Louis Ł Crown Chemical Company Ł Kitten & Bear Springfield Ł Champion Turf Equipment. Inc. MONTANA Billings Ł Turf Aid Dtst. Company Helena Ł Mr Turf NEBRASKA Morrill Ł Jirdon Agri Chemicals, Inc. Omaha Ł Big Bear Equipment, Ine Ł Midwest Toro Ł The Yard Company Waterloo Ł Simplot Soil Builders NEVADA Las Vegas Ł Clark County Whol Merc Co North Las Vegas Ł Las Vegas Fertilizer Co.. Ine NEW HAMPSHIRE Hooksett Ł Turf Specialty. Inc. NEW JERSEY Boundbrook Ł Lott Seed Company Ł Vaughan Seed Company Freehold Ł Green Hills Turf Supply Maplewood Ł Pierson s Mill Company Mountainside Ł Andrew Wilson, Ine Rahway Ł Fertl-Soil Company Saddle Brook Ł The Terre Company West Caldwell Ł Rockland Chemical Company Westfield Ł Storr Tractor Company Yardville Ł Jep Sales. Ine NEW MEXICO Albuquerque Ł Albuquerque Chemical Co. Ine Roswell Ł Roswell Seed Company. Ine NEW YORK Cambridge Ł Lofts/New York Dix Hills Ł Island Golf & Turt Farmingdale Ł Wagner Seed Company Hamburg Ł Eaton Equipment Company Hawthorne Ł Metro Milorganite Hauppauge Ł Maxwell Turf. Inc Jamaica Ł J & L Adikes. Inc Bergen Ł Lawn Medic 
Latham Ł Grassland Irrigation & Equip, Corp Rexford Ł S V Moffett, Inc South Hampton Ł James H Lynch, Inc. Portchester Ł Westchester Turf Supply Company Syracuse Ł Agway, Inc. Ł Eaton Golf & Tractor W. Henrietta Ł S V Moffett. Inc NORTH CAROLINA Charlotte Ł Seedmen, Inc Ł E J Smith & Sons Fayetteville Ł Eastern Turf Shelby Ł Porter Brothers. Inc Winston Salem Ł Goltra. Inc NORTH DAKOTA Fargo Ł Tessman Chemcial Northwest OHIO Canton Ł Letherman Seed Company Cincinnati Ł Century Toro Dist. Inc Ł Thornton Wilson. Inc Cleveland Ł Sidney L. Dryfoos Company Ł U S Garden Sales. Inc Columbus Ł Century Toro Dist., Inc Ł W R Grace & Company Dayton Ł Century Toro Dist. Inc. Elyna Ł Lakeshore Equipment & Supply Co. Findlay Ł Desco Chemical. Inc Mantua Ł John R Skinner Company Piqua Ł Midwest Burlap & Grower's Supply Co Tiffin Ł Earl J Crane, Inc Toledo Ł Century Toro Dist, Inc. OKLAHOMA McAlester Ł Tony's Chemical House Oklahoma City Ł Estes Chemical. Inc Ł Thompson Hayward Chemical Co. Tulsa Ł All Best. Inc. Ł Thompson Hayward Chemical Co. Ł Wait Mfg & Sales Co OREGON Albany Ł Great Western Seed Co. Portland Ł The Charles H Lilly Co. Ł Van Waters & Rogers Ł Wilbur-Ellis Company Salem Ł Western Farmers Association PENNSYLVANIA Doylestown Ł Philadelphia Toro Hanover Ł Miller Chemical & Fert. Corp. Harleysville Ł Geiger Corporation Horsham Ł Pocono Supply Company Lebanon Ł Lebanon Chemical Corporation Malvern Ł Fisher & Son Co.. Inc. Philadelphia Ł Farm & Golf Course Supply Co., Inc Phoenixville Ł Lawn & Golf Supply Pittsburgh ŁEH Griffith, Inc. Ł Krigger & Company Reading Ł Reading Bone Fertilizer Wycombe Ł Histand Supply RHODE ISLAND E. Providence Ł Old Fox Chemical. Inc SOUTH CAROLINA Inman Ł Woolfolk Chemical Works. Inc. SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls Ł Dakota Turt Supply, Inc. TENNESSEE Knoxville Ł Regal Chemical Company Memphis Ł Axon Corporation 
Ł Oldham Chemical Co., Inc Nashville Ł Central South Turf Dist. Ł Tieco, Inc. TEXAS Dallas 
Ł Chemical & Turf Specialty Co Ł Van Waters & Rogers El Paso Ł El Paso Turf Supply Pans Ł Estes Chemical. Inc Waco Ł Estes Chemical. Inc Wichita Falls Ł Estes Chemical. Inc UTAH Salt Lake City Ł Morgro Chemical Corp VIRGINIA Chesapeake Ł Turf & Garden Div Harrisonburg Ł Wetsel Seed Company Richmond Ł Wilson Feed Company, Inc Roanoke Ł Agri Turf Products Co.. Inc Ł Miller Chemical & Fertilizer WASHINGTON Pasco Ł Western Farmers Association 
Renton Ł Pacific Agro Company Seattle Ł The Charles H. Lilly Co Ł Western Farmers Association Tacoma Ł NuLife Fertilizer WASHINGTON, D.C. Ł Lea's Green Meadows. Inc WEST VIRGINIA Charleston Ł Youngs, Inc WISCONSIN Chilton Ł Horst Distributing Co Elm Grove Ł Reinder Bros Turf Equipment Milwaukee Ł Loft Kellogg Seed. Inc Sun Prairie Ł Turf Management Supply PROFESSIONAL TURF PRODUCTS pbl /GQRdon corporation 300 SOUTH THIRD STREET PO BOX 2276 KANSAS CITY. KANSAS 66110 S1 3342B7BO binations. In addition to the three major nutrients Š nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium Š other ingredients 
can be claimed such as calcium, 
magnesium, iron, manganese, boron, copper, zinc, molyb-denum, sulfur, vitamins, wetting agents, growth stimulants and 
chlorophyll. Liquid fertilizers can be applied by soil drench of foliar feeding. Soil drench. This involves application of nutrients in suf-ficient water so that a majority of the nutrients are washed into the soil. Absorption of the nutrients 
by the plant is predominantly through the root system. This is 
the method used by lawn care businessmen that have spray operations. Advantages of applying liquid fertilizers as a soil drench are: Ł Ease and efficiency of application are major advan-tages. On small sites such as a home lawn a soil drench can be applied quickly and uniformly with a sprayer on a hose con-nected to a spray tank. Applica-tion time can often be reduced to one-half the time it takes to apply granularly. Ł Other chemicals can often be mixed into the tank and there-fore further reduce application time. Ł Nutrients are readily available to the plant. However, some nutrients such as phosphorus and iron can be 
quickly absorbed by the soil par-ticles and become available. Dr. Carrow says that precautions and disadvantages 
of a soil drench are: Ł Large volumes of water are required. If less than 25 gallons 
of water per 1,000 square feet is used, then nitrogen should be 
restricted to one-half pound of nitrogen or less per application. Applications of over 1.5 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet should not be attempted even 
with large quantities of water. Ł Since the nutrients are water-soluble salts, they have all the disadvantages of water-soluble granular materials. Leaching can occur from ex-cessive irrigation or precipita-tion. Foliar burn may result if too little water is applied. It is a good 
practice to irrigate after a soil 
drench. Nitrogen residual is usually only two to four weeks. If higher rates of nitrogen are used, excessive stimulation of turf can occur. Ł Excessive thatch can in-hibit nutrient penetration. This is especially a problem during hot, dry periods where salts may ac-
cumulate in the thatch layer and 
cause salt injury. Ł Liquid fertilizers generally have a marked effect on soil pH. 
Some materials increase pH, but most reduce pH, especially urea 
and ammonia forms of nitrogen. Check the pH periodically and 
apply limestone if necessary. Ł If a complete (has N,P and K) liquid fertilizer is consis-tently used, phosphorus and potassium levels may become ex-
cessive. This could result in Poa annua or clover encroachment. Also, liquid fertilizers containing micronutrients should not be applied unless a specific deficiency is evident. Ł Frequent, light fertilization to page 9 > S z n > m z a c C/3 H 70 >< > TO h NEWSMAKERS Three key management changes have been made in the Davey Lawnscape Division of the Davey Tree Expert Co., Kent, Ohio, according to company president Jack W. Joy. Gordon Ober was named division general manager, Richard M. Foote was promoted to production manager, and John L. Reeves became sales coordin-ator. Reeves Babroski Ober Foote Davey also recently announ-ced new Lawnscape district manager appointments. New dis-trict managers and cities are: Mark Morgan, Pittsburgh; Jim 
Foote, Buffalo; Dan Babroski, west Cleveland; Robert Cline, east Cleveland; Mark Van Net-ten, south Detroit; Dan Prospal, north Detroit; Eric Van Horn, Milwaukee; Maurice Peoples, DERBY AERATPR Weighs 51 lbs. ... aerates Yi to 1 Vt inches deep ... can bo operated very effectively by young inexperienced help. Aerates 18 inches wide Weighs 51 lbs. Very easy to use. Remarkable new machine will add thousands to your profits each year. Not found in stores, sold factory direct to save you money. Good engineering + sim-
ple design = low price. Powered by 2 hp Briggs Stratton engine ... aerates % to 1 inches deep . . . Very easy to control ... Works in hard to get at places . . . Safe and easy to operate. Engine warranted for 90 
days ... Gear train & tines carry 1 full year warranty ... try one for 15 days .. . your money back if not fully satisfied. Can be used as a tiller to weed beds and shrubs from 6 to 18 inches in width. One of the most versatile lawn-garden machines money can buy . . . Built by Company with 30 yrs. experience in the manufacture of tough dependable tools. For full information write to: DERBY TILLER COMPANY P.O. Box 21 Rumson, New Jersey 07760 I want more information Name Street City State .Zip. Visa-Bank Americard & Master Charge orders accepted by phone Mon-Sat 9-5. Call (201) 741-0601 Circle 111 on free information card Rochester, N.Y. Alex Moir con-tinues as district manager in Akron, Ohio, and Kim Schaefer continues as district manager in Philadelphia. Dr. Robert M. Barry, technical director for R. W. Collins, Inc., a Florida-based company with chemical lawn care and pest control divisions, 
has announced the following promotions: Jody Schaaf has been named manager of the Raleigh, N.C. branch office; Joe O'Donnell has been named manager of the Atlanta branch office; Mark Paschal and Bruce Volpe have been named assistant managers in the Atlanta branch office; and Mike Steel has been named manager of the Fort Myers Fla. 
branch office. Ken Jones has been named manager and Jim King assistant 
manager of the Barefoot Grass Lawn Service outlet in Beachwood, Ohio a suburb of Cleveland. Greg Johnson is territory manager. Barefoot is based in Columbus, and the com-pany has been utilizing heavy 
advertising on both local 
Cleveland television stations and Karr Freske in regional editions of major national magazines to introduce its service to the Cleveland market. Ashland Chemical Co. recen-tly held a meeting in its Columbus offices to introduce its new distributors to the com-pany's marketing plan for the 
year. Distributors present at the meeting were Ed Karr, Liquid Plant Supply division of Gilder-sleeve Fertilizer Co., Hudson, Dittoe Beatty 111.; Sandra J. Nelson, president of Liqui-Lawn, Inc., Niles, Mich.; Robert W. Freske, Great Plains Chemical, Inc., Niles, Mich.; Richard D. Wood, Morral Chemical Co., Morral, Ohio. Don Kingsley is owner of a new lawn care company in the 
Houston area named Dr. Don's Lawn Care. It si affiliated with Great Plains Chemicals, Inc., Houston. James and Donna Mau have started Lawn Pride in Hudson, Ohio a suburb of Cleveland. Pri-mary services will be both dry and liquid applications of fertil-izer and herbicides. Mau has a B.S. in agriculture from Michi-gan State University and has worked as a golf superintendent for 30 years. Scott Mau and Tom Jagusch will be lawn applicators and Wendy Mau will be working in the office. Edward Cofa is vice presient, finance for Lawnmark Associates, Peninsula, Ohio. Also, H. Michael Fliger is secre-tary. Mark E. Laube has also joined the company as a branch manager, according to company president ]. Martin Erbaugh. John Horton, president and general manager of Horton Nur-sery Sales in Cleveland, Ohio has been selected president of Garden Centers of America The Horton Nursery operations will be opening two chemical lawn care branches in the Cleveland area this lawn care season, af-filiated with Sears, Roebuck & 
Co., Chicago. The company also operates two garden centers, 
seven Sears garden shops, a 200-acre wholesale division, and a 
550-acre Christmas tree and tim-ber farm. Stephen Brown and Allan Nielson, both seniors in turf management at Michigan State University have received 1979 turf scholarships from TUCO 
Div. of Upjohn Co., Kalamazoo, 
Mich. David Murray has been named executive vice president 
of the National Fertilizer Solu-tions Association, Peoria, 111. He previously had been acting ex-
ecutive vice president. Ken Kubik has started Grass Roots Turf Products, Inc., Mount Freedom, N.J., a turf dealer/dis-tributor to lawn care business-men and other turf managers. Richard J. Dittoe has been named vice president of marketing of the Jacobsen Divi-sion of Textron, Inc., Racine, 
Wis. Also, Roy L. Beatty has been appointed manager of com-munications of the company. If it's New... If it's Innovative, it's built by TORCO! ine '////////s of í ÀvViÀi SPRAYERS TS 1250 TORCO Sprayers are unique in agitation, trouble-free performance, and longer life. Versatile pumping equipment handles liquids and slurries, herbicides, insec-ticides, fungicides and fertilizer (liquid & 
granular). ONE SPRAY UNIT DOES IT ALL Š turf, foliage and dormant spraying, root feeding, hydro seeding. Designed for easy and simple operation! T' N taqaa EQUIPMENT TUKUU COMPANY TORCO 207 EILER AVE. LOUISVILLE, KY. 40214 Ł 300 gal. skid units for pick up trucks. Ł 200 gal. skid units for golf course vehicles. Call for information and brochure: 800/626-1818 502/366-1415 (collect in Ky.) fJiiWi Isirss =32=2. WWN GIRE INDUSTRY Enter a trial subscription by returning tbis card. Read LAWN CARE IN-DUSTRY for: Ł Timely reports on how other lawn care and maintenance companies handle their business problems. Ł Useful tips on the tools of your profession: Direct mail, selling, customer service, equipment care, business management, service 
techniques. Ł Ideas, facts and figures to maximize your business 
development and profits. Edited to help you do a more ef-fective job. L4WN GäRE INDUSTRY 9800 Detroit Ave. Cleveland, Ohio 44102 FINANCE Toro earnings double for second quarter With record performances in all product categories, Toro Co., Minneapolis, has reported a 106.1 percent increase in net earnings for its second quarter. During the same period, sales increased 72.4 percent to $84.7 million from $49.1 million in the second quarter a year ago. Net earnings for the quarter improved to $5.1 million from $2.5 million. While declining to project sales and earnings for the entire year, Toro chairman David T. 
McLaughlin said he is confident sales for the year will be in excess of $300 million. The company's irrigation division, which manufactures 
and markets automatic un-derground irrigation systems for residential, commercial and other markets, continued its vigorous growth, with sales in the 
second quarter up 51.4 percent 
over a year ago. McLaughlin said current orders for walk power mowers 
are 20 percent higher than a year 
ago. LIQUID/DRY from page 7 is often necessary with a soil drench since soluble fertilizers have a short residual. In mid-
summer, crabgrass, foxtail and 
goosegrass may respond more to such frequent, light fertilization than will cool-season grasses. Ł Care should be taken not to over-stimulate the lawn by too frequent fertilizations. A soft, succulent turf will result which will be less tolerant to heat, cold, drought, wear and disease 
stresses. Ł Spray drift has often been a problem with soil drench This article is excerpted from a speech given by Dr. Robert N. Carrow at a recent Nebraska Turfgrass Conference. applications. However, careful selection of nozzles and good technique will eliminate this potential problem. Foliar feeding. This is the application of small amounts of nutrients in a limited volume of 
water so that nutrients are ab-sorbed through the shoot tissues. Foliar feeding has not been ex-tensively used in lawn care or other turf management areas. However, application of iron, magnesium, manganese and small quantities of nitrogen can be effectively applied in this manner. The major advantage of foliar fertilization is that certain 
nutrients such as nitrogen, iron magnesium and manganese can be quickly absorbed through the leaves and result in rapid color 
and growth responses. When conditions restrict root uptake (waterlogged soils, compaction, nutrient fixation by soils), foliar feeding will correct nutrient 
deficiencies, while soil applications would be of little benefit. A second advantage of foliar feeding is that it can often be in-corporated with pesticide applications. No more than one-half gallon of water per 1,000 
square feet should be used and care should be taken to insure 
compatibility of chemicals. A third advantage is that nutrient leaching losses are greatly reduced since only small quan-tities are applied at any one time. Dr. Carrow says that disad-vantages of foliar nutrient applications include: Ł Only small quantities of nutrients can be safely applied at 
any one time. For example, 
nitrogen is generally applied at 0.05 to 0.125 pounds per 1,000 square feet. High rates could easily result in foliar burn for salts or phytotoxic levels for micronutrients. lo page 35 TURF OVERVIEW Lawns: A concept proven by Dr. Robert W. Schery Director The Lawn Institute Marysville, Ohio One certainly would not quarrel with the botanically min-ded who admire kaleidoscope change in vegetation as the seasons progress, appreciating the "weeds" as well as the flowers. The rhythm of natural events and awareness of ecological 
forces are sorely missing in our modern-day, largely urbanized style of existence. That is precisely the point Š most of us live in fairly confined quarters, on what is now highly disturbed habitat. By virtue of in-terest and training, few people are equipped to understand or 
enjoy nature untamed. Thus lawns. Lawns are an accomodative formalization of the nearby en-vironment. They fill a niche in the evolving American lifestyle, as extravagant of space as they may seem to peoples of more populated lands. Lawns in America are a logical outgrowth of prevailing conditions, a concept of proven 
worth. Questioning occurs Yet, we hear condemnation of lawns by a vocal minority. Of course ours is an era where to page 10 > $ z n > pa m Z a C/3 H X > "O PO How Roundup® helped Jim Siegfried renovate this fairway in days,without closing it for one minute. Take a good look at this good-looking fairway. Last fall, Jim Siegfried found a way to clean it up, without tearing it up Šat the height of his club's busy season. With Roundup" herbicide by Monsanto. Jim is the Greens Superintendent at Losantiville Country Club, Cincinnati, where bermudagrass had become a serious problem on the 18th fairway. To control it, Jim applied Roundup onceŠwhile the weeds were still actively growingŠright at the start of the Labor Day weekend. "That's really 'prime time' here',' Jim told us. "But after we applied Roundup, we kept the fairway in play the whole weekend, and after.The members played right over it, with no problem!' Since Roundup has no residual soil activity, and won't wash or leach out of treated areas to injure desirable plants, Jim simply took normal pre-cautions against spray driftŠand didn't worry about damaging desirable 
vegetation along the fairway. Even better, he was able to re-seed right into the dying bermudagrass 
only 7 days after applying RoundupŠ 
without loss of playing time or incon-
venience to the membership. Reinfestation won't be a big prob-lem for Jim, either. He knows that Roundup destroyed the rhizomes of the treated weeds, helping prevent 
their regrowth. Jim thinks he'll use Roundup again this yearŠand apparently some 
club members hope so, too. "As soon 
as they saw how good this fairway looks, some of the members started asking when I'm going to do the same 
for where we have some more bermuda. I'll probably tackle that with Roundup this fall'.' If controlling many tough emerged weeds and grasses is a problem for you, see your local Monsanto representative or chemical dealer soon for your supply of Roundup. Roundup It worked for Jim Siegfried It can work for you There's never been a herbicide like this before. Circle 136 on free information card ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW THE LABEL DIRECTIONS FOR ROUNDUP. Roundup* is a registered trademark of the MonsantoCornpany. •> Monsar-to Corripany>!STiS. For more information, contact Morisarto Agricultural Products Company, 800 North Lindbergh 8Jvd. G2NF St Louis. Mo. 63166 (314)69^ ,000 ,RJ-01D > ? I / >> Łsi. Br*'1' fi JJ ; . r » »' " Vt r.vr -*' " * INA. t . / . , /V — -¿v A A m A r^ x 3* v- ' A À 'f * 7 - ' Ł W Wgy. 7 f^j^r f? - ' - -Wm fm -- -Z ' Ł - - > " * Ł -SÉ o-< >-oc Ê-C/3 S z OÉ < u z 10 LAWNS from page 9 questioning is commonplace, and we would not have it otherwise. Protest and "protectionism" run rampant. The motives have virtue, but often suffere ex-aggeration, until, indeed, what seems almost necessary to the dedicated proves cumbersome, 
costly and inconvenient for the public at large. How far should we go, for example, with safety 
devices on lawn mowers, to keep a few dunderheads out of harm's reach? Is it fair to make the machines doubly costly, inef-ficient to repair, and not facile to manipulate, for the sake of 
marginal safeguards? Unbalanced views are accep-ted, similarly, in the environ-mental cause. Integrated pest 
management (IPM) is certainly 
not a new idea (various techni-
ques for fighting pests have been integrated since time im-memorial), but IPM has been dis-torted by many to have a "no pes-ticides" slant. Basic biological controls have merit; but pesti-
cides are needed also for 
emergencies. Not long ago, lawn and gar-den fertilization in the United 
States was condemned because "famine runs rampant in 
Bangladesh". One can sym-pathize with the concern, yet 
recognize that cessation of lawn 
fertilization in the United States would have no bearing on food supplies in distant parts of the world, the lack of which is due to many causes, mostly socio-economic. In a similar vein, 
botanical garden people have oc-
casionally mused about the lawn unmowed, suggesting that nature be let take its course (a claim which I have rebutted elsewhere). Is there substance for such contentions? I think not much. Lawns are no less efficient than 
other facets of modern living, 
albeit an overpopulated world is, 
indeed, exhausting its resources 
at a pellmell pace. The answer, however, lies with population control, not temporary ex-
pedients of little moment. In the 
context of the times it is quite natural that some power (energy) be exchanged for labor in lawn or grounds management, the same as with other aspects of a technological society. What is overlooked by those who find lawn keeping "wasteful/' is that 
even greater resource exhaus-tion (as measured by environ-
mental chaos) would accrue if we didn't take advantage of modern, mechanized and sophisticated means of managing our urban surroundings. Lawn care procedures are not a hodge podge of unrelated ac-tivities, but rather an evolved 
means for managing our surroundings rather econ-omically. The lawn ecosystem, though imposed, is very real. Lawn tending holds the system stable. Our surroundings must be handled in some fasion: What 
would be ecologgically more ef-ficient than the lawn? prairie. Hardly a vestige of such virgin cover remains. Thus the original, highly stable 
ecosystems, for better or worse, 
have been completely altered by human settlement, explotation 
and crop production. The disturbances introduce many stresses, thermal changes and nutrient losses, for example. Indeed, change has been so pro-found that untold years would be required to regenerate plant cover similar to the original; in some cases it could not be accom-plished. David Glenn-Lewin, Iowa, speaking of grazed prairie in a presentation to the 
Ecological Society, concludes, "The rate of revegetation is slow; it will take 200-300 years for the grazed area to return to the native conditions, and aban-doned grasslands not immedi-
ately adjacent to native prairie probably never will develop into true prairie without human intervention." Can we, then, expect our lawns to change into something desirable, and reasonably stable, simply by ceasing to tend to them (no more mowing, fertilization, pest controls)? The answer is ob-viously, "no." The sophistication of lawn tending varies with owner wishes; added effort and extra expense must he incurred to maintain a monoculture. But, on the whole, practical means 
have been developed Š and proven on the firing line Š for 
managing our nearby surroundings conveniently. Lawn care embraces mechanized and simplified techniques for coping with the 
monumental disturbances that human occupation of the land has brought about! Measures for managing Let's dwell for a minute upon the influences unleashed in keeping lawn. Take lawn mowing first. Mowing is the most time-consuming operation. Livestock no longer handles the job as it once did, but mowing need not be unduly burdensome if advan-tage is taken of today's excellent equipment. The job can be done quickly and easily. Most lawn keepers no doubt assume they 
mow to maintain attractive, carpet-like cover and usable space. If you didn't barber your turf it would become a tangle of growth Š first herbaceous weeds, then brush, then even-tually trees. Thus, long range, the influence of mowing on the lawn ecosystem is mainly a matter of weed control (a weed being 
defined as any unwanted plant). Now if you are going to im-pose vegetation control by 
regular mowing, ground hugging plants adapted to this sort of 
regime should be sought. And, 
indeed, they have been Š the various lawngrass species. Not only do we have the Kentucky 
bluegrasses, the perennial rye-Ecological progression Under natural conditions, before mankind, eastern North America was largely forested, and the plains clothed with grasses, the fine fescues, the bentgrasses, bermudagrasses, but intensive breeding programs yield cultivars tailored 
specifically for lawn conditions. Thus have come on the market Adelphi, Arboretum, Baron, Birka, Bonnieblue, En-
mundi, Fylking, Glade, Majestic, 
Merion, Nugget, Plush, Ram I, 
Sydsport and Touchdown Ken-tucky bluegrasses; Blazer, Cita-tion, Derby, Diplomat, Fiesta, Manhattan, NK-200, Omega, 
Pennfine, Regal and Yorktown II perennial ryegrasses; Banner, Highlight, Koket and Ruby fine fescues; and many other cultivars. Each has been selected for beauty, disease tolerance, and 
survival under the imposed con-ditions of a lawn environment. Most homeowners prefer that the lawn be reasonably like a 
monoculture, being composed of similar grasses with a minimum of discordant patchiness (weeds). To achieve this requires both encouragement of the grass and discouragement of weeds. 
Grass is made more competitive mainly by well-timed fertiliza-tion. Owner interest influences pest containment measures. In 
most cases a reasonable natural balance can be obtained such that neither disease nor insects get out of hand. But some weeds are almost sure to contest the grass. Fortunately, selective her-bicides quite effective at very light rates enable one to keep 
most weeds within bounds without a lot of trouble. It is much easier to keep weeds out of a mowed, fertilized turf than it ss to repress them in an unmowed, 
unfertilized field (where a con-stant battle must take place to 
spot spray the many unwanted or damaging volunteers, some, such 
as canada thistle, legally nox-
ious). Of course many lawn-tending refinements can be undertaken. Irrigation is essential in some cimates, but overdone can cause more problems than it cures. Thatch removal, soil aerification, attempts at growth regulation are 
other lawn management prac-tices, although not always neces-sary for the ordinary lawn. Thus, on the whole, not many inputs 
are needed in order to mold the 
environs in a publicly acceptable 
fashion. Possibly the day may come when a lawn will be an ex-travagance Š when the land it occupies is sorely needed for 
other purposes. But for the mo-ment lawns seem the most ef-ficient, attractive, useful ecosystem that we can impose upon the disturbed lands where we dwell. Rather than decrying that lawns "contribute nothing to human health or nutrition," 
which is patently not true in any 
event, would it not be better to 
appreciate the many environ-mental and landscaping benefits 
that accrue from kept turfs? FERTILIZER LAW from page 1 with the common name." The notice gave as an exam-ple of a proper labeling for a tank mix: 2-1-1 Guaranteed analysis Total nitrogen (N) 2.0% Available phosphoric acid iPzOs) 1.0% Soluble potash (Ki-O) 1.0% Iron (Fe) 0.1% Active pesticidal ingredient Dimethvlamine salt of 2,4-D 0.02% Diazinon 0.5% ^Precaution Š Do not permit children or pets to go onto sprayed grass until spray has completely dried. Net weight delivered pounds The notice said that labeling information such as given in the example was the minimum re-quired and must appear upon the 
invoice or a separate delivery statement provided to the 
customer. Dr. Freeborg said: "This is absolutely going to create a hard-ship for many companies, particularly because some will no at a loss to calculate this kind of information for each tank mix." Manv lawn care businessmen also feel that when the inexperi-enced homeowner sees the rela-tively low percentages of fertil-izers and pesticides in the material being applied, that they will feel they are being "cheated" by the lawn care businessman. And of course, the increased paperwork is sure to create a hurden on smaller companies and also increase costs for the 
larger companies. The burden of calculating analysis information will he more difficult for liquid-based companies, because analysis information is more readily available on packaged granular products. The notice also dealt with registration and reporting to con-
form with the law. Each grade of each brand is .required to he registered with the state chemist's office before distribu-tion. Also, all fertilizer materials 
used to formulate custom mix-tures must be registered. The notice also included an application form for a permit to report tonnage of fertilizer distributed by a lawn care com-pany. This must be completed and filed along with the regis-tration application. At the close of each calendar quarter, the holder of a tonnage reporting permit will he fur-nished two forms for reporting fertilizer tonnage. These reports must l)e filed with the chemist's 
office at the end of the month following each quarter, even 
though no fertilizer might have been distributed during that quarter. An inspection fee of 25 cents per ton must he paid by the lawn care company. Dr. Robert Rund, fertilizer administrator for the Indiana state Department of Bio-chemistry, told LAWN CARE INDUSTRY: "We are simply trying to up-grade the industry. Quite frankly, many lawn care businessmen have been holding themselves up as experts for years, but many of them do not know exactly what they are putting down. We want to get this taken care of before some state legislator comes in and decides he is going to do it. The idea is not to force anybody out of business with paperwork. We 
are willing to meet anybody half-way on this." THE INSECTICIDE THAT LIKES TO WORK OVERTIME DURSBAN* brand insecticides provide un-surpassed residual con-trol of cutworms, chinch bugs, sod webworms, and a dozen other turf pests. Both DURSBAN 2E Insecticide and double-strength DURSBAN 4E Insecticide keep working a lot longer than other turf insec-ticides. This residual action saves you time, trips, and labor. It also saves you money. In fact, ŁTrademark of The Dow Chemical Company DURSBAN insecti-cides cost less than most other turf insecticides. Ask your supplier for the turf insec-ticide that works over-time for you. Get DURSBAN 2E Insecticide or double-strength DURSBAN 4E Insecticide. Just be sure to read and follow all label directions and precautions. Agricul-tural Products Depart-ment, Midland, Michigan 48640. Circle 112 on free Information card DOW CHEMICAL U.S.A. INSECTICIDE oc a < oc -c/3 3 z u oc < u Z < 12 STARTING OUT frompagel Š must use the best materials o5 available. ® "The lady is the mouthpiece for the family, the person you of-ten have to sell the lawn care program to," he said, "don't 
neglect her. Educating the customer is still one of your biggest jobs. You have to impress upon them that you are the doc-
tor and they are the nurse. Tell them what to do for the lawn un-
til you are able to come around again in your program." Over the hump. Chris and Randy Bellinger explained the thought process they went through before starting Bel-linger's Professional Grounds Maintenance Co., Lafayette, Ind. "We want to do all that we can to give you the encourage-ment to 'get over the hump' in your own business," Chris Bellinger said. First, they said, you have to decide what type of business and what type of services you want to 
offer. Then you have to decide 
who your main customers are going to be, where you want to locate, and determine if there is 
a need for your business there. "We sold our first two ac-counts with not one piece of equipment," Randy Bellinger said, "not even a truck." They Bredeson: "Educating the consumer is still one of your biggest jobs 
. . . you have to get across that you are the doctor and they are the nurse. McKeown: "The toughest decision I ever had to make was giving up that steady paycheck and going into the lawn care business for myself...." Myer: "For a cost of 
about $450 I formed a corporation, because I didn't want to tie up my own assets in the business we made the transition and got things going in 60 days from the time I quit my job. . . stressed that you have to have a profit to continue in business and to grow in business. "And don't let your labor be the profit," he said. Give up the steady paycheck? The toughest decision Charles McKeown, owner of McKeown Landscaping & Nursery, Pekin, 111. said he ever had to make was "giving up that steady pay-check" he had working as a golf superintendent. But going into business han-dling com mercial/ind ust rial grounds maintenance accounts has worked out well for him, he grossed $113,000 the first year in business. Another golf superintendent, Doug Myers, Crown Point, Ind. left his steady job to go into the lawn spray business. He spent $17,500 for a lawn spray truck and printed 2,000 brochures for $200. He realized a V/z percent response on his mailing, and at the end of his first year had 230 accounts. At the end of the year, he was going to sell his business for a $7,000 or $8,000 loss, but then was asked back to his job at the golf course, and worked out a deal 
where he could handle both jobs at once, hiring an assistant for his 
lawn spray business. Blunders and successes. Jerry Faulring, owner of Hydro Lawns, Gaithersburg, Md. said that his first big mistake was promoting Chris and Randy Bellinger: "We sold our first two accounts with not one piece of equipment to our name, not even a truck Be sure to include your labor us part of your expenses, don't get caught in the trap of allowing your labor to be your profit his lawn care business to the en-tire Washington, D.C., area through advertisements in the large Washington Post. "We were servicing an area 100 miles long and 50 miles 
wide," he told the audience. "Some days we would drive 150 miles to service five or six ac-counts." His next big blunder was offering a nine-treatment pro-gram for many of his lawns. "It's a great sales tool, but try to do it." Faulring outlined his advice to any lawn care businessman starting out in 12 points: Ł Accounting Š "Having access to a bright accountant is a necessity," he said. "You need a realistic pro-forma and cash flow Faulring: "With our batching system, we can buy our fertilizer in its components. ... it 
is cheaper, plus it allows us greater flexibility in varying formula as. statements to dictate your business decisions." Ł Profits Š "You need them to grow." Ł Expansion Š "Grow slowly, and you have to support it with the proper staffing as you grow." Ł Starting capital Š "You have to have six to seven months of your first year's budgetary needs in hand when starting out. Inadequate financing will catch up with you." Ł Equipment Š "You can't make it with equipment that is going to be in the shop all of the time. Buy spray equipment that will handle a fair amount of in-INTRODUCING CHIPCO WITH ABOUT HALF T ( ! M ÉVI I I'll] ¿J : 14- TO 21-DAY INTERVAL 7- TO 14-DAY INTERVAL FOR NEW 26019. FOR EVERYTHING ELSE. Here's a new fungicide that could change your whole way of thinking about broad-spectrum fungus control and spray intervals. Because new Chipco 26019 gives more control with fewer sprays than any of the old fun-
gicides you've had to use. It stops the major turf diseasesŠdollar spot (including benomyl-resist-ant dollar spot), brown patch and Helminthosporium (leaf spot). And it does it for up to three weeks, at low, economical rates. It's a nice material to handle, too. It mixes well, with no residual left in the tank. It also presents no problems of phytotoxicity to turf. Last year was a wet one, with unusually high disease pressure in most areas. Yet, Chipco 26019 performed beautifully in wide-spread tests. This year, you'll have the chance to see how well it can perform for you. So ask your chemicals distributor for this welcome addition to the popular Chipco Jordan: "Roundup has many uses in a landscape situation . . ." Perkins: "The EPA will 
now allow pesticide use against a pest not specified on the label, as long as the pesticide is labeled for control on another pest of that turfgrass. We can't recommend it though solubles." Ł Staffing Š "If you can gel a better person, don't be afraid to spend a little extra to get him or 
her. College people are good in sales, and create a high level of professionalism." Ł Pricing of services Š "You Person: "IV2 to two cents per square foot is a ballpark figure of what to charge for hydroseedinz . . . We have found that a Va-inch nose is better than 
a V2-inch hose for lawn feeding..." Pfleiderer: "Tissue testing and plant analysis is like looking 
at an X-ray of a plant. . . 
it can tell you what that particular turfgrass 
plant needs, and it can take the guesswork out of fertilization..." have to be aware of competitive prices, but you must price your services according to your costs of operation. Results rather than price will dominate the custom-er's buying habits." Ł Research Š "You should try any product a year in ad-Freeborg: "In a volume lawn care situation, there is more potential for the applicator to get exposure to a pesticide 
. . . mixing is often when the worst exposure occurs..." Lefton: "What the lawn 
care industry really needs is a mower set at a three-inch cutting height, that the 
homeowner can't reset without a welding torch 1 vance before you put it on too many customer lawns." Ł Service area Š "Limit your service area to the smallest market segment that can support your sales goals." Ł Market potential Š "Research your market's poten-6019. A TURF FUNGICIDE INYTING ELSE YOU CAN USE. í T i : tt ¡J line of turf fungicides and herbicides. It will outperform anything else you can use. with about half the number of sprays. 'YOU FOLKS HAVE SOMETHING GOOD HERE." "The main reason I'll use Chipco 26019 is to control dollar spot. Pick-ing np brown patch and the others is gravy, as far as I'm concerned. This is a real good new chemical." -Bob Dickisoti. golf course superinteiuienl Upper Montclair Country Club, Clifton, N.J. "I feel very good about this product. We tested it during one of the roughest summers in my memory. I think, over a 14-day period in August, wre had very close to 10 inches of rain. It was an acid test for the material. These chemicals come and go, and some of them are short-lived. But you folks have something good here. The sprayability of Chipco 26019 is very impressive. And you only need six to 10 hours of drying time, which helps a lot during rainy periods. Some other materials require at least 12 hours." ŠPaul Boizelle, golf coursc superintendent, and John Fenwick foreman, Fiddler's Elbow Country Club, Far Hills, N.J. "We started using Chipco 26019 in June of 1977. Before we started using it, we had very little luck with our other contact and systemic fun-gicides in certain areas. We were applying some con-tact fungicides at preventative and curative rates, and 
still only getting two or three days control, with the ^S^BSBS^ usual cold fronts coming through, followed by large Ł jnjsmj outbreaks of dollar spot. Since we started using Hjlj^K?« Chipco 26019, we haven't found dollar spots in these areas at all." ŠRandy Wahler, golf course superintendent Kj^gSiJ Glen Flora Golf Course, Waukegan, III. Rhone-Poulenc Inc. Agricultural Division, 11 Monmouth Junction, New Jersey 08852. if rhóne-poulenc inc. Please read labels carefully, and use only as directed. Derrick: "I don't like a fiberglass lawn care tank, because if you get in an accident or rollit over, you are going to have problems with pesticide leakage... if a steel tank is rolled, it works like a roll bar tini, you can't go in with a 4sky-is-ihe-limit' concept." Other speakers on the pro-gram included: Dr. Donald Pfeliderer, Lebanon Chemical Co., Danville, 111.; Jeff Lefton, agronomist for ChemLawn Corp., based in Fishers, Ind.; Dr. Ray P. Freeborg, Purdue University; Robert Person, marketing manager for Finn Equipment Co., Cincinnati, Ohio; Ed Jordan, Monsanto Agricultural Products Co., Indianapolis; Steve Derrick 
and John Latting. Professional Turf Specialties and Lawn Groomer, Bloomington, 111.; and Bob Earley, editor of LAWN CARE INDUSTRY. ALCA Maintenance report is now available The Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) 
has released its new Landscape Maintenance Report 1978, based on some of the papers presented at its recent Maintenance Sym-posium in San Jose, Calif. The 64-page book includes five papers presented, plus a sixth in the form of an insert. Papers include: Ł "Tricks of the Maintenance Trade," by Herman Carruth, AAA Lawn Industries, Inc., 
Atlanta. Ł "Management Planning and Organization Development," by Rodney Bailey, Evergreen Services Corp., Bellevue, Wash. Ł "Choosing the Right Herbi-cide for the Job," by David Han-son, University of California. Ł "Marketing and Promoting Maintenance Services," by Roger Harris, Roger Harris Asso-ciates. Ł "Cost Control and Finan-cial Management," by E. Gray Payne, Ross-Payne Associates, 
Chicago. Ł "Problems to Avoid," by Douglas Hamilton, University of California. The book is being published as a service to the industry, and is designed to be self-liquidating. Copies are available to ALCA members for $5 and to non-
members for $12. Order from: ALCA Publications, 1750 Old Meadow Rd., McLean, Va. 22102. "This coffee tastes like mud. 4 Circle 150 on free information card r* > Z n > w z a c C/3 H 50 < > 50 14 MARYLAND LICENSING fromPagei the view of the Commission, add value to property. Thus, lawn care businessmen who provide these services to the homeowner do not have to be licensed by the Commission. "This issue is receiving a great deal of our time at pre-sent," Emenizer said. "We are at-tempting to define what lawn care encompasses, and at-tempting to coordinate it with the state Department of Agriculture for regulation of applying seed to home lawns." A number of Maryland lawn care businessmen and others in the lawn care industry feel that 
the Home Improvement Commis-sion should not be licensing them. The fee is $75 per com-pany, and $15 for each salesman. Susan Miller, president of Super Lawns, Inc., Rockville, raises a number of points on the issue. oc OH < OC H CD 
D Q 2 w oc < u 2 < "Any governing of turf should be carried out by people knowledgeable in the field," she told LAWN CARE INDUSTRY. "The people with the Home Improvement Commission do not have knowledge of our industry." She is also concerned about retroactivity of the situation. Un-der Commission regulation, the 
homeowner has three years to come back to the lawn care busi-nessman and charge that a faulty job was done, and demand satisfaction or his money back. She is also concerned about being liable to a $5,000 fine and 
up to two years in jail for viola-tion of the licensing laws. Jerry Faulring, president of Hydro Lawns, Gaithersburg, Md. said that there could be prob-lems if all work done in excess of $200 had to be by signed con-tracts. "Most of my customers don't want signed contracts," he 
said. J. S. "Strick" Newsom, Jr., Lofts/Maryland Div. of Lofts Pedigreed Seed, Inc., Landover, Md. said: "This can only add up to bad news for the landscaper or lawn care businessman. The in-
dustry would be regulated by people unsympathetic to its 
problems, and the door would be 
open to abuse by customers who 
have unrealistic expectations of what a lawn care company can 
do." Gus Day, chief of turf and seed programs for the Maryland Department of Agriculture, said 
that his department is working with the Commission on an inter-pretation of under what jurisdic-tion lawn care businessmen doing seeding should fall. He is 
optimistic that a decision will be made bringing them under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture, where he feels it logically should be. Or at least a situation where both govern-mental bodies would have some Introducing FOLIAN . the easy-to-use liquid fertilizer that's safe and effective on any kind of turf. FOLIAN is a complete fertilizer. Its special formulation of N-P-K, sulfur and iron gets nutrients directly into grass 
tissue. And FOLIAN will not cause tip 
burn when used as directed. Convenient to use FOLIAN is the only turf-builder you'll ever need. It saves you time because there's no mixing or agitation required before using FOLIAN. And FOLIAN can be applied in more concentrated form than most other liquids. As a result, you can service more lawns per truckload with fewer wasted man-hours. A clear solution of the highest quality, FOLIAN won't settle out in your 
tanks. It's compatible with most pesticides, too. Greens lawns fast Because of its patented formulation and foliar activity, FOLIAN greens up turf quickly Šfaster than dry fertilizers or suspensions. And at the recommended 
rates, FOLIAN supplies enough residual fertilizer in the soil to keep grass green 
and healthy for many weeks. Good for your business Your customers will love the results FOLIAN gives. And you'll appreciate FOLLAN's convenience. Best of all, FOLIAN makes your lawn care service more valuable. It means repeat business from satisfied customers and greater confidence in you. Give FOLIAN a try and discover how it can mean more green for both of you. To find out more about how to get started using FOLIAN, call toll-free 800-228-2178 Omaha, Neb., 800-446-1841/800-446-1845 Hopewell, Va. 
or write Allied Chemical Corporation, Dept. AG, Box 2120, Houston, TX 77001. < Plant Foods FOLIAN complete liquid fertilizer. jurisdiction. "We are not sure licensing is even needed, but we will be working on it to come to some type of conclusion," he said. NEW YORK STUDY from page, this is devoted to residential properties. The study also said that there are more than 3.8 million residential lawns in New York State. At a low estimate figure of $50 per lawn per year, the researchers arrived at a mainte-nance figure of more than $190 million. At a high estimate of $100 per lawn per year, they es-timated the maintenance cost at more than $380 million. High and low estimate figures for institutional lands were es-timated at $24 million and $37.9 
million; for commercial lands, $78.2 million and $113.8 million; for public lands, $20.5 million and $01.7 million. For the residential properties, dollars spent by both professionals and homeowners were included in the estimate. Estimates from commercial lawn care com-panies made up a large part of the survey. 2,4,5-TP from page 1 based its decision on animal test results and the high level of mis-carriages among women in the 
Alsea Basin area of Oregon shortly after the chemical was applied to forests there. In the complaint, Dow and the others charged that the EPA ban is based on a "seriously flawed study." The EPA said that the ban is not permanent. ENMUNDI New bluegrass offers disease resistance North American Plant Breed-ers (NAPB), Mission, Kansas has announced the introduction of Enmundi Kentucky bluegrass, which it claims is the most dis-
ease-resistant variety on the market. Of 89 Kentucky bluegrass varieties and blends evaluated last year at Rutgers University in New Jersey, Enmundi showed the best resistance to Fusarium blight, the company said. In the same test, the variety was one of the few classed as showing good resistance to striped smut. Another serious bluegrass disease, Helmintho-
sporium, has not troubled the 
variety anywhere, and it has also exhibited resistance to rust and brown patch, the company told 
LAWN CARE INDUSTRY. With respect to adaptation, NAPB said Enmundi's cold-hardiness extends its range throughout the American North and well into Canada. In the transition zone and southward, it has exhibited excellent heat and drought tolerance, the company said. Limited stocks of Enmundi bluegrass seed are now moving 
into distribution channels. LIQUIDS Compatibility import to determine tank mi ortant mixes Can a lawn care business-man get by without a knowledge of chemistry and still determine what pesticides are compatible in the spray tank? A knowledge of chemistry is helpful, says Dr. Paul Sartoretto of W.A. Cleary Corp., Somerset, N.J. but not essential if one masters a few rules. A lawn care businessman DISEASE New turf fungicide registered by EPA The Agricultural Division of Rhone-Poulenc, Inc., Monmouth Junction, N. J. has announced that Chipco 26019, a new turf fungicide, has been registered by the federal Environmental Pro-tection Agency (EPA). It is a foliar-applied fungicide recommended for preventive and curative turfgrass disease 
control on golf courses, sod farms and institutional areas. Approval for use on home lawns is expec-
ted by the end of this year or early next year, the company told LAWN CARE INDUSTRY/ The long 14-21 day spray in-terval could change turfgrass managers whole way of thinking about broad-spectrum disease control and spray intervals, Jack Davies, general manager of the Agricultural Division said. Spraying every seven days, and in some cases even at shorter intervals, has become the prac-tice with currently available fungicides, Davies said. "But now with Chipco 26019," he said, "tufgrass managers can put their disease control program back on a workable schedule and 
save time and labor." It is expected that the longer spray interval could make the use of the fungicide treatments better fit into a typical lawn care 
program. The fungicide is registered for control of dollar spot, brown 
patch and Helminthosporium 
leaf spot and melting out. COMPANIES ChemLawn Corp. asks for share doubling Chemlawn Corp., Columbus, Ohio asked its shareholders to increase authorized common shares to 10 million from five million at its recent annual meeting. The company said it wants the additional shares to be available for a possible public offering but hasn't any plans as yet to use them. Currently, ChemLawn had about 2.3 million shares out-standing and 347,714 reserved for employe option plans. The com-pany last year serviced more than 550,000 customers, respresenting 110,000 acres of land, and about almost $65 million in gross sales. must know that the pesticides he mixes in water will retain their own identity and not react with each other. The following four rules and exceptions are helpful in determining tank mixes. How-ever, if there is any doubt, sim-ple tests using a glass jar can be 
used to check compatability. Ł Never tank mix emulsi-fiable concentrates. Not only will you incur phytotoxicity from the aromatic solvent sitting on the grass blade, Dr. Sartoretto said, but the insecticides, according to the labels, must be sprayed with 
large volumes of waters (10 to 30 gallons), sometimes followed up with recommendations to water them in heavily to get them down to the grubs. The wettable powder and flowable formulations will not 
burn but must still require 
watering for grub control. How-
ever, they can be used with a limited amount of water for sur-face treatment and can be treated as insolubles. Ł All insolubles can be tank mixed without incurring phyto-
toxicity, provided the products 
are sprayed at recommended rates. This permits the tank mix-ing of a tremendous variety of chemicals, he said. Most impor-tant of all, it allows the applica-tor to spray three, four or more chemicals at the same time. Ł Only one soluble chemical can be tank mixed with any num-ber of insolubles. If two soluble chemicals are tank mixed with or 
without insolubles, the rate of each soluble should be cut in half to avoid phytotoxicity. Ł Soluble fertilizers and trace elements can be added individually or mixed, provided that the amount will not exceed one ounce solid per gallon tank spray mix. Ł Soluble fertilizers and trace elements can be added individually or mixed, provided 
that the amount will not exceed one ounce solid per gallon tank 
spray mix. Dr. Sartoretto says that he has used two ounces per gallon, and has not experienced any burning at the higher rate, but prefers the lower rate. The exceptions that fall into this rule are solubles such as 
urea, ammonium nitrate, am-monium sulfate, muriate of potash, ammonium phosphate, ferrous sulfate, chelated iron, epsom salts, etc. Exceptions to the rule govern-ing compatability of solubles is as follows: Heavy cations such as mercury and cadmium fungi-cides and paraquat and diquat 
are incompatible with heavy 
anionic herbicides such as DSMA, MSMA, 2,4-D, MCPP, MCPA and dicamba. Precipita-tion will take place in the spray 
tank, he said. These combi-
nations are not likely to be used 
because selective weed control does not involve non-selective 
weed killers such as paraquat or 
diquat, and the applicator is not likely to use a soluble fungicide such as cadmium or mercury. 15 > ? z n > 70 m 2 a c C/3 H 70 >< > 70 Five new compact diesels! It's a new kind of Ford! 13 to 30-hp. Big-tractor features include optional 4-wheel drive Take a look at something new and different from Ford. Five compact new diesel tractors, each offered with optional 4-wheel drive. They're built like the big ones, but sized from 13 to 30-horsepower. Look at the big-tractor features! The efficiency and stamina of a liquid-cooled diesel engine ... an all-gear power train with 10 to 12 forward speeds to let you choose the right speed for most any job .. . built-in hydraulics and three-point hitch to lift and lower implements at a finger's touch ... 540 rpm PTO ... and diff-lock. Optional front-wheel drive gives you four-wheel traction. There's a full line of implements and attachments to match the power 
of the model you choose. The 1000 Series Fords ... five small and versatile tractors with a combi-nation of size, strength and power that makes them the "just right" choice for a wide variety of jobs. Come in and see the compact Ford diesels ... a new kind of Ford, at a compact price. It's a new kind of Ford! FORD TRACTORS ""V 16 OC CU < oc p co D Q 2 w oc < u 2 < j Kansas City, Mo.; Acti-dione Thiram is marketed by TUCO Div. of Upjohn Co., Kalamazoo, Mich. Š Editor). An additional fungicide treat-ment should be made after the last mowing using one of the PCNB products. The PCNB prod-ucts are the only fungicides which give protection for the en-tire winter period without having to be reapplied. The PCNB prod-ucts, on the other hand, tend to be a little phytotoxic (will cause a yellowing) when used in warm weather. With the arrival of spr-ing, one of the fungicides applied in the fall will have to be applied again on a 7-10 day basis until the warm weather of summer arrives. I think you can see that a fungicide program for the con-trol of Helminthosporium can be very time consuming and costly, which all goes back to "do it right the first time", specifically, plant a blend of resistant Kentucky bluegrass cultivar. Fusarium blight. Fusarium blight symptoms appear when The author of this ar-ticle, Dr. foseph M. Vargas, is associate professor in the Department of Botany and Plant Pa-thology at Michigan State University, East Lansing. Pre-
vious articles he has written for LAWN 
CARE INDUSTRY on turf disease con-trol include: Turf-grass Disease Identification, page 20, May 1978, and Fertilization: Know Your N-P-K, page 1, July 1978. An in Zineb are marketed by Rohm & Haas Co., Philadelphia; Tersan LSR is marketed by Du Pont Co., Wilmington, Del. Š Editor). This leaves only fairy ring as an unsolved problem. Fairy ring is really not a disease problem in the sense of a pathogen attack-ing a grass host; it is simply a fungus growing in the thatch or organic matter, the fungus body (mycelium) which is hydro-phobic, forming a water-impervi-
ous layer. Consequently, where the main body of the fungus is located, the turf dies from lack of water. The only controls are to remove the fairy ring along with the contaminated soil and replace it with clean soil, or else 
fumigate the area. Fairy rings are most often found in turf areas TIJRF Revamped fertilizer program can help control disease Kentucky bluegrass is the pre-dominant turfgrass species grown on home lawns in the cool-season turfgrass area. There are basically two types of the com-mon types Š those susceptible to 
melting-out Š and the improved 
types Š those resistant to melt-ing-out. The easiest way to control dis-ease of Kentucky bluegrass is through the use of cultivars which offer the best disease resistance to the three major dis-
eases, and through the use of sound cultural practices with these resistant cultivars. However, this deals with the future rather than the present, and does not really concern most of you since you are in the busi-
ness of taking care of lawns with 
existing problems. The major 
diseases on existing lawns are 
melting-out, caused by Helminthosporium vagans; 
Fusarium blight, caused by 
Fusarium roseum; and stripe smut, caused by Ustilago striifor-mis. The minor diseases are pow-dery mildew, caused by Erysiphe graminis; the rusts, caused by Puccinia spp.; and fairy ring, 
caused by various fungi, mostly in the class Badisiomycetes. Minor diseases. First, let's dispose of the minor diseases. Powdery mildew is a problem on some Kentucky bluegrass varie-ties (i.e. Merion, Baron, Fylking) when they are grown in the shade. The solution is to over-seed in the shade with resistant 
Kentucky bluegrass shade adapted cultivars like Warren's A-34 and Nugget. Other turf-grass species which can be 
grown in the shade are the fine leaf fescues which do well in open shade and Poa trivialis can be used under dense, moist shade especially in more south-ern regions of the cool season grass belt. The rusts are a prob-lem on slow growing turfs and 
usually due to the lack of 
nitrogen fertility. The rust prob-
lem can be eliminated by in-
creasing the amount of nitrogen 
or the frequency of nitrogen application so the turf is mowed 
at least once a week. If the Ken-
tucky bluegrass fails to respond 
due to cool weather, an appli-
cation of fungicide like Fore, 
Zineb or Tersan LSR should cor-rect the problem. (Fore and where tree branches, roots or trunks have not been removed or where they have been used as 
fill. Avoiding such practices will help prevent the development of 
fairy rings. Major diseases. If your cus-tomer has a Helminthosporium melting-out problem, his lawn must contain one of the common types of Kentucky bluegrass. The disease occurs during the cool, 
wet weather of the spring and fall. The disease is most severe on lawns where nitrogen fertil-ity is applied in the spring of the year, the case with most lawn care companies. To control melting-out, a fungicide program should be started in the fall when the cool, wet weather begins (tempera-ture below 70°F.) with a fungi-cide like Daconil 2787, Dyrene, Acti-dione-Thiram,Tersan LSR or Fore on a 7-10 day basis (Daconil 2787 is marketed by Diamond Shamrock Corp., Cleveland; Dyrene is marketed by Chemagro Agricultural Div., Cylinder and crankcase assembly of The Green Machine 22.5 cc engine. !.2 H.P. in a 6-lb package. Over 5 years of field exposure have helped create new standards of 2-cycle performance. the affected plants are under drought stress. Light, frequent watering during dry periods will help suppress symptom develop-ment. Heavy, infrequent waterings are of litte use because infected plants have short roots, usually no longer than an inch in length. Fusarium blight infected turf needs no more than 20 minutes of watering, but it needs it daily during warm weather and every two to three days dur-ing cool, dry weather. The ideal time to water would be at mid-day when it is the warmest. As with melting-out heavy spring applications of nitrogen will in-crease the severity of the dis-ease. Chemical control can be ob-tained with any of the ben-zimidazole systemic fungicides Š Tersan 1991, Fung 50, Cleary's 3336 Š provided thev are applied properly (Fungo 50 is marketed by Mallinckrodt, Inc., St. Louis, Mo.; 3336 is marketed by W. A. Cleary Corp., Somer-set, N.J. Š Editor). This means irrigating the area the night before and drenching the systemic fungicide in before it has a chance to dry on the foliage. You are dealing with a crown and root rot problem, and that is where you need to get the 
fungicide. It will be tanslocated ease problems. Resistance by some strains of Fusarium fungi to the benzi-midazole systemic fungicides has been reported. This should not be surprising since the develop-ment of resistance to the benzi-midazoles has been reported for 
every other major palhogen they 44With the current Kentucky bluegrasses, it is difficult to give your customer the best possible lawn with heavy spring nitrogen applications upward, but it is not trans-located downward. This treat-
ment is very expensive and because of the expense, many 
people have the idea that one treatment will cure their problem forever. It won't and you will need to treat their lawn every year if they don't want the problem to recur. It is no different than spraying roses or apples every year for their dis-were used on exclusively. This means that you will be able to obtain Fusarium blight control with these fungicides for about 2 or 3 years. Stripe smut. A turfgrass plant infected with stripe smut is in-fected for life. All plants arising from that infected mother plant will also be infected. It is a sys-temic disease that may remain dormant in the crown of the The Green Machine trimmer-pruner-cutter. side look at a classic. In 1972, The Green Machine in-troduced a gas-powered string trim-mer employing a new concept Šextreme light weight combined with amazing torque. It proved the ideal tool for high production weed and grass trimming, as well as brush cutting and tree prun-ing. From the start, Green Machines set new industry standards for qualityŠand new records for time-saving and money-making. The reasons are basic: ingenious design and a fanatic devotion to excellence. For instance, The Green Machine t model 3000 engines have been dyno-meter tested Š at full throttle and full loadŠfor 200 hours. That's eq-ual to 600 hours of field operation. 
Actual field operation of 1000 to 1500 hours is common-place. Chrome and hone To understand what's behind Green Machine performance, just take a look inside a model 3000 engine. You'll see a precision die-cast cylinder with polished chrome- plated boreŠplus such refinements as piston-port fuel timing and almost five square inches of scavenge porting. Running inside that chrome-protected cylinder, you'll see a precision die-cast aluminum piston, micro-honed and fitted with double, positively-located rings. You'll also see a crankshaft and rod assembly of high-carbon steel, pre-cision-machined, and aligned to -.001 -inch tolerances, running with high-speed ball-type main bearings and needle-type rod journal bearings. Easy starting with RES. Long engine life is a recog-nized Green Machine virtue. So 
is easy starting. Thanks to a proven, reliable fuel pump and carburetor design. Plus an im-portant Green Machine exclusive: Positive Fuel Shut-off. Engine "kill" is accomplished by stopping the fuel supply to the 
engine, rather than by cutting the ignition. This means that all of the fuel in the carburetor and com-bustion chamber is burned off after each running. r Fresh fuel is used for each start. Conventional "ignition kill" al-lows the fuel and oil mixture to remain in the chamber and car-buretor where it can become stale and even, with time, create a residue that prevents starting. Nine heads and blades Green Machine introduced the first professional-quality Tap-For-Cord automatic string-feed head. A total of five different string trimmer heads are now offered as well as four quick-change blades. A string trimmer... and more The Green Machine is a great string trimmerŠand a great brush cutter, and tree pruner. With accessory metal blades, one man can clear up to an acre of brush a day, cutting easily through vines up to %-inch thick. Tree branches up to three inches thick can be sliced through easilyŠ in a single stroke. See what's in it for you The Green Machine is saving time and making money for thousands of users in every field: park and municipal, high-way, cemetary, estate, golf course, 
institution, landscape, farm, school, rental yard. Crews equipped with 
little more than mowers and Green Machines are completing massive groundsrkeeping chores in hours, instead of days. See what The Green Machine can do for your bus-iness. Contact your dealer or write for our new, colorful brochures. Take time now to look into a classic. ^ HMC, 22133 . S. Vermont, A Torrance, ~ CA 90502 The Green Machine9 A yard-care classic. Circle 117 on free information card plant during the warm weather of summer, or it can spread up the veins of the leaves during cool weather, eventually ruptur-ing the epidermis and releasing many black spores which may at-tack other plants. Whether the spores are present or not, the plant is always in a weakened condition and the first stress that comes along will kill it. The most common stress is summer drought. Your customers may take good care of their lawns and water them religiously while they are home only to go on vaca-tion and forget to have someone water the lawn or simply not be 
concerned about it; figuring they have a healthy lawn and the Ken-tucky bluegrass will simply go dormant and revive again once water is applied. However, a 
lawn infected with stripe smut will die if it is allowed to dry out 
during warm weather. It is im-portant to warn your customer 
not to let their stripe smut in-
fected lawn dry out, because if it dies you know who is going to be blamed! In addition, heavy nitro-gen applications in the late spr-ing period and during the summer will cause severe loss of turf on stripe smut infected Ken-
tucky bluegrass lawns. For a detailed description of stripe smut symptoms see the May 1978 issue of LAWN CARE INDUSTRY. Stripe smut can be "con-trolled" (more like arrested) with high rates (4-8 OZ./1000 square foot) of the benzimida-
zole systemic fungicides. The 
best results are obtained when the systemic fungicides are applied as dormant drenches. However, applying the systemic 
fungicides as dormant drenches 
increases the amount of melting-out in the spring. Even Helmin-thosporium-resistant cultivars like Merion become susceptible after such treatments. This 
means that the stripe smut treat-ments must be accompanied by a 
melting-out treatment, and the PCNB fungicides are the only ones which gives this long term Helminthosporium control over the entire dormant period. Early spring and early fall applications of the benzimida-zole systemic fungicides are also effective against stripe smut, if 
they are applied when the grass is initiating new growth. Avoid 
applying them when grass growth is beginning to slow down because of warm or cold temperatures. While this is not as effective as dormant appli-cations, it does avoid melting-out 
problems. But what is the bottom line? The bottom line is that these are merely stop gap measures. The systemic fungicides, no matter 
when they are applied, do not eradicate the disease and it comes back every year. Resis-tance to the benzimidazole sys-temic fungicides has been reported for every major 
pathogen on which they have been used exclusively and resis-tance to the systemic fungicides in the smuts will also occur. So, 
you may be able to obtain con-trol of stripe smut for a two or 3 year period. The answer to a Kentucky bluegrass turf infected with 
melting-out, Fusarium blight or stripe smut may be to have your lo page 18 r* > ? Z n > P0 w Z a c en H pa > *o pa CD vi CO 18 DISEASE from page 17 ^ customer renovate it and reseed or resod it with a blend of resis-ts tant cultivars. Nitrogen fertility. In addition to chemical and cultural con-trols which are unique to each disease, there is a common cul-tural practice that increases the £ severity of Fusarium blight, £ stripe smut and Helmintho-g sporium melting-out: spring nitrogen fertility. I realize that this is the traditional time to ap-ply most of the nitrogen to a lawn. I also realize old habits are ^ hard to break, but you do want to j give your customer the best pos-sible lawn and, with the current Kentucky bluegrasses that are on most lawns, it is difficult to do 
this with heavy spring nitrogen 
applications. The logistics may be a little difficult but not im-possible. Broadleaf weed con-
trol can be moved from the spr-
ing to the fall although most of you apply a little each time you 
spray a lawn. Preemergence 
weed control could be applied separately without nitrogen or make it the one application with 
nitrogen in the spring. It is cer-
tainly better than two or three spring and early summer applications of nitrogen. In place of heavy spring nitro-gen replace such a program with one pound of nitrogen in Septem-
ber and one pound of late season nitrogen after the last mowing (when vertical growth has stopped). Then one-half pound of nitrogen applications in June, 
July and August. You will notice I started the program in Septem-ber. If this program is to be successful, it must be started then. If you try to start it in June, you will have dissatisfied customers all spring long from the lack of green grass due to a nitrogen deficiency. This, of course, is for the first season; 
after that it should not be a problem. FUNGICIDES Knowledge helps to establish firm quickly Lawn care technicians who know what to look for and are able to recognize lawn insect, disease and weed problems are important to the long-range success of a lawn care business. Such has been the case for a growing company out Burling-ton, Mass., Controlled Ecology Services. The previous golf course management experience of the six individuals involved in getting the fledgling lawn care company off the ground two years ago has been largely responsible for the company's success. James Calderwood, who is responsible for coordinating the firms's activities, says: "That 
background gave us experience 
in knowing what to look for and If you want to feed your trees for 2 years, step on it. The Agriform fertilizer probe makes tree feed-ing fast and economical. It's simple.Take the probe and step on it. Just punch holes around the drip line of the tree. You can fertilize a 4" diameter tree for two years for less than $1.00. And the money-off coupon that comes with each probe saves you $3 to start with. Agriform TabletsŠnothing could be faster, 
easier, safer, or more economical. Drop the Agriform Tablets down into the root 
zone and walk away, for two years. No fertilizer bags to mess with. No spikes to hammer (and break). And, they won't burn or leach away. Order your Agriform fertilizer probe for $6.99 and we'll give you a $3.00 coupon for Agriform Tablets Sierra Chemical Company 1001 Yosemite Drive Milpitas, California 95035 Please send me. _probe(s). I have enclosed a check for $6.99 each. Don't forget the coupon worth $3.00 toward my purchase of a case of Agriform Tablets for each probe I ordered. Offer expires June 1,1980. Name Firm Street State AGRÌFORM Aeriform (TI is used as a trademark of Sierra Chemical Company for its brand of controlled release fertilizers. ®1979 Sierra Chemical Company. recognizing what we are seeing in customer lawns. All of us are 
licensed pesticide applicators, and many of us have degrees in turf management from the University of Massachusetts." Controlled Ecology Services offer customers liquid and granular pesticide applications, fertilization, aerification, water management, slice-seeding and turf program design. Primary customers for this professional consulting firm are industrial firms and municipalities such as colleges, schools and govern-mental units. "We doubled our business last year and expect a consider-able increase again this year," Calderwood: "Trained, experi-enced people who know when to look for lawn pests, and what they 
are looking at have been responsible 
for our repeat business." Calderwood told LAWN CARE INDUSTRY. "We are still in the process of educating people to 
the approach we take. Our pro-gram includes fertilization through the growing season, seeding where necessary, pre-emergence crabgrass control, early and late summer broad-leaf weed control, and disease and insect control.*024 Two salesmen sell and ser-vice accounts in the eastern half 
of Massachusetts at present. As 
each new account is sold, service begins with an inspection of the types of turf and conditions, plus soil sample taken to get pH readings and to determine fertil-izer needs. Periodic visits by the sales representative include inspec-
tions of the customer's lawn, plus each time a spray technician 
visits, he checks for various 
conditions and the presence of any insects or diseases. "If our technician sees some-thing, he comes back to the office and files a report," Calderwood said. "We then inform the client, who then decides whether the treatment should be made if it is 
not in the regular program." "If, for example, our man saw some leaf spot disease develop-ing, we would spray the two-ounce rate of Acti-dione TGF to 
correct the problem. The fungi-
cide works well on leaf spot. Our regular spray program for all customers includes three June 
and July applications of the fungicide because we have a lot of leaf spot in this area," he said. "Trained, experienced peo-ple who know when to look for various lawn pests, and who know what they are looking at have been responsible for our 
repeat business," he said. EDUCATION Lawn care training: How the majors do it by Dan Moreland It's not surprising that a town nicknamed the "Tree City," Kent, Ohio, is the home of The Davey Tree Expert Co., the leader in the tree care field. Predictably, Kent has more than its fair share of tree cover. But if Roger Funk, vice president of 
Research and Development for 
Davey, has his way the town's city council may soon be com-pelled to rename Kent the "Lawn Care City." At a recent training class at the Davey Technical Service Center in Kent, Funk told 20 new technicians that Davey wants to be the "best and largest company in the lawn care field." That, of course, is the ambition of many large lawn care companies 
across the United States ranging from Leisure Lawn, Inc., in Dayton, Ohio to Lawn Doctor, Inc. in Matawan, N.J. However, Gordon Ober, general manager of Davey Lawnscape, doesn't see it as an unattainable goal. He explained that Davey had sales of $2.8 
million in 1978 and "we're look-
ing for $5 million this year and $17 million over the next five years." That is quite an am-bitious forecast for a company that opened its doors in 1975 and 
is currently ranked in the top 15 
in overall sales within the in-dustry, according to a survey published in the November issue of LAWN CARE INDUSTRY. Funk In its quest to overtake the undisputed lawn care leader, Chemlawn Corp., Columbus, Ohio, Davey has initiated what 
Funk calls the "most intensive training program in the in-dustry." To get a first-hand look at its training program LAWN 
CARE INDUSTRY recently attended the first of Davey's three week-long technical train-ing seminars in Kent. Further, to obtain a general overview of various training methods used througout the in-dustry, we contacted eight of the more successful lawn care com-panies in the United States and 
discussed their particular pro-grams with them. When the Davey Lawnscape Division was formed in 1975 only seven persons took part in the in-itial training program, but this year more than 60 technicians participated in three separate week-long sessions. The com-plete program consists of one week of intensive classroom coursework and two weeks of hands-on training at the local level. New recruits study technical information in a traditional 
classroom setting at the home of-fice, while at the local level they learn their routes, develop 
spraying technique, polish their 
sales presentation, and are 
gradually emersed into the lawn care industry by the local sales representatives and branch to page 27 THE LITTLE TRACTOR THAT CUTS ANY WAY YOU LIKE IT. f Kt »> Fred Breidigam, 23, studies the Davey Lawnscape Technical Manual during a break in class sessions. Breidigam graduated from Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, with a degree in Biology. The 177-page technical manual contains 18 
chapter topics ranging from plant morphology to weed identification. Other topics include disease identification, shade, and soil pH. Recruits are urged to taite good notes because they are required to carry tne manual on their trucks 
while in the field. At John Deere, we call the 850 and 950 our "little-big" tractors. Because even though they're smaller 
and less expensive to buy and operate than many other tractors being used 
for parks, golf courses and other large-acreage 
mowing jobs, they've 
proven that they're more than big enough for the job. The 22-PTO-hp 850 and the 27-PTO-hp 950 have all the power you need to handle just about any kind of attachment. And both have versatile 8-speed transmissions that fit a wide range of jobs. We offer 4 different mowing attachments alone: rear-mounted rotary cutter, flail mower, sickle-bar mower and center-mounted rotary mower. So whether you're cutting fairways, roadsides, parks, pastures, ditches or whatever, we can match the attachment to the job. We also offer a choice of tire sizes and styles. And your John Deere dealer is a man you can count on for parts, service and good advice. See the John Deere 850 or 950 at your nearby dealer soon. Or, for free literature, write: John Deere, Dept.63, Moline,Illinois 61265. THE JOHN DEERE "LITTLE-BIG" TRACTORS. Nothing runs like a Deere! JOHN DEERE Ëtera* Ł v 2*-J* TERSAN. fungicides Most customers' lawns are targets for diseaseŠand an opportunity for add-on profitsŠwith the TERSAN disease control program. It's like finding money in the grass. Because disease control is add-on business, an additional service to your basic lawn care programs, with your regular customers. And at higher margins than your other services, too. But you have to spot the disease symptoms early, identify the disease, and treat it quickly with the right fungicide. That's where the TERSAN disease control program comes in. The four TERSAN fungicides give you a specific, effective control for every lawn disease you're likely 
to spot. No guesswork. No spray-and-hope, cure-all treatments. Plan now to pick up those extra profits right under your feet. Mail in the coupon for more facts on identifying and controlling lawn diseases. E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (Inc.) TERSAN Lawn Products-Room N-2533 Wilmington, Delaware 19898 Please send me your literature on lawn disease control. Name Title Company. Address_ City. State. -Zip-Services offered. No. of present accounts:. No. of employees:. With any chemical, follow labeling instructions and warnings carefully. Lawn Products lawn care industry Marketplace San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area San Francisco possesses the unenviable distinction of being the only lawn care market in the country with the unique capability to have the "bottom drop out" of it at any time; liter-ally. Fortunately for Bay area residents that hasn't occurred since April 18, 1906, the day of the infamous San Francisco earthquake. Yet with or without a repeat performance of that 
catastrophic event, the San Francisco turf industry remains "up in the air." The Bay area market features both a predominance of Japa-nese gardener operations, pri-marily serving the residential market, and a number of moder-
ate to large businesses servicing the better-established commer-cial/industrial markets. The landscape contracting industry is also heavily involved in the Bay 
area, though their primary thrust 
is in landscape design and 
installation rather than mainte-nance. However, the chemical lawn care market, which is flourish-ing throughout much of the Mid-west and East, is struggling to gain a toehold in the Bay area. 
The result is a significant num-ber of companies, possessing a 
wide variety of lawn care capabilities , are jockeying for position in this relatively young market. A myriad of competition isn't the only problem Bay area lawn care operators have encoun-tered. They must also contend with an almost overwhelming number of pesticide and fertil-izer regulations before they can begin treating lawns. California 
is the most regulated of the 50 
states. Therefore, why would anybody attempt to enter this difficult market? The reasor is the San Francisco Bay area, along with Santa Clara County 30 miles to the south, are poten-tial lawn care gold mines. The area boasts one of the highest 
standards of living in the United States and the environment is 
virtually ideal for the lawn care industry. If the economic picture of Santa Clara County is any indica-tion, the future of lawn care in the Bay area appears bright. Ac-cording to Advertising Age magazine, in 1977, San Francisco and surrounding Santa Clara 
County ranked first among the nine Bay area counties in population, value of new construction, and total effective net buying income. San Francisco's economic out-look is also bright. Personal in-come in the fifteenth largest city 
in the United States increased 10 
percent from 1974 to 1975 and of-fice construction has increased 
dramatically in recent years. Although San Francisco's population decreased 7.1 percent between 1970 and 1976, a pro-jected increase of 1.9 percent is expected for the San 
Francisco/Oakland area by 1982. The area is also blessed with moderate weather. Winters are 
mild, summers are dry, and temperatures seldom drop below 40 degrees or rise above 90 degrees. Further, the mild weather is a primary ingredient in the success of a flourishing shrub and ornamental care market which provides another 
profit center for companies 
operating in the Bay area. LAWN CARE INDUSTRY recently contacted seven lawn 
care representatives working in the San Francisco Bay area and discussed their perceptions of the market with them. The following are excerpts from those interviews. Richard L. Larson, owner of Larson Landscaping, Menlo Park, Calif., said he was forced 
out of the lawn maintenance market about a year ago for a 
number of reasons. The primary reason concerned his inability to compete with unlicensed land-scape contractors. "The San Francisco market is very competitive and price con-scious," he said, "and we had problems competing with the low 
prices charged by unlicensed contractors. "We inititally got into lawn maintenance to establish a cash 
flow throughout the winter," Lar-son said, "and we tried to keep our maintenance prices at a profitable level, but we just 
couldn't compete with them (unlicensed contractors)." He added that unlicensed operators can often charge lower 
fees because some of them utilize illegal aliens from Mexico to supplement their labor force. "There are no controls over them and they can do and price as they 
please," he added. A second factor was the general lack of customer inter-est in residential lawn mainte-nance programs. "The lawn care market hasn't had the impact here like it has in the East and Midwest," he said. "In the San Francisco area customers are 
primarily interested in garden-type maintenance rather than 
typical lawn maintenance." A third reason concerned the lack of a qualified labor force in the San Francisco area, accord-ing to Larson. "It's very difficult to find quality people here even 
though the colleges in the area are geared to train people in the (turf management) field," he said. "The problem is once stu-dents graduate from college they can't afford to live here and they have to move away. One of the primary reasons we got out of the lawn maintenance business is because we couldn't find enough quality people to stay competi-tive." Larson Landscaping was formed in 1972 and the company grossed $40,000 per year in lawn maintenance business before 
leaving the field in 1977. The company is currently involved solely in landscape installation and design. Larson added that the future of lawn care companies in the San Francisco area looks bright, but he warned that success or failure could depend on the availability of water. "Two years 
ago when we were having our 
bad drought both lawns and lawn 
care i impanies suffered and we (contractors) were cutting down on the size of lawns. The future really depends on our weather 
patterns and the availability of 
water," he said. Although his initial experi-ence in the lawn maintenance 
field was unsuccessful, Larson, 30, said he is seriously contemplating re-entering the market. "It's really difficult to 
keep cash coming in during the 
winter time and lawn mainte-nance accounts help solve that 
problem," he said. Larson isn't the only person concerned with the quality of competition in the Bay area. Bruce Wilson, branch manager of Green Valley Landscaping, Inc., San Jose, said, "The most by Dan Moreland Assistant Editor irritating problem we face is incompetent competition. A lot of lawn care companies in the area don't know how to bid or bid too low and end up doing a lousy job." Wilson added that the only way to increase the level of professionalism in the San Fran-
cisco lawn care market is to con-vince more maintenance con-tractors to join trade organiza-tions. Green Valley, a division of Environmental Industries, Encino, Calif., was formed in 1962 and grosses about $3 million per year. It provides complete maintenance services including fertilization, pruning, horti-
cultural supervision, and flower replacement. "We do anything necessary to take care of a land-scape," Wilson said. About 83 percent of the com-pany's accounts are based in the industrial and public works market, 10 percent are commer-cially-based, and the remaining seven percent comes from condominium and apartment complex customers. "We focus on the indus-trial/commercial market because the biggest volume of work is there and our business is 
structured for that market," 
Wilson added. Green Valley employs about 150 persons during the "peak" summer season and about 135 persons during winter months. "Our ability to find quality em-ployes depends largely on fluctu-
ations in the unemployment rate," Wilson said. "If unemploy-ment is low it's much harder to get good employes, but if a lot of people are looking for jobs, it's easier." All employes partici-pate in an in-house training pro-gram and field supervision is provided by 13 trained horti-culturists. Company equipment includes two 35-horsepower tractors (Massey-Ferguson and Ford Motor Co.), 12 "intermediate size" rotary mowers (Yazoo and Grasshopper), about 100 commercial mowers manu-factured by a number of com-panies, and a wide variety of other lawn care equipment. Wilson said the commercial and industrial lawn care market in the Bay area is "extremely good," but the residential market has not developed. "The resi-dential lawn spraying market isn't too good from what I have gathered talking to people in the business," he said. "From what I understand most residential lawns are too small to make spraying profitable." One of the many companies which has spurned the resi-dential lawn care market is L & L Maintenance, Santa Clara, Calif. 
According to general manager Steve Glover, L & L doesn't pur-sue the residential market because it is less profitable than the commercial/industrial 
market. L & L grosses about $500,000 per year, employs 25 persons, and carries about 35 accounts. Business consists of a wide range of accounts ranging from a ceme-tery to several restaurants in the 
Bay area. Like many lawn care compa-nies in the Bay area, Glover has also experienced difficulty fin-
ding quality employes. "Getting good help is always a problem," he said. "I usually work through the universities and the local col-leges, but that hasn't been too successful." He has had most of his success through advertising in newspapers. Further, because many of those Glover recruits have no 
previous turf background, train-ing is an important part of his business. "Most of our training is on-the-job, but we also encour-age our employes to take classes 
at local colleges to increase their knowledge about lawn care," he said. Glover described the San Francisco Bay area market in the belonged to the association we have had no collection prob-lems." Northwest, like L & L Land-scaping in Santa Clara, has had difficulty developing quality personnel. "It really is very diffi-cult getting good employes," Nakamura said. "They think they have to work too hard for what they get paid and they often quit and go to somebody else," he 
added, "but they come back when they find out our benefit package is better than most in the 
industry." Northwest's "delayed" benefit package consists of three paid holidays after one year of employment and one week paid 
vacation after two years of ser-vice. Employes also qualify for a health plan after three months 
with the company. familiar with we go directly to an 
expert. We've dealt with land-scape horticulturists, pro-fessional labs, and agricultural advisers," he said. "It generally 
only costs a phone call to find out the cause of a problem." "We've really worked hard on developing a good reputation so it has been worth it for us to take the time to know what we are doing before we act on a problem," he added. Northwest's program con-sists of fertilizer applications four to five times per year, broadleaf weed control treat-ments once or twice a year, and a pre-emergent weed control application in the spring. "We use a selective herbicide in either a concentrated herbicide form or wettable powder form once or twice a year depending following manner. "There are a few large companies, a number 
of intermediate-sized compa-nies, and a lot of small jokers who just mow lawns." However, he added that lawn care busi-nessmen have become much more professional as the market has developed in recent years. "We're getting away from the 
weekend gardeners who decide it would be a good idea to get into the lawn care business," he said. What does he look for in the future? "The sky's the limit for 
lawn care here. All you have to 
do is go out and beat the bushes." One of the companies which is "beating the bushes" very successfully is Northwest Land-scape Maintenance Co., San Jose, Calif. The majority of 
Northwest's $500,000 annual gross comes from servicing condominiums in popular Santa 
Clara Valley. Douglas Naka-mura, who jointly owns the com-
pany with his two brothers, said 
they prefer servicing of condo-miniums because it's a "reliable" market. Northwest services about 3,500 units. "The profitability of servic-ing condominiums versus 
commercial accounts is much lower, but the cash flow is bet-ter," he said. "We have dealt with the Homeowner's Associ-ation for about six years now and 
as long as the owners have Nakamura, 31, described the average pay as "depressed," but typical of lawn care salaries in the area. Hourly rates range from $3 to $4.50 per hour. "We've gone through a lot of people, but the people who have worked for us for several years generally stay with us," he added. The company employs a total of 27 to 30 full-time workers. Northwest, which is also a licensed contracting firm, utilizes a number of "experts" to augment its full-time personnel. "If we have a problem we are not TOP LEFT: Steve Glover, general manager of L&L Maintenance in Santa Clara, doesn't pursue the residential market because it is less profitable than the commercial/industrial market. The 
company grosses about $500,000 per year. Glover added that as the San Francisco market has developed in size, the level of professionalism among lawn care operators in the 
area has increased. TOP RIGHT: Northwest Landscape Maintenance Co. in San Jose grosses about $500,000 per year. Left to right: Doug Nakamura, secretary/treasurer, Warren Nakamura, president, Paul Nakamura, senior vice-president, 
and Steve Nelson, vice-president, Landscape Division. The Nakamura brothers inherited the business in 
1974 after their father passed away. RIGHT: Warren Nakamura, president of Northwest Landscape Maintenance Co. on the situation (to control broadleaf weeds)." Company equipment includes six Toro Frontrunner mowers, a wide variety of rotary mowers, about a dozen edgers, and two 150-gallon spray rigs. Naka-mura, who has a degree in indus-trial design, said they have had difficulty finding a commercial mower which will stand up to constant use. "They all last about a year and wear out," he said. "If you put 25 hours a week on a rotary mower it's going to wear to page 25 OS CU < > OS E-co D Q 2 U OS < u z < COMING The May issue of LAWN CARE INDUSTRY will feature a story on the lawn care market in Boston. The Washington, D.C. market will be profiled in the June issue; Pittsburgh in July; and Seattle in August. TRAILER MOUNTED ACCESSORIES SKID MOUNTED GREENS BOOM HOSE REEL ^M G-GUN^B SCREW TYPE JACK ALSO CHOOSE FROM FIBERGLASS TANKS/MECHANICAL AGITATION/PUMPS AND ENGINES/BOOMS/HAND GUNS, ETC. WRITE OR CALL: Special Products Division 301 CHARLES ST., so. BELOIT, IL 61080 HANSON EQUIPMENT CO. 8153092201 Circle 128 on free information card AN OPEN MESSAGE TO LAWN AND GARDEN MANUFACTURERS From C. Edward Scofield, Executive Vice President, RA-PID-GRO Corporation I I've helped the lawn and garden industry to grow to an $11 billion giant! It has been my privilege to frequently be a part of some of the great new changes and developments. I've also experienced my share of disappoint-ments and mistakes. Without strong trade organizations, dedicated pioneers and competent leaders our industry would only be a fraction of what it is today. Your business would still be struggling, your outlook uncertain, were it not for the great work done by many trade organizations. Now we need one strong, overall lawn and garden association to knit manufacturers, producers and growers into a cohesive group. As President of LAGMA, I promise anyjmrie and money you invest in this association will pay off handsomely. Help develop and support a strong, effective trade association. For informa-tion on membership and benefits for your firm, ask Ed Scofield or contact: THE LAWN AND GARDEN MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION 111 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60601 Telephone: 312/644-6610 TOOLS,TIPS & TECHNIQUES Mowing safety stops injuries, downtime Commercial power mowers are designed not only to cut grass, but to trim the time it takes to do so. Unfortunately, even lawn care professionals are num-bered among the 160,000 persons injured annually while try-ing to short-cut their mowing chores by ignoring simple safety procedures. Carelessness undermines efforts by many manufacturers to meet stringent safety standards set by the non-profit Outdoor Power Equipment Institute. Lost time due to employe injuries, and also equipment downtime due to careless handling of power mowers can cost lawn care companies money if employes ignore safety. Today's commercial mower is safer to operate than ever before. It features design improvements ranging from smaller discharge openings to flexible shields that deflect debris downward and away from the operator. But lawn care professionals still man the controls. At least Refuel commercial mowers out-of-doors rather than inside maintenance sheds to guard against combustible fumes. More than 160,000 persons Š including lawn care professionals Š are needlessly injured each year by ignoring 
common-sense safety rules. 80 percent of injuries occur when people clear the discharge chute without stopping the engine, slip while mowing or are hit by thrown objects such as rocks. According to Dr. Al Turgeon, associate professor of turf-grass science at the University of Illinois, those accidents could he avoided by adopting the following common-sense 
safety routine: Ł Take a few minutes to clear away foreign objects. A rock, nail or piece of glass Š if left hidden in the grass Š can 
become a dangerous missile in the path of a whirling mower blade. Ł Push, never pull, your mower to avoid losing control of it. Ł Never wear loose fitting clothes that could get caught in mowing parts. Wear sturdy leather-soled shoes or work boots to assure solid footing. Ł Start and operate the mower with feet and hands away from the blade or any rotating parts. Stay away from the dis-charge side of the mower while mowing. Ł Mow across steep slopes with a walk-behind mower to assure maximum stability. Riding mower operators should mow slopes up and down (rather than across) to avoid tipp-ing. Avoid sharp turns, not only because they are hard on grass, but because you can slip or slide under the rotating blade. Ł Before unclogging the discharge chute, shut the engine off and wait until the blade comes to a complete stop. Stop the engine before going across roads, walks or anytime you leave I he mower. This rule frequently is broken by professional grounds keepers. Ł Gasoline demands respect, so refuel before mowing and never while the engine is hot to avoid starting a flash fire. Refuel the mower out-of-doors rather than inside mainte-nance sheds to guard against combustible fumes. Ł Always stop the engine and disconnect the spark plug before making repairs or transporting the mower. Other-wise, the engine could he started accidentally. Leaking gas 
and oil can kill grass, so avoid checking the mechanical functioning of your mower on the grass. BAY AREA from pa«e 23 out. They're just not designed for long term use." According to Nakamura, the key to the company's business success has been controlled growth and quality service. "We've seen a lot of companies shoot past us and gross a million dollars in two years and then col-lapse because they expanded too quickly," he said. "We are more conservative and invest in our expansion before we go out and solicit the work." Nakamura said the market also has a number of companies which enter several fields Douglas Nakamura, secretary/trea-surer for Northwest Landscape Maintenance Co., said, "The profit-ability of servicing condominiums versus commercial accounts is much lower, but the cash flow is better." 
Nakamura added that he has had lit-tle difficulty working with home-owner's associations in San Francisco. (irrigation, industrial clean-up, etc.) in order to make a quick profit. "They're trying to make as much money as they can as quickly as they can, but they generally don't succeed. Because 
we are more conservative and don't expand until we know we can handle the work; we think we will be around a lot longer than our competition," he said. Even though there are several "quick profit" companies depressing the quality and prices 
of lawn services, Nakamura thinks the overall market fore-cast is good. "Santa Clara County 
is growing like a wild fire and there is no indication that it is going to slow down. The competi-tion here is intense, but there is enough work for everybody," he said. "I really don't worry about next year because I know we'll get our share of the accounts we bid on." Ken Gerlack, president of Contra-Costa Landscaping, Inc., Martinez, Calif., said he expects the market to improve within the next few years for one primary reason: Proposition 13. "1 think government agencies are going to look to outside lawn care con-tractors as a more efficient way to get the work done in the future," he said. Contra Costa provides com-plete horticultural maintenance service including irrigation repairs, thatch control, aerifica-tion, soil analysis, and the application of herbicides and 
pesticides. "Our three primary 
profit centers are maintenance, hydroseeding, and construc-tion," he said. The company grosses about $175,000 per year servicing solely commercial ac-counts. Gerlack, who has a degree in horticulture from Cal Poly in San Francisco, added that his com-
pany has had more difficulty training employes than recruit-ing them. "We have to train them for our own operation because we are more finnicky than most companies," he said. Contra Costa carries about 12 employes in the summer and five or six during the winter. Average pay is $4.50 an hour and $1,200 a month for salaried workers. Because of the mild weather, Gerlack said his company has encountered few serious lawn 
care problems in the Bay area. "Once we get a turf established it is almost free of fungus," he said. "We very seldom get an infesta-tion of insects and we really don't do much spraying other than for broadleaf weed con-trol," he said. Overall, Gerlack is pleased with the way the San Francisco market has developed. "I haven't heard any of the contractors in this area complain about a lack of work," he said. One lawn care company which has entered the less pop-ular residential market is Chem-Lawn Corp., Columbus, Ohio ChemLawn entered the north-
eastern San Francisco market in 1977 and currently employs four persons at its Concord, Calif, headquarters. John Wright, ChemLawn vice president, said, "We are very much in the learning process out there, but we felt we needed to have at least one Pacific coast operation simply to learn the territory." Wright said ChemLawn selected to open a branch in the Bay area because they felt "com-
fortable" with the cultural condi-tions there. "It's not that signifi-cantly different from our other markets," he said. "It's primarily a bluegrass area and it has weed 
and insect problems similar to our other markets." However, in 
1977, San Francisco's cultural conditions were far from typical. 
California was suffering through 
one of the worst droughts in its history. "Far and away the most difficult thing we encountered 
when we entered the market was the drought," Wright said. "Even 
though people continued to come on our program, we were made 
aware very quickly of how some-thing like that can impact our business." With all its similarities, there are also many differences be-tween the Bay area market and other markets throughout the United States. "Probably the 
biggest difference is in the size of the lawns," Wright said. "The 
average lawn in the Bay area is 
only 3,000 square feet." "Another difference is the need for more tree and shrub 
maintenance" Wright said. "That is why we came in very early with our Chemscape (shrub and 
ornamental service) program." Wright would not discuss his company's annual gross in the Bay area although he did say about one half of its business comes directly from Chemscape accounts. Perhaps the most significant obstacles ChemLawn will have to overcome in order to succeed in the Bay area is the general lack of public awareness concerning chemical lawn care. "The concept of residential lawn care, as we know it in the Mid-
west, is just not in the Bay area 
yet," Wright said. "I have no doubts that it will be some day, but it's going to take time." Regarding future plans, Wright said ChemLawn is still in the "early stages of develop-ment" on the West Coast and therefore would not expand its operations there in 1979. Noel Martin, owner of Martin Landscaping, San Francisco, Calif., doesn't service the commercial market, the resi-
dential market, or the industrial market. You may be asking your-self what else is there? Martin provides lawn care services to the largest purchaser of goods and services in the United 
States; the government. About 75 percent of his $300,000 annual gross comes from servicing 
government accounts. The remaining 25 percent is commer-
cially based. Although he only has two government contracts they keep him quite busy. "We provide lawn care to Treasure Island Naval Base and an army base in San Francisco," he said. "I like 
dealing with the government because they are larger than commercial contracts and so far the government hasn't gone broke so the money is there 
when you need it." Martin employs 20 persons, pays about $5.75 per hour, and does his recruiting through local colleges and newspaper 
advertising. The company pro-vides three maintenance ser-vices: mowing, fertilizing, and aerifying. Martin added that he was initially involved in the resi-dential market, but "got away from it about 10 years ago" because his business is better 
equipped for large scale mainte-nance. Martin visits his clients every week beginning in April and two times a month during the winter months. "We also apply fertil-izers and pesticides, but the restrictions are getting very strict 
now so we sub out anything 
large," he said. "It doesn't pay for us to buy the equipment for the few times we do it." The Bay area market appears to be capable of significant growth in the near future. The commercial/industrial field is popular among lawn care oper-ators, but it is far from being saturated. And the residential market is a potential gold mine. 
So why aren't more companies 
flocking to the Bay area? It could be the small size of residential lawns. Or the general lack of a qualified labor force? Or 
perhaps lawn care businessmen have chosen to invest in the Sacramento or Reno markets. Af-ter all, we are more likely to be surfing over San Francisco than taking care of lawns there if there is a re-enactment of the events of April 18, 1906 in the near future. Pelletized Profit? Now, big limestone & gypsum profits in a virtually dust-free pellet form. Ł Opens up a whole new market segment for your lawn care business . without the mess of dusty, uncontrolled spreader applications. Ł 
Economical, yet highly profitable. Ł Works with any type spreader, including broad-cast. Ł Lets you increase customer service plus decrease your fertilizer costs. Ł Ideal for slack periods because REVEILLE can be 
applied practically year 'round. Available in bag or bulk, both REVEILLE Limestone and Gypsum fit perfectly into liquid or dry lawn care operations. LIMESTONE & GYPSUM PELLETS American Pelletizmg Corp Ł P O Box 3628 Ł Des Momes. Iowa 50322 Circle 139 on free information card Hypro sprayer pumps Choose from a wide range of pump designs and materials to suit your requirements: cast-iron, Ni-Resist and bronze pump housings... even nickel plating on piston pumps. PISTON PUMPS Series 5200 Big Twin 10 gpm output at 400 psi with 1 6 hp engine Series 5400 4-Cylinder 25 gpm output at 600 psi ROLLER PUMPS Choice of nylon, polypropylene or rubber rollers. Series 6500 7.6 gpm at 100 psi 6 gpm at 200 psi 4 hp gas engine Other models up to 44 gpm at 50 psi. CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS Series 9200. Output to 124 gpm. Pressures to 70 psi. Speed of 4200 rpm. Send for your FREE Sprayer Pump Handbook ISI A DIVISION Of LEAR SIEGLER. INC 319 Fifth Ave NW. St Paul MN 55112» (612)633-9300 Circle 114 on free information card OC CU < >« oc H co D Q Z w ac < U z < MARKETING IDEA FILE Analysis of lawn care advertising Early on in operation of their 16-year-old Lawn-A-Mat Chemical & Equipment Corp. franchise, based in Bellmore, N.Y., it became apparent to Sheldon Ofshe and Leo Gelfond that in order to make judgments as to the effectiveness of their advertising, it would be necessary to keep as accurate records as possible as to the source of their new business. "We wanted to know where the leads came from, the cost of putting on new customers, the effectiveness of different 
advertising media, the rate of closing sales, etc.," Ofshe told LAWN CARE INDUSTRY recently. "So we started evolving record-keeping systems on our advertising." The two were able to determine when and where to put their advertising dollars to provide them with maximum 
return on their advertising investment. It helped them determine the cost of obtaining new business each season. It total dollar amount of new business each year, and the advertising cost of obtaining that busi ness. Comparisons of NUMBER OF LEADS 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Five-year Month year year year year year total February (all month) 10 8 
6 14 11 49 March 1st week 8 14 4 10 14 50 2nd week 30 35 11 21 14 111 3rd week 16 27 40 23 46 152 4th week 34 100 76 45 81 336 April 1st week 60 69 48 64 72 353 2nd week 56 60 73 95 51 335 3rd week 38 63 46 83 61 292 4th week 52 26 33 67 51 226 May 1st week 21 10 21 34 24 no 2nd week 15 1 7 9 9 
41 3rd week 13 0 
0 5 
6 24 4th week 7 0 3 2 3 
15 June 1st week 4 0 3 
0 3 
10 2nd week 1 0 4 0 9 
14 3rd week 0 0 0 
0 1 1 4th week 0 0 
0 0 3 3 July 1st week 2 0 
5 0 
2 9 2nd week 2 0 1 0 1 4 3rd week 2 2 
2 0 4 
10 4th week 0 3 
2 6 6 
17 August 1st week 2 0 7 9 
14 32 2nd week 9 6 
10 13 19 57 3rd week 7 29 18 8 
30 92 4th week 19 39 42 21 41 162 September 1st week 22 16 20 28 40 126 2nd week 24 33 29 47 32 165 3rd week 24 29 27 19 34 133 4th week 25 36 33 25 45 164 October 1st week 3 10 19 15 34 76 2nd week 4 0 
1 12 13 30 Yearly total 510 (ill) 593 675 774 Advertising budget $6,300 6,500 7,200 8,200 10,000 % cost of new business 22% 12% 12%. 12 Va % 12 Vi %> figures from year to year enable them to measure growth. Chart No. 1 is a compilation of the amount of leads per week over a five-year period, which they use as a guide to timing the insertion of their advertisements. Conclusions can 
be drawn as to how long into each season it is profitable to keep advertising and still expect a decent return. Also, the relationship of the amount of leads in the spring versus the fall is established and this information is reflected in the advertising budget for each season. Chart No. 2 is a condensation of the information from a re-cent year. Advertising in the metropolitan newspapers Long Island Newsday and Long Island Press represents cooper-
ative advertising with other Lawn-A-Mat dealers. "One very basic fact that became apparent as we reviewed the conclusions from year to year was the necessity of that review," Ofshe said. "A media that was successful for a year or two would not necessarily get good results on a con-tinuous basis year after year. For example, as the cost of direct mail increased with rising postal rates and cost of prin-ting, the results indicated a change. We eliminated direct 
mail, but increased our pennysaver (shopper newspapers) budget. "Our media mix is constantly changing," he said. "Non-profitable forms of advertising are eliminated and we are continuously looking for new and different ways to advertise our name and our services." In 1963, Leo Gelfond (right) and Sheldon Ofshe each bought a Lawn-A-Mat Chemical 6r Equipment Corp. franchise on 
Long Island in New York. Their separate areas were right next to each other, and with no previous experience in the lawn care industry they found it to their mutual 
advantage to work together and help each other. After two years of separate operation, they decided to merge and formed a partnership. They now operate four franchise areas. In addition to lawn care, they have branched out into tree spraying, sprinkler 
systems, landscape planning, tree work and shrub trimming. They operate two tree-spraying trucks, six panel trucks, four trailers and four Lawn-A-Mat tractors and combines. MEDIA Pennysavers Local town paper 2nd local paper Direct mail (30,000) Long Island Newsday Long Island Press Referrals Old Customers Miscellaneous Total SPRING Cost # Leads # Sold $ Amount % Cost Cost § Leads FALL # Sold $ Amount % Cost $1,655 95 70 $9,741 17% $1,249 59 40 $6,797 19% 267 18 14 1,557 17 160 8 
6 892 8 190 11 7 1,230 16 141 4 
4 833 j 7 1,731 80 66 9,996 17'/l 577 12 12 1.935 30 (8,000) 622 23 16 2,295 27 428 16 13 2,200 191/2 245 6 3 378 65 116 2 2 
621 19 Š 84 63 9,284 Š Š 48 37 6,718 Š Š 37 33 3,707 Š Š 15 14 1,434 Š 499 60 44 6,593 8 437 16 13 1,990 21 $5,149 414 316 $44,770 111/2%. $3,108 180 141 $23,567 131/4 % Embark® Plant Growth Regulator is available at these locations: Wilbur-Ellis Co. 696 Naplus Street P.O. Box 935 Chula Vista. CA 92012 Attn: Ralph Cramer Wilbur-Ellis Co. P.O. Box 1286 Fresno. CA 93715 Attn: Don Niboli VanWaters & Rogers 1363 South Bonnie Beach Place Los Angeles, CA 90023 Attn: Paul Sanders Moyer Chemical Co. 1310 Bayshore Highway P.O. Box 945 San Jose. CA 95112 Attn: Donald Meyer VanWaters & Rogers 2256 Junction Avenue San Jose. CA 95131 Attn: Be van Cates Moyer Chemical 230 East Dyer Road Unit Santa Ana, CA 92707 Attn: Pat Sano Wilbur-Ellis Co. 14111 Freeway Drive Santa Fe Springs. CA 90670 Attn: Mike Bell Walter W. Fuchs 
Turf Products Limited 2N255 County Farm Road West Chicago, IL 60185 Riley Lawn & Golf Equip. Corp. 6810 Guion Road Indianapolis, IN 46268 Attn: Robert Scobee The Dalton's Incorporated U.S. 30 East P.O. Box 246 Warsaw, IN 46580 
Attn: Don Dalton W. F. Miller Co. 1593 South Woodward Birmingham, Ml 48011 Attn: Russ Hancock R. L. Gould Company 3711 Lexington Avenue North 
St. Paul, MN 55112 
Attn: Gordon Miller Turf Supply Company 
2970 Dodd Road St. Paul, MN 55121 Attn: John Kolb VanWaters & Rogers 3950 Northwest Yeon Avenue Portland. OR 97210 Attn: Romeyn Kruiswyk Wilbur-Ellis Co. P.O.Box 8838 Portland, OR 97208 Attn: Gordon Hidman VanWaters & Rogers 8201 South 212th 
Kent, WA 98031 
Attn: John W. Barber Wilbur-Ellis Co. 1200 Westlake Avenue North Suite 10000 Seattle. WA 98109 Attn: Jack Fisher Reinders Brothers, Inc. 13400 Waterwon Plank Road Elm Grove. Wl 53122 Attn: Ed Devinger TRAINING from page 19 managers. All training is standar-dized and formulated at the Kent office. Formal training sessions for technicians are conducted in February, about a month before the Midwest lawn care season begins. The actual classroom coursework is covered in an 
imposing five day, 40-hour work 
week. Students are given a 177-page technical manual contain-ing 18 chapter topics ranging from plant morphology to irriga-tion. Other topics covered in-clude plant and weed identifica-tion, pesticides, insects, diseases, soils and soil pH, fertilizers, mowing, and aeration. Thatch, shade, winter dormancy, lawn establishment, diagnosis, and 
overseeding are also discussed. Recruits are urged to take good notes because they are required to carry the manual on their a gggi r pi ! Twenty recruits took part in the Davey Lawnscape training session attended by LAWN CARE INDUSTRY. In 1979, Davey conducted three week-Jong train-ing sessions for more than 60 new technicians. All training sessions were con-ducted in a traditional classroom setting. trucks while in the field. Three experienced instruc-tors teach the majority of the coursework. Dr. Roger Funk, a graduate of West Virginia Uni-versity with a Ph.D. in plant physiology, is the primary in-structor. Richard Rathjens, who has a Master's Degree in turf management from Cook College, Rutgers University, and Dr. Balakrishna Rao, who has a Embark Plant Growth Regulator Puts You In Command-Embark 2-S 3M "Embark" is a registered trademark of the 3M Company. Slows Turf Growth When and Where You Need It. This spring and summer, you decide when to send your mowers into action! "Embark" Plant Growth Regulator reduces turf growth without injuring grass or inhibiting root development. That means less mowing and more time for other jobs. A spray application of "Embark" Plant Growth Regulator on actively growing turf lasts up to eight weeks. For hard-to-mow areasŠroughs, along fences, highway embankmentsŠEmbark" Plant Growth Regulator keeps most commonly-grown species* of grass on hold. Saves equipment and labor. Plus takes the pressure off a busy season. This year make "Embark" Plant Growth Regulator part of your turf management. It's the common sense way to cut mowing and 
trimming costs. Distribution of "Embark" Plant Growth Regulator for commercial turf is planned for many areas of the country this season. For a listing of "Embark" Plant Growth Regulator distributors in your area, write: Agrichemicals/3M 223-6SE, 3M Center St. Paul, MN 55101 Ph.D. in plant pathology from Ohio State University also teach several classes. Funk, 34, said course material ranges from undergraduate level work up to Ph.D. level coursework. "It spans the com-plete range of turfgrass studies, but it focuses on our industry," 
he said. "I've merely trimmed all the excess fat from a typical uni-versity course and provided our 
students with the basics." Rao added, "It's very different from a university education simply because you have to take many courses to get a college degree, but all those courses are condensed here to achieve one goal and that goal is to make our technicians better turf managers." Further, Rao said Davey is more interested in teaching technicians "practical 
information" than academic or theoretically-based material. One wonders if such a wealth of information can be retained by prospective technicians, many of whom have no previous turf background. Funk thinks it can be. "The teaching is directed in such a way that regardless of a Rathjen s student's background he can grasp it. In other words, it's not boring for students with Master's degrees in turf management and it's not over the heads of those 
with no turf background," he said. Rao agrees. "We have con-fidence that the type of people 
we recruit are quite capable of 
grasping the information." Ober, a graduate of Kent State University, said recruiting 
individuals with turf back-grounds is not a prerequisite for developing good technicians. "We assume that people taking 
the course have no knowledge of turf. Therefore, we haven't limited the type of people we can recruiit." Twenty students from the Akron, Philadelphia, and Pitts-
burgh offices participated in the 
seminar LAWN CARK IN-DUSTRY attended and a quick review of their backgrounds verifies Ober's observations. Educational backgrounds ranged from high school graduates to college graduates with degrees in psychology, business, and con-servation. Former students, teachers, John Reeves, sales coordinator for Davey Lawnscape, discusses the marketing and sales side of the business with the new recruits. Reeves, 31, had previously worked 
as a technician and sales repre-sentative for Davey before becoming their sales coordinator. factory workers, and salesmen all complete on the same level to grasp the basics of turf manage-ment. Ages of those participating 
is as varied as their educational backgrounds, ranging from 19 to 30 with the average 25. Funk said the purpose of the accelerated program is to pro-vide recruits with a "basic level of understanding" about turf management. "Technicians must have this base level of under-standing to present a profes-sional image to the client. The customer is going to view the en-tire company through the perfor-mance of its technicians," he said. "Obviously the customer could put their lawns in my 
hands and I could do a good job," Funk added, "but they don't see 
me. So I've got to get them to trust the people they come into con-tact with and that's the techni-cians." Keeping the students inter-ested for the entire 40-hour week 
is also a problem, but Funk's teaching background has been beneficial. "If you've been given 
a teacher's training there are a 
lot of things you can do to create 
enthusiasm," he said. "You have to mentally reach out and grab them," he said, "and if you do that then you can (o page 30 THE BEST LAWN CARE UNIT HAS TO BE STRONG STRONG ON SAVINGS... STRONG ON QUALITY... STRONG ON PERFORMANCE... THE STRONG PC1200/PC800 LAWN CARE UNITS Ł High quality fiberglass tank, available in 1200 or 800 gal. capacity. Ł Matching fiberglass engine and pump cover. Ł First unit of its kind that can be bolted to either truck frame or flatbed body. Ł Superfeatures...at an incredibly low initial cost factor. Ł Tank constructed of chemically resistant fiberglass resins, baffled to reduce liquid surge. Ł FMC John Bean pumps. Ł Units designed to pump liquids or non-soluble fertilizers. Ł Many options and components to choose from. Ł Custom fabrication available upon request. STRONG UNITS ARE STRONG UNITS! SPECIFY FROM ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S BIGGEST PRODUCERS OF HI-VOLUME CAPACITY LAWN CARE UNITS. SPECIFY STRONG! For complete specifications on the PC1200/PC800, or any other Strong unit circle the reader card, or please write or call: STRONG ENTERPRISES. INC. 4240 Southwest 72nd Ave., Miami, Florida 33155 Ł (305) 264-5525 MONEYWISE Lease or buy? Leasing is another way for lawn care busi-nessmen to provide the trucks that they need to run their business, according to Steve Mar-tin, lease manager for Paul Sherry Chevrolet, Piqua, Ohio. "Leasing is a practical alternative to buying," Martin told LAWN CARE IN-DUSTRY recently. "Essentially, it is acquiring the precise transportation needed for a pre-set fee and length of time, without any investment in ownership," which can be a problem for any lawn care business starting out or expanding. There are basically two types of leases, Martin said, open-end and closed-end. Each kind has its particular advantages depending on a company's situation. The open-end lease, for a comparable duration, generally offers the lowest monthly rate, with the customer assuming the risk for vehicle depreciation. Usually there is an adjust-
ment at lease end, in the form of either a credit to the customer or a surcharge, reflecting depreciation factors. In leasing, a security deposit is required at the beginning of the lease. The amount of the deposit will vary according to the value of the vehicle, but generally will be equal to at least one month's lease payment. For two or more vehicles, the conservation of cash can become quite appreciable when compared with most purchase agreements; therefore, 
switching from ownership to leasing often results in an imme-diate improvement in a cash flow, another problem that many lawn care businessmen have. Martin said other advantages to leasing are: Depreciation is pro-rated into the monthly lease payment, and in closed-end leases it is limited to the duration of the lease. This is un-like ownership, where the responsibility is total, and not sub-ject to any prediction or control. When leasing, a company also is not involved in the costly and time consuming efforts 
of shopping for vehicles and deals, negotiating trade-ins, or worrying about delivery. When a company leases, Martin said, lease experts take care of all of that. Finally, at lease end, the leasing company disposes of the vehicles for their customers in a businesslike and professional manner. "Today there are many companies, some very small, that choose to lease instead of buy and do so for very practical reasons," Martin said. "The leasing of trucks eliminates a company's investment in depreciating assets. Outright pur-chase or financing of vehicles, for example, can tie up capital funds that could be put to more profitable use elsewhere in the business. He said that lease payments are also handled as an opera-tional expense, in contrast to being treated as a fixed asset on company books. A lawn care company may find it more ad-vantageous to pay for its transportation costs out of current income, in predictable increments, rather than at irregular 
intervals and in varying amounts that affect budget control. He said that leasing can also make a favorable impact on the overall cost and efficiency of operating a lawn care fleet. Spaced lease renewals can provide brand new vehicles at op-timum intervals Š reducing downtime, lost time, and the growing expense of repair maintenance of high mileage vehi-cles. There are also definite convenience advantages to a com-pany when leasing. For example, there are no complicated depreciation schedules to set up or to justify. Lease billings provide simple and convenient documentation of transporta-tion expenses for tax and record-keeping purposes. Finally, 
transportation cost forecasting is more accurate. There is a good measure of predictability even with an open-end lease, or choose a closed-end lease to know exactly what those ex-penses will be over a stipulated period. Martin's company has experience in working with the lawn care industry. One of its larger lease clients is Easy Lawn, Inc., Dayton, Ohio. In conjunction with Consolidated Services, Piqua, manufacturers of lawn care beds, tanks, hose reels, etc., Paul Sherry Chevrolet has provided Easy Lawn with tailor-made lawn spraying rigs at a competitive price. At last year's Ohio Turfgrass Conference held in Columbus, Ohio, Martin distributed the following lease pay-ment table in the Consolidated Services booth for a fully-equipped 30 Series Cab and chassis: Ł First year Š $316.70 plus tax Ł Second year Š $294.13 plus tax Ł Third year Š $271.54 plus tax Ł Fourth year Š $248.96 plus tax 
Ł Fifth year Š $226.37 plus tax. For further information, contact Martin at Paul Sherry Chevrolet, 8620 N. 25-A, Piqua, Ohio 45356, 513-778-0830. i Ł i New Controlled-Release, Non-Burning Liquid Nitrogen for Lawn Applications. Ashland LIQUID FERTILIZER If you'd like to find a liquid nitrogen source that offers convenience in handling and blend-ing, as well as improved performanceoverdry products, the new SLO-RELEASE products from Ashland Chemical could be your answer. ^lo-ltele^e 25 is a clear liquid 26% organic nitrogen solution with excellent non-burning characteristics. 25 lets you: Apply any time during the growing season and be assured of non-burning, controlled-release feeding.* Expect complete nitrogen utilization during one growing season.* 25 blends easily with insecticides, herbicides, and P and K. There are more good reasons why you should test SLO-RELEASE 25 and our other SLO-RELEASE products this spring. *When applied at normally acceptable nitrogen rates. Yes, I'm interested in your SLO-RELEASE products. Ł Send Technical Literature. Ł Have your salesman call Name Title _ Company Address __ City Phone Number (_ .State. -) Š -Zip Just fill in the coupon and mail it to Chemical Systems Division, P.O. Box 2219, Columbus, OH 43216. Ashland Ashland Chemical Company DIVISION OF ASHLANO OIL. INC TRAINING from page 28 transmit a tremendous amount of knowledge in a very short time." Large scale training is generally only practical for es-tablished lawn care companies because of the obvious cost fac-tors, but Funk maintains that training is necessary if the lawn care industry is going to "build a professional reputation." Funk said although he has not come up with a specific figure for training Lawnscape person-nel, the cost of training Davey tree technicians is between $1,-600 and $2,000 per person. "If we would ever come up with a specific figure for training Lawnscape technicians we would probably scare the cor-porate managers half to death." Education is generally viewed positively, but one of the negative aspects of sophisticated training is the possible loss of quality employees once they gain 
a high level of lawn care exper-tise. "A general fear of com-
panies that spend significant amounts of money on training is that their employees will leave after they are trained and the company will essentially be training their competition," Funk said. "However, no company is going to develop unless they train their personnel. That is the chance they have to take." He added that employee attrition on the technician level has not been a problem at Davey. Art Ramirez, 24, investigates some of the turf specimens present in the training classroom. A number of visual aids are present throughout the classroom including photo-graphs, specimens, and a variety of textbooks. Ramirez will work out of Davey's Akron office. A recent survey in the November issue of LAWN CARE INDUSTRY stated that 77 per-cent of all lawn care companies surveyed utilize in-house train-ing programs. Half of the respon-dents said they send their em-ployees to state turf conferences and another 30 percent send them to seminars. Evidently, ex-ecutives at most lawn care com-panies agree with Funk that education is the key to growth in the industry. John Mosar, regional agrono-mist for ChemLawn Corp., Columbus, Ohio, said training is essential to keep employees informed of new developments in the ever-changing lawn care 
field. "The main reason we train our personnel is to impress upon our customers that our people are knowledgeable and there-fore can help them," he said. ChemLawn's training pro-gram, which started in 1975, is primarily agronomic in nature although corporate operations are also discussed. "What we try 
to do is review the things the homeowner needs to keep their lawn looking good," he said. "That involves discussing every-thing from A to Z." ChemLawn, the largest lawn care company in the United States, grossed about $65 million last year and has more than 90 
branches in 28 states and Canada. The company classifies its employees in three categories and its training is divided ac-
cordingly. "Our new people are 
classified in level one and they are supplied with basic lawn care information," Moser said. "Level two contains more com-
plex material and is designed for 
employees with two to eight years experience." Both levels 
one and two are primarily technician oriented. Level three is for ChemLawn's key branch management personnel and 
focuses on sales, management, Moser and additional technicial information. The company's corporate of-fice standardizes training for each of its 12 sales regions. "We stan-dardize our training because we want to achieve certain objec-tives in each of the three levels," 
Moser said. "You can go to any 
region throughout the comppany and hear basically the same information being taught." The formal training sessions for technicians takes four days. 
Class size varies throughout the regions from 15 to 75 students and each region has its own 
agronomist who is the primary instructor. Agronomists also receive assistance from 
ChemLawn's technical person-nel throughout the country. In addition to agronomic training students receive supple-
mentary in-branch and pesticide 
training. They are also supplied with a ChemLawn training manual along with a less 
technical agronomic workbook 
they keep with them while in the field. Secretaries are also required to participate in the training pro-gram. "We try to keep our secretaries abreast of new Control 15 major lawn pests with versatile SEVIN carbaryl insecticide. They nip, munch, burrow and bite. As sure as grass is green, lawn pests will try to make life miserable. You can minimize the misery STOP! ALL PESTICIDES CAN BE HARMFUL With SEVIN TO HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT r^rh^rwl IF MISUSED. READ THE LABEL CARE- UCU / 1 FULLY AND USE ONLY AS DIRECTED. ¡HSeCtlClde And protect lawns from as many as 15 different problem pests. Both the most common ones and the worst: ants, bluegrass billbugs, chiggers, chinch bugs, cutworms, ear-wigs, European chafer, fall armyworm, fleas, green June beetle, leafhoppers, millipedes, mosquitoes, sod webworms (lawn moths) and ticks. Broad registration only starts the list of SEVIN benefits. It's also compatible with many other commonly used insecticides, miticides, fungicides and foliar nutri-ents. And residents can resume usii the grounds or yard as soon as the spray 
dries. There's a choice of ng developments in the field because they have a lot of customer contact by phone," Moser said. "We think it's impor-tant for them to have a basic understanding of what we do in terms of lawn care." James Fothergill, fulfillment manager for Techniturf, Inc., South Berlin, Mass., said his 
company utilizes a variety of training techniques including 
turf conferences, in-house and on-the-job training, slides, and descriptive fact sheets. Techniturf was formed in 1956 and grosses about $600,000 per 
year. In past years employees have attended a number of shows including the New Jersey, Uni-versity of Massachusetts, and Penn State Turf conferences. However, the most widely used training technique at Techniturf has been on-the-job training. "When we hire a new employee we send him out with an experi-Fothergill enced operator and they work together for however long it 
takes to train him sufficiently," Fothergill said. "It may take two or three weeks or it may take half a season." Most of the training is done on-the-job because lectures and hook training are of limited value, according to Fothergill. "You can only learn so much out of a hook, but until you actually see something it isn't going to 
sink in." Fothergill added that Techniturf has encountered some difficulty recruiting quality personnel because the industry hasn't developed as quickly in 
Massachusetts as it has in the Midwest. "The industry hasn't caught on as much here and un-fortunately our schools are turning out golf course superin-
tendents rather than lawn ser-vice people." To help alleviate the prob-lems caused by a general lack of 
lawn care graduates in the New 
England area, Techniturf has gradually increased its level of training during the past three years. This year's training is going to he the most intensive yet, according to Fothergill. Like Techniturf, most of the training at Chem-Care Lawn Ser-vice of Alabama, Inc., is done on-the-job. Ronnie Zwiebel, 31, four formulations Š sprayable, wettable powder, flowables and SEVIMOl! 4, a liquid blend of SEVIN and molasses. Granules, dusts and baits are also available for certain specialized uses. Plus, SEVIN isn't harsh on the environment. It is bio-degradable; and when compared with other insecticides, it ranks low in toxi-city to people, animals, birds and fish. So it's probably no surprise to hear that SEVIN carbaryl is one of the largest selling insecticides in the United States today. For more information about SEVIN, contact your pesticide supplier or Union Carbide at the address below. Make SEVIN carbaryl insecticide your answer to pest control too. SEVIN CARBARYL INSECTICIDE IS THE ANSWER. SEVIN and SEVIMOL are registered trademarks of Union Carbide Corporation for carbaryl insecticide Union Carbide Corporation. Agricultural Products Division. 7825 Baymeadows Way. Jacksonville. FL 32216 president of Chem-Care, said, "Our company is not large enough to justify a structured 
classroom-type program. I 
wouldn't say we don't have a 
structured training program: we're just not spoon feeding the information to our employees." Chem-Care, which was formed in 1972 and currently ser-vices about 2,500 accounts in Alabama, provides new em-ployees with a training manual and 10 to 15 USDA and state pub-lications. Employees are tested on the information in the manual. Recruits also take part in field training as well as listen to guest lecturers. "Seminars is too formal a word to describe our training program," Zwiebel said. "We present our new employees with the information and then on a rainy or windy day we'll pull them off to the side and review it with them." "But as far as one of our men lecturing the new workers in a classroom: we don't do that," Zwiebel added. "Let's be realistic that is taking two men's 
time. They can study the 
information on their own and if they have any questions they can come to us." Regarding on-the-job train-ing, Zwiebel said new employees 
travel with an experienced j John Niccolls, 24, 4brushes up' on grub identification by studying one of several slide presentations. Nic-colls is a graduate of Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio. He graduated with a degree in Psychology. technician for a specified period of time before they are allowed to spray lawns on their own. "They observe the procedure and are allowed to operate the sprayer under the supervision of an experienced technician for several days. After about two weeks they are allowed to go out on their own," he said. Spring-Green Lawn Care Corp., Naperville, 111., also utilizes extensive on-the-job training for its recruits. William Fischer, president of the com-pany, said, "The new employee will go out with one of our qualified technicians and get a general feel for the operation. After the trained technician sprays several lawns he gives the spray gun to him and he is trained right on the job." New employees are also tested on information contained 'It wasn't a cakewalk' When Dr. Roger Funk, vice president of Research And Development for The Davey Tree Expert Co., invited me to take part in the annual lawnscape training program I was skeptical. After all, what could be so difficult about learning to spray lawns? 1 soon discovered that there is a great deal more to proper lawn care than simply spraying a lawn with a liquid fertilizer every four months. While driving through Kent,Ohio, home of the Davey Co., I noticed that the perennially heavy February snows had 
blanketed the entire community. From past experience I 
knew that there were a number of lawns underneath the snow and it was just a matter of time before they reappeared. Yet, while emersed in another rugged Ohio winter I had dif-ficulty focusing my thoughts on the task ahead. However, within 10 minutes of entering the classroom, the Davey Co. ensured that I, along with the 20 other students, would have little difficulty concentrating on the subject at hand. Students were seated in a traditional classroom setting in front of a central table. Each student was provided with a 177-page tome entitled the "Davey Lawnscape Training Manual," the Bible of the training program. Time is money, and keeping a lawn service profitable means keeping a close watch on time costs. That's why Nitroform® slow-release nitrogen is the choice of so many lawn service operators nationwide. While Nitroform is stretching out lawn feeding, it's also saving you time and trouble on every job. It's odorless, nonburning, 
nonleaching, and easy to use. Any member 
of your crew can apply it with 
good results. Older Nitroform 38% N today. Choose either Blue Chip® granules for dry application or sprayable Powder BlueŽ for liquid systems. Both are compatible with many other materials used in your lawn care program, including most pesticides. For Quality Nitrogen Ł Ł Ł Š -HERCULES INCORPORATED Agricultural Chemicals, Wilmington, Delaware 19899 Phone (302) 575-5000 ® Registered Trademark of Hercules Incorporated,T" Trademark of Hercules Incorporated. STI in the training manual. Fischer said the training takes about one week and it has been very suc-cessful. Fred Diegtel, vice president of operations for Lawn Doctor, Inc., Matawan, N.J., said his com-pany conducts about 20 training sessions per year. Ten four-day sessions are designed for techni-cians, five two-day classes are 
held for sales managers, and five four-day sessions are used to train foremen. Technician's training focuses on turf management, equipment, 
and customer handling, along with hands-on field training. 
Class size varies from eight to 30 students, depending on the time of year, and one staff agronomist travels throughout the various sales regions conducting the 
classes. Training sessions run from February through October. Lawn Doctor has about 200 franchise outlets and employs 1,-200 persons. Gross sales for 1978 were estimated by the company at more than $12 million on ser-
vice to about 90,000 customers. * Leisure Lawn Inc., Dayton, Ohio has, "without question, the finest training program in the country," according to Doug Baker, vice-president and general manager of the company. Leisure Lawn, which grossed more than $1 million in 1978, pro-vides a two-week training pro-gram for its new employees. The first week involves technical training on the local level while 
the second week features presentations by distinguished guest lecturers at the home office. During the first week stu-dents are pre-tested so the com-pany can determine each recruit's existing knowledge regarding turf. Virtually all topics relating to turf manage-
ment are also discussed including weed and insect con-trol, cultural practices, fertil-izers, and customer communica-tions. On the final day students view a slide presentation, dis-cuss paperwork procedures, have a general review, and take a final exam. "The pre-test and final test identifies the amount of knowl-edge gained and identifies prob-BUSINESS REPLY MAIL First Class Permit No. 2675 Cleveland, O. Postage will be paid by addressee LilWN ORE INDUSTRY Attn: Circulation Department 9800 Detroit Ave. Cleveland, Ohio 44102 WWN OIRE INDUSTRY The news monthly serving chemical lawn care and maintenance professionals. Please enter my introductory subscription to LAWN CARE INDUSTRY for just $10 (12 monthly issues). I understand that if LAWN CARE INDUSTRY doesn't meet my expectations I can cancel and receive prompt refund. Ł Bill company Ł Bill me Ł Payment enclosed Name Firm Business Address 
City Title-State. -Zip. Signature Type of Business (check one) Ł Chemical lawn care & mow-ing/maintenance services Ł Chemical lawn care only Date-Ł Lawn mowing and other mainte-nance services Ł Other (specify) My initial impression of the training program as some-thing moderately more challenging than a high school gym class was further dispatched when Funk passed out the class schedule. It called for a grueling 40 hours of coursework within a five day period. I now viewed the program not as a "cakewalk", but as an intellecutal boot camp for lawn care technicians. And I desperately hoped that I would not be dishonorably discharged. Fortunately for myself and the other students in the pro-gram Funk is an experienced instructor who possesses a uni-que gift. He is a teacher in the finest sense of the word who 
has the ability to take the most complicated material and ef-fectively transmit that information to the layman. "The mis-take many universities and companies make is they promote 
their best instructors out of what they are good at, "Funk told LAWN CARE INDSTURY,"but fortunately I've been able to get promoted and retain my teaching responsibilities." The other instructors who participated in the program were also highly qualified, competent instructors, but they lacked the 
overall classroom presence of Funk. The quality of the program was also enhanced by the fact that all instructors were readily accessible throughout the week. Further, a wide variety of teaching aids were available at the training facility including turf specimens, lawn care reference materials, an autotutorial identification board, and educational slide shows. During the first day of coursework students appeared ap-prehensive and associated almost exclusively with trainees from their home offices. However, as the week progressed students began to mix freely and trade information, thus developing an excellent atmosphere for productive learning. As the day of the final exam approached both I and the other students began to become more apprehensive. There really was no reason for me to be nervous because it didn't matter if I passed or failed the exam. Everyone receives a diploma regardless of their scores). However, there was more pressure on the Davey trainees because a permanent record of their scores are kept at the Kent office and promotions are partially determined by these scores. It took approximately one hour to complete the exam which contained more than 80 questions. The average test 
score was 82 percent with a high of 97 percent. Joe Mikutel, 27 was the class valedictorian and he received a com-memorative plastic wagon from Funk during lighthearted banquet ceremonies after the exam. Fortunately for the reputation of both myself and LAWN CARE INDUSTRY I passed the exam, but more importantly I participated in one of the most intensive learning experi-ences I have ever encountered and enjoyed every minute of if. Well, almost every minute. Š Dan Moreland. r* > ? Z n > x m Z a c CD H X > 
X X lem areas," Baker said. "If they have a problem area they go back into session until they learn it." An important part of the in-itial week's training also involves role playing. Recruits are subjec-ted to hypothetical situations whereby they must interact with a customer and satisfactorily deal with a typical lawn care problem. Baker said this educa-tional tool helps prospective technicians better cope with clients once they enter the real market. "We want them (technicians) to gain confidence in themselves while they are here so they can better communicate with the customer in the field," he said. "We really put the heat on them here because we would rather have them make mistakes now than when they are out on the lawns." During the second week of training recruits listen to guest lectures by some of the leading figures in the lawn care field. Speakers for this year's program included Dr. Harry D. Niemczyk, a professor at the Ohio Agricul-tural Research and Develop-
ment Center, Wooster, Ohio, Dr. David P. Martin, an extension agronomist at Ohio State Univer-The LawnFeeder® by Finn, sprays granular and liquid lawn PQI^P Y\ 1* /] fi The breakthrough of the Finn LawnFeeder provides you, the lawn ^^ tf VUUVItJi maintenance contractor, with a unique ability to spray dry granular lawn care products in slurry form along with other liquid products in one economical operation. Slow release,water insoluble, granular fertilizers can now be incorporated into your program without multiple applications to the turf. The LawnFeeder, uniquely engineered, incorporates mechanical paddle and slurry recirculating agitation and pumps the material through it's centrifugal pump. John Linkhart, vice-president of Perf-A-Lawn Corp., New Carlisle, Ohio, says, "Training is important because the technician has to have a general knowledge of what he is aoine or he is going to cause a lot of headaches." 2525 DUCK CREEK RD Ł CINCINNATI, OHIO 45208 TOLL FREE 800-543-7166 Ł OHIO COLLECT 513-871-2529 Ł Pinpoint Spray Control Ł Granular Products Applied in Slurry Form Ł Simple One-Man Operation Ł Mechanical Agitation Ł Centrifugal Pump Ł All Steel Construction Ł Hydraulicly Powered Drive Ł Up to 300 Foot Hose 0¿ CL < > OC É-zn D Q Z u oc < u Z < j David Finney, 25, uses the auto-tutorial identification board to match descriptions of turf diseases with disease names. A red light goes on when he makes a correct match. sity, Columbus, Ohio, and Dr. William H. Daniel, a professor at Purdue University, West Lafay-ette, Ind. Regarding recruitment, Baker said, "We try to get people with no turf background because turf people are lazy. Is all they want 
to do is ride around in golf cars all day. We have had most of our success with just good hard-working people." Perf-A-Lawn Corp., New Carlisle, Ohio, also utilizes university educators to train its personnel. John Linkhart, com-pany vice-president, said, "We have a one week technical pro-gram with people like Dr. Phil Larsen and Dr. David Martin from Ohio State University and a second week of training dealing with internal company oper-
ations." Larsen is with the OSU Department of Plant Pathology and Martin is an extension agronomist. One and two day training sessions are also con-ducted at various branches throughout the year. "Training is important be-EDUCATION Kodak audioviewer a helpful training aid Most companies contacted by LAWN CARE INDUSTRY utilized a lecture-oriented train-
ing program, but Jim Duncan, vice-president and general manager of A-Perm-O-Green Lawn, Inc., Austin, Texas, thinks 
he has found an alternative to the traditional structured classroom format. Duncan, 30, utilizes the Kodak Ektagraphic 450 sound/slide audioviewer, in conjunction with booklets covering various aspects of turf management, to train all of his employees. The compact viewer can be used to train both individuals and small to page 35 grOUpS. John F. Doss, president of the Tidewater Turfgrass Association, presented a $500 check to Dr. Richard E. Schmidt, associate professor of agronomy at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, at the recent Virginia Turfgrass Conference. The money will be used for development of the turf-grass program at Southern Piedmont Research and Continuing Education Cen-ter in RIackstone, Va. Jim Duncan, Vice-president and gen-eral manager of A-Perm-O-Green Lawn Inc., Austin, Texas, has found an alternative to the traditional 
classroom training session. Duncan, 
30, utilizes a sound/slide audio-viewer to tarin his personnel. "Students view various slide presentations dealing with different aspects of lawn care (i.e. diseases, insects) and then read booklets covering the"saml subjects, but in more detail," Duncan said. "They are then given a set of exams and they must score an 80 or above on the tests to work for our company. If they don't learn the material 
then they don't work for us." Technical Q^Intructional Books Gtcryt M Tree Identification by George W. D. Symonds A pictorial key to trees with more than 1,500 illustrations. With this book you can identify trees by looking at leaves, buds, 
branching, fruit and bark. HardbookŠ$17.00 PaperbackŠ$8.00 \ Home Landscape by Garrett Eckbo Provides designs examples, and current innovations and refinements to older traditional designs. Covers all aspects of residentail landscape design. $13.00 Shrub Identification by George W. D. Symonds Same as The Tree ^^^ Identification Book on shrubs. Contains more than _ A 3,500 illustrations from which to make Ł identification. HardbackŠ$17.00 PaperbackŠ$8.00 Ornamental Conifers by Charles R. Harrison More than 550 photos with plant descriptions and complete notes on their cultivation in both hemispheres. $18.00 i WYMAN'S X GARDENING ENCYCLOPEDIA ¿wtic plant Manual Gardening Encyclopedia by Donald Wyman This revised, updated edition includes information on gardening practices, plants, methods of cultivation, fertilizers, and pesticides. 1,200 plus pages with 10,000 articles, 200 drawings, 170 photos. $20.00 Exotic Plant I Management * by Alfred Byrd Graf ^ A pictorial reference for Í * plant identification of the best in cultivated tropicalia. Plants are grouped into growing locations and uses. $37.50 Please send the following books. I have enclosed a check or authorized a charge for the total amount. Mail to: Book Dept. 
Harvest Business Publications 9800 Dertoit Ave. Cleveland, OH 44102 Address City, State, Zip Code Master Charge or Visa (Circle one) Acct. No. Signature Title Quantity Price Total Price Add $1.25 per hook for handling and T, 1 otal Ertelo* The Kodak system incor-porates a two-track monaural cassette player with one track containing the audio program and the second track carrying synchronized cue pauses to ad-vance or stop the slides. Kodak offers four different slide viewer models featuring 
slide tray loading and a 9x9-inch viewing screen. The top-of-the-line 450 model has playback and record capabilities as well as programmed pause and the 
ability to record both slide ad-vance pulses and programmed pause pulses. Cost of the 450 viewer is about $480. Duncan said students more readily retain information 
presented to them in slide 
presentation form because it is comparable to watching tele-vision. "People don't pay atten-tion to lectures because it's too 
much like being in school," he said, "but in today's society we're used to watching tele-
vision. Therefore, students are more comfortable watching slide shows." He added that visual training is needed in the lawn care in-dustry because technicians are 
expected to readily recognize lawn problems in the field. "I can sit here all day long and talk about grubs, but until he (the technician) sees it and the type of damage it can cause, he's not going to understand it." A-Perm-O-Green's audio visual program was developed in 1977 at a cost of about $10,000. The company was formed in 1973 "ancT has 17 IfWWIIIHUk lUMGIIlll in operation. Duncan said each dealer is provided with the audio visual package when they pur-chase a franchise because "a 
system isn't any good unless everyone can take advantage of it." Other training methods used during A-Perm-O-Green's three-
day training program include 
classroom courses, supplemental reading, question and answer sessions with agronomists, and hands-on training in the field. "If you train your employees well you can hire a guy who 
doesn't have a degree," Duncan said. Kodak Ektagraphic 450 Audioviewer cause the technician has to have a general knowledge of what he is doing or he is going to cause a lot of headaches," Linkhart added. "The worst thing in the world for a lawn care company to do is give had advice to a customer and we're trying to 
establish ourselves as the ones who only give good advice." Perf-A-Lawn, which cur-rently has 16 franchises and grossed more than $3 million in 1978, initiated its structured training program in 1976. Previ-ously they conducted only limited training, "but when you've got more than 100 em-ployees you've got to make sure everyone is trained," Linkhart said. He added that one of the more difficult training problems 
is making the material readily understandable for recruits, many of which have no turf hack-ground. "The material gets pretty complicated sometimes and you Ł¡^ŁŁŁŁŁŁŁŁ^ŁIH^HI LIQUID/DRY From pages Ł Repeated, frequent applications are necessary to provide ample nutrient supply. Generally, applications every one to two weeks are required. Ł Since the leaf tissues are the absorption sites, nutrient up-take will be adversely affected by anything which reduces leaf area or physiological health of 
the leaves. Close-cut turfs and 
turf exhibiting nutrient deficien-cies are less effective nutrient 
absorbers than high-cut, healthy grasses. In many situations, a spreader or sticker aids in good coverage of the leaf. Ł Once on the leaves, nutrients enter the plant through stomata and to some extent through the cuticle. For max-imum uptake, the leaf environ-ment must be moist and the stomata open. Hot temperatures 
and low humidity can decrease uptake by inducing stomatal closure and drying out the leaf surfaces before uptake can oc-cur. Such conditions also promote volatilization losses of 
nutrients. Ł Nutrients are not absorbed at the same rate by leaf tissues. For example, nitrogen is ab-sorbed much more rapidly than phosphorus, which can result in nutrient imbalances. Powdered formulation. In re-cent years ureaformaldehyde has been available in a powdered formulation which 
can be applied through a spray system. Many lawn care com-panies have had success with this material since it has low foliar burn, does not leach, and has a longer residual than water-
soluble carriers (whether applied as a granular or liquid 
materials). Dr. Carrow said that very lit-tle research has been conducted on powdered ureaformal-
dehyde, however, much research 
has been conducted on granular 
ureaformaldehyde. Since the 
powdered ureaformaldehyde has a much greater surface area, it would not be expected to have as long a soil residual as granular 
ureaformaldehyde. Thus, turf response to the granular and powdered formulations may not be identical, he said. Art Ramirez admires the Lawn Sciences diploma presented to every technician who takes part in the week-long training session. have to bring it down to a layman's level," Linkhart said. "Fortunately, our instructors are very good at simplifying the material." Surprisingly, students at the Davey Lawnscape training pro-gram had little difficulty under-standing the wealth of material presented to them during class sessions. Alberto Ramos, 26, said, "It's not really that difficult. It's just a lot of information at one time. If you had it over an entire semester it would be easier, but it really isn't overly difficult." Dan Yoho, 27, added, "I haven't had any forced learning since I was in high school in 1969 so I think it's a little more diffi-cult for me than it is for the other guys, but I'm still really enjoying the program." The overwhelming reaction of those contacted by LAWN CARE INDUSTRY regarding training is that most programs are bene-ficial and will continue to Dr. Balakrishna Rao, plant patholo-gist at the Davey Horticultural Insti-tute. develop as the industry becomes more sophisticated. It's simply a matter of survival. "It's a competitive field and we're (Davey) trying to get our tech-nicians to do a better job than another company's technicians," Rao said. "And we can only get them to do a better job through education." Circle 107 on free information card BUNTON LAWN-TURF EQUIPMENT NEW FOR1979! 71" AND 61" FRONT-CENTER MOWERS...19.6 H.R TRACTOR... optional rotary brush and snow plow. We've eliminated the side discharge to allow close trimming with either side. Clippings are mulched and dropped evenly beneath the mower. Other features include unusual maneuverability, a zero turning radius, and excel-lent visibility for the operator. The mower attachment, mounted front-center, is raised by a hydraulic lift for climbing curbs and transporting. Ruggedly built for low downtime and long life. Call or write for specifications and name of your closest dealer. Bunton Co. RO. Box 33247 Ł Louisville, KY 40232 U.S.A. 502/459-3810 Ł Telex 204-340 1979 GSA Contract No GS-07S-03640 are your lawns up to r. ' Ł v. i Ł i- i .i . Circle 109 on free information card If the answer is ; no.. .do what soo^V*; ; > : many golf course Ut superintendents have done for the ;^ past 30 years, . look to W.A. I Cleary Chemical » for a full line of fine turf chemicals and specialty products. For further information and brochure contact: ~V (MEDICAL CORPORATION P.O. Box 10 Somerset, NJ. 08873 (201)247-8000 Circle 108 on free information card OC a. < >« oc H co D D Z w oc < u Z < PRODUCTS Commercial/industriai irrigation controller The wide range of programs and other functions that can be handled by a series of com-puterized controllers for com-mercial and industrial turf/land-scaping irrigation applications is highlighted in a new data sheet issued by Johns-Mansville. Ac-curate station timing and a selection of programs or sched-ules to suit particular watering needs are a few of the assorted timing, scheduling and reliability features made possible by the controller's use of solid-state mi-croprocessor technology. The 
data sheet (IR-181) is free. Circle 202 on free information card COST CUTTINGS Computers beneficial for 1,000 accounts In the spring of 1977, Tom Brune, owner of Atwood Lawn Spray, Sterling Heights, Mich., 
suddenly found his company paying very high prices for fertilizer, due in part to the interna-tional petroleum crisis. At the time, he had about 800 accounts, and with that many customers to serve, he was rapidly outgrowing his accounting system, routing methods and general office procedures. "It was clear that in view of the profit squeeze and the continued growth in business, we had not only to operate more efficiently, but we also had to get organized," he told LAWN CARE INDUSTRY recently. "At the same time, we had received notice of federal and state regulations on restricted use products," he said. "While it was not definitely known which products were to be placed 
on the restricted list, it was perfectly clear that an accurate record-keeping system would be required. I dreaded the thought that our spray men would have to do any more paperwork on the job." From the point of view of profits, it was plain to Brune that his company could not increase customer prices in direct pro-portion to increased product costs. Not with labor and other 
costs going up as well. The pressure was on to operate more efficiently to reduce the cost of getting the work done. "The idea of a computer seemed to be a good possibility here," he said. "From the point of getting organized, we knew that our of-fice procedures needed an overhauling," he said. "We weren't exactly working out of a shoebox on a truck, but we 
did feel that new systems should be initiated that would ab-sorb growth more easily. Conceivably, systems could be 
devised that would allow our business to grow considerably 
with no problems." Brune decided that when he looked at his operation, that the money was made when the lawns were sprayed, when a customer was billed. The more time a driver actually spent 
spraying, the more efficient his operation might be. The prob-lem was, Brune said, that the driver had too much paperwork 
to do. He had a route book to work in, and he had an invoice to write up. And what about the prospect of having to calculate the amount of product put down on the job? Some of the items were repetitious and took time over and above the spraying. "The pay-off was that when the office copy of the invoice came in, who could read it?" Brune said. "This was an ex-tremely aggravating item, poor penmanship. But if the man is in a hurry, what else can you expect?" Another problem that Brune had to face all along was the overdue account. Naturally, he was unwilling to spray a job if the previous job had not been paid for. But often the driver had no way of knowing which accounts were current and 
which ones were overdue. "I came up with the idea that somehow a system could be devised where each customer had a computer card that we could stack in the order that his job should be done in the route," he said. "When it came time to do a route, all we would have to do was run these cards through a machine and it would print invoices in the order that we wanted them Š not alphabetically. Pre-printing would save considerable time on the job." Brune had a long meeting with a representative from Burroughs Corp., a computer manufacturer based in Detroit. He then purchased a used Burroughs L-5 computer. From the beginning, it was felt that the installation of a computer would delay, for a time, the need to hire another girl in the office. When he began using the machine, he had one office girl and 1,200 accounts. He now services 3,000 ac-counts with the same girl. Perennial ryegrass brochure is available A four-color brochure detailing the development, adap-tability, seeding rates, fertiliza-tion requirements and other per-
tinent information on Derby turf-type perennial ryegrass is now available from International 
Seeds, Inc., according to pro-oduct manager Harry Stalford. 
The brochure also contains re-cent test data comparing Derby's performance against other well-known turf-type ryegrasses both 
in permanent turf and as a win-ter grass in the South. Circle 201 on free information card Suspension aid for liquid formulations Attaflow FL is a free-flowing liquid thickening and suspending aid designed for liquid flowable formulations. It is also useful in preparing flowable pesticides 
and fungicides. Detailed information on the product is 
available from Engelhard Min-
erals and Chemicals Corporation. Circle 205 on free information card Brune's program starts with a ledger card for each customer. In order to combine a routing system with accounts receivable, he does not file the ledger cards alphabetically, but rather according to route areas and in the sequence the driver should do each job. Having the ledger card as the master in his routing system enables Brune to pre-print the invoices for the driver, in the order that he is to do the jobs. All the driver has to do is fill in his initials and mark the mode of payment and time of day. 
When the driver is ready to start in the morning, he is simply handed a stack of pre-printed invoices. The invoices have all the pertinent information transferred to them from the office 
master ledger cards. This includes street directions to the job. "Let's assume then," Brune said, "that a driver has gone out with his pre-printed invoices for the day. He does the job and returns to the office. Next morning, the secretary goes to the machine, credits the accounts that were paid at the time of the application. She also removes a little metal tab from the top edge of the ledger card. That little tab is our signal that a customer owes us money. When removed, we know the customer is paid in full, up-to-date." Brune allows only 10 days for payment of all accounts. His master route board tells him when any given route is 10 days old. At 15 days, he does a summary of the route to see how many customers are overdue and what they owe. As the sum-mary is printed, by simply running the ledger cards that still have signal tabs on them, the machine is also printing a four-part overdue notice to each individual. The customer is then sent the top copy of the four-part notice. The other copies of the notice are set aside. Additional and stronger reminders will be mailed at 30-day intervals if needed. Brune said that 50 percent of the overdues respond immediately to the first notice. That usually leaves about five to 10 percent of the customers in a route to deal with on sub-sequent notices. The additional notices are already printed. though, and have only to be dropped in the mail, if they are needed at all. "Since going to this system through the computer, we have reduced our deadbeat accounts considerably," Brune said. 
"The amount we have to write off annually does not exceed one-tenth of one percent of gross sales, and I can live with that. And we are able to collect this amount strictly with in-house procedures. The secret, we feel, is prompt attention to the overdue account itself. Don't let it get stale. With the com-puter, we can do an account summary of say, 100 accounts, in a matter of minutes." On a daily basis, Brune's computer time is divided three ways: Ł Printing of invoices for the next day. Ł Posting of payments brought in by the drivers, as well as mailed-in payments. This might mean a hundred or so items to be posted. Ł There may be a group of account summaries to do along with the overdue notices to print. These latter two items are printed simultaneously. Account summmaries are not done daily, more likely they would be done once or twice a week. What else does Brune accomplish with the help of the computer? On an annual basis, he uses the machine to print two labels for each customer. These labels are used to mail 
out a three-fold renewal notice. One label goes on the outside of the mailer; the other goes on the return portion so that he has the identification he needs to process the account in the 
office. "It used to take us several weeks to get our renewal mailings into the mail," he said. "We can do it now in a cou-ple of days." He said that there are many other functions a lawn care businessman could run through the computer. Payroll might 
he considered. So might the general ledger and accounts payable. A company could include inventory control. Brune does not include these in his system as of yet, but might when 
his business becomes larger. The initial cost of the Burroughs L-5 was $10,000. Also, it costs about $1,300 per year for the service contract. Invoices run about $42 per 1,000 self-carboned. LAWN CARE INDUSTRY READER SERVICE CARDŠ APRIL 1979.(exPirea moo days) UM this prepaid reader service card to get additional Information on producta or services mentioned in this issue (Card must be completed before processing) NAME TITLE BUSINESS ADORES» STATE If you would like a subscription to LAWN CARE INDUSTRY circle number 101. Subscription cost Is $10.00 per year. To help ua better service you editorially, please answer the following: Are you primarily involved In. Ł Chemical lawn care and maintenance services Ł Chemical application only Ł Mowing and other malntananca services Ł Other (specify) 4. Title: Ł President Ł Owner 
Ł Manager Ł Technician Ł Other (specify) . Ł Liquid Ł Qranular 
Ł Both 2. Is your buslneM Ł Headquarters Ł Branch office 3. la your business: Ł Independent Ł Chain Ł Franchise Ł Other (specify) . 5. Number of accounts: Ł Lass than 500 
Ł 500-1,000 
Ł 1,001-5,000 Ł 5,001-10,000 
Ł 10,001-25,000 
Ł 25,000 or mora 6. Estimated annual sale« volume: Ł Less than $50.000 Ł $50.001-100,000 Ł $100,001-250,000 Ł $250,001-500,000 
Ł $500,001-1,000,000 Ł $1.000,000 or mora Ł PieaM Mnd product Information only on Items circled Ł Please have a aalaaman call ma about items circled. Beat time to call ma It -SIGNATURE -.DATE-CIRCLE THE ITEM 101 102 103 121 122 123 141 142 143 lei 162 163 181 162 183 201 202 203 221 222 223 241 242 243 
261 262 263 NUMBERS 104 106 
124 125 144 145 
164 165 
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224 225 
244 245 
264 265 FOR FREE 106 107 126 127 
146 147 166 167 
166 187 206 207 
226 227 246 247 266 267 DETAILS ON 106 100 
128 129 
146 140 
166 160 186 180 206 200 
228 229 
248 249 
268 269 PRODUCTS 110 111 130 131 160 161 
170 171 190 101 210 211 
230 231 
250 251 
270 271 AND SERVICES 112 113 114 132 133 134 
152 153 154 172 173 174 
102 103 104 212 213 214 
232 233 234 
252 253 254 
272 273 274 115 116 117 135 136 137 
155 156 157 
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255 256 257 275 276 277 116 110 136 130 140 158 150 160 178 170 106 109 218 210 220 
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276 279 280 120 180 200 NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS PERMIT NO. 2675 CLEVELAND. OHIO POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE Attention: Circulation Dept. LAWN CARE INDUSTRY 9800 Detroit Ave. Cleveland, Ohio 44102 NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS PERMIT NO. 665 DULUTH, MINN POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE LAWN CARE INDUSTRY P.O. BOX 6136 DULUTH, MINNESOTA 55806 SUBSCRIPTION GROUP SUBSCRIPTION RATE: 5 or more copies Š $7.00 per subscription. Include all names and addresses on company letterhead. Ł PAYMENT ENCLOSED Ł BILL ME Make check or money order payable to LAWN CARE INDUSTRY. 1 Year Š $10.00 2 Years Š $18.00 3 Years Š $23.00 BUSINESS ADDRESS STATE ZIP 1. Are you primarily involved In: Chemical lawn care and maintenance services Ł Chemical application only Ł Mowing and other maintenance services Ł Other (specify) Application Ł Liquid Ł Granular Ł Both 2. Is your business location: Ł Headquarters Ł Branch office 3. Is your business. Ł Independent 
Ł Chain 
Ł Franchise Ł Other (specify) . 4. Title: Ł President Ł Owner Ł Manager Ł Technician Ł Other (specify) . 5. Number of accounts: Ł Less than 500 Ł 500-1,000 Ł 1,001-5.000 Ł 5.001-10.000 Ł 10.001-25.000 Ł 25,000 or more 6. Estimated annual sales volume: Ł Less than $50,000 
Ł $50,001-100,000 Ł $100,001-250.000 Ł $250,001-500.000 
Ł $500,001-1.000.000 Ł $1,000,000 or more Signature . 72-inch mower features liquid-cooled engine A new model featuring a liquid-cooled industrial engine has been added to the Hustler line of commercial mowers for the lawn care businessman built by Excel Industries, Inc. Model 295 retains all the maneuvering agility that has characterized that firm's mowers since their in-troduction 14 years ago. The sig-nificant difference between the new model 295 and the acre-
proven 285 is its engine. Unlike 
automotive-type engines com-
monly installed on mowers, this two-cylinder, long-stroke Con-tinental engine develops high 
torque at lower revolutions per minute, which adds to engine life 
and delivers superior perfor-
mance. Dual hydrostats move each drive wheel independently, with twin hand levers that con-trol both the soeed and direction of movement, including the start and stop as well as reverse. The big 72-inch mower can perform intricate turns with ease, the company said. Circle 209 on free information card Smooth-cutting utility mower The Agricultural Machinery Division of FMC Corp. has in-troduced the Sidewinder SC-60, a smooth-cutting utility mower, as the newest addition to its line of rear-mounted rotary cutters. The unit was designed for the lawn care businessman who maintains large lawn acreages. The unit is equipped with three updraft blades with an inch-and-
a-half overlap that allow for 
even, controlled cut and a handsome lawn finish. Circle 206 on free information card Drift control sprayer Tests by Kleco, Inc. show that lawn care businessmen can save up to 50 percent in pesticide costs 
because there is no waste due to blow-off under high wind con-ditions, with its sprayer. Photos 
in the company's literature show 
results eight days after a herbi-
cide was applied in 14-mile-per-hour winds. A clearly defined path is evident where the sprayer passed and there is no evidence of chemical drift. The unit is available in six- and eight-foot center sections. Pairs of fold-
up extension wings are avail-
able in four-, six-, and eight-foot widths to extend coverage in various combinations up to 24 feet. Sprayer comes with a three-point hitch. Unit may be pulled 
by conventional tractors. Five colors are available to match equipment of major manufacturers. Circle 207 on free information card Utility trailer hauls up to 72-inch mower and larger vehicles For the landscape mainte-nance businessman handling commercial/industrial accounts, Snowco division of Beatrice 
Foods Co. has revamped its line of utility trailer with loading ramps to make them more adap-table to a wider variety of uses. The line now includes a new tan-dem axle model with a capacity of 2,100 pounds. Deck di-mensions are 54 inches by 199 inches. A redesigned single axle 
model with a capacity of 2,100 
pounds has deck dimensions of 72 inches by 130 inches and will haul a 72-inch rotary mower. A smaller single axle trailer has a capacity of 1,150 pounds with 
deck dimensions of 48 inches by 96 inches. All have perforated steel decks. Circle 208 on free information card Chemical induction system The new "Captain Crunch" chemical industion system from 
Captain Industries eliminates the risk of handling chemicals for the lawn care businessman. 
Stationary models and mobile units for use on spray trucks are 
available. A hydraulic cylinder pushes five-gallon pesticide con-tainers onto stainless steel knives. The knife section cuts the bottom of the container, allowing con-tents to fall into a stainless steel holding tank. The operator then pulls a lever to pressure-rinse 
the container. The hydraulic cylinder then crushes the con-tainer to one-fifth its original size. The finished product is clean and compacted, and it can 
be recycled instead of discarded. Detailed information is available. Circle 204 on free information card ŁJ/'pui-Jyste/n has a new baby brother Ciqui-Matic, the new concept. It performs like the biggest tank truck, but its GVW is 10000 pounds. Lawn treatment load is 250,000 square feet. Tree feeding load is 1000 caliper inches. JCiqui-SyStait'S patented metering gong signals each gallons unit pumped. Power washes. Injects 2 optional pumped streams. All fiberglass whips corrosion. Furnished complete with truck, hose, tools, $16900.00. Call (512) 575-5882. A few available for Spring delivery. HILL'S LIQUI-SYSTEM P.O. Box 1043, Victoria, Texas 77901 Circle 134 on free information card on the lawn care service industry by Lawn Care Industry research department. Profiles types of businesses comprised in the market universe; types of customer services performed; equipment inventories; buying habits and more. $2.50 per copy. Please send me Name Address City reports at $2.50 per copy. State _ Zip WWN QIRE INDUSTRY 9800 Detroit Ave . Cleveland. Ohio 44102 Attn: Fran Franzak MFG. INC. Tuflex Manufacturing Co. specialists in pest control fiberglass spray tanks Economical prices with high quality handcrafted workmanship Many other tank sizes available from stock CONTROL PESTS... WEED... FERTILIZE M PC 100 UNIT INTRODUCES THE NEW MODEL PC 200 Cap. 208 gal. 64" Long, 31 3/8" W.dt and 27" Deep Da signad for installation forward of tha wheel walls in a standard size pick up truck and m eating EPA standards. 800 Elltr Orive. Pon Everglades. Fon Lauderdale. Florida llJiiiUJBL lJ< * . í THE LARGEST FIBERGLASS PEST CONTROL SPRAY TANK MANUFACTURER IN THE SOUTHEAST THE Tuflex Manufacturing process allows a five year warranty on all tanks. Write todayto TUFLEX MFG. CO., Box 13143. Port Everglades. Florida 33316 305 525-8BI5 38 DC a < > DC r-C/3 D Q Z u a: < U z £ < BEHIND THIS ISSUE Around the office, we call him Smiling Dan, but this month assistant editor Dan Morelanci has some extra things to smile about. He wrote two major features for this month's issue of LAWN CARE INDUSTRY. First he inter-viewed a number of lawn care businessmen in the Bay area of California, San Francisco, Oakland and Santa Clara County to the south. See his MARKET-
PLACE, beginning on page 22. Second, he wrote Lawn Care Training: How the Majors Do It, beginning on page 19. He inter-viewed the people who run the training programs for some of the more progressive lawn care com-panies in the country, and even spent a week going through the Davey Lawnscape training program in Kent, Ohio. We'll get to the main reason he's smiling after we tell you a bit about some of the other features in this month's LAWN CARE INDUSTRY. Next time you are asked to give a speech at a garden club or local Kiwanis meeting, take along a copy of Dr. Robert Schery's Lawns: A Concept Proven, beginning on page 9, as background for your talk. He's the director of The Lawn Institute in 
Marvsville, Ohio. Government regulation. It's in the news for lawn care businessmen in Maryland and Indiana this month, both stories beginning on page 1. In Indiana, lawn care businessmen are now re-quired to comply with that state's Fertilizer Law of 1954, and many of them feel it is going to add substantially to their paperwork, perhaps even forcing some of the smaller companies out of 
business. In Maryland, the state Home Improvement Commission at present requires any lawn care businessmen who applies seed to be licensed by that body, and be subject to fines and other penalties if they do not meet certain standards. 
Many lawn care businessmen in that state say this kind of licensing is unnecessary. All this is not to say that state regulation of the Assistant editor Moreland: Why is he smiling? forth in their state. You should be in contact with your state agriculture, pesticide and other appropriate offices for information that applies to 
your industry. So why is Dan smiling? As we said, he went through the same training program that all Davey Lawnscape technicians go through before they get out on lawns. At the end of the week-lone program, he took the same test that all Davey employes take, dealing with identification and control of pests, fertilizers, equipment and all facets of the lawn care industry. After staying up the night before with a cold in a nearby hotel room for four extra 
hours studying his notes, he received a grade of 88 out of a possible 100, one of the higher scores in his class. The next thing we know, he's going to be starting his own lawn care business on us. lawn care industry is necessarily bad. In fact, state officials we talked to said their rulines came about in part because of consumer complaints against lawn care businessmen in both states. But if the lawn care industry is going to be regu-lated, all lawn care businessmen should know the background and have input on any legislation put In the Houston MARKETPLACE feature in the February issue, an incorrect company name was reported. Green Up, Inc. is the correct name of tne company ownea by Harold R. Zick and James H. Eckhardt. ADVERTISERS Allied Chemical Corp 14 American Pelletizing Corp 25 Ashland Chemical Co 29 Broyhill Co 35 Bunton Co 35 W.A. Cleary Corp 35 Deere & Co 19 Derby Tiller Co 8 Diamond-Shamrock Corp Cover III Dow Chemical Co 10-11 Du Pont Co 20-21 Ford Tractor Co 15 Hanson Equipment Co 24, 34 Hercules, Ine 32 Hill's Liqui-System 37 HMC 16-17 Hypro, Div. Lear Siegler Corp 25 International Seeds 5 Lawn & Garden Manufacturers Assn 24 Lofts Pedigreed Seed, Ine Cover IV Monsanto Agricultural Products Co 9 PBI/Gordon Corp 7-8 Rhone-Poulenc, Ine 12-13 Sierra Chemical Co 18 Strong Enterprises, Ine 28 3M Co 26-27 
Torco Engineering 8 The Toro Co 2-3 Tuflex Mfg 37 Union Carbide Corp 30-31 CLASSIFIED ng i ^^^ only is given, please addr Box number, c/o LAWN CARE IN-DUSTRY, Dorothy Lowe, Box 6951 Cleveland, Ohio 44101. Rates: 35c a word for line ads, 65c a word 
for display ads. Box numbers add $1 for mailing. All classified ads must be received by the publisher before the 10th Company, P.O. Box 16113, Houston, Texas 77002. Call Len Spencer (713) 691-3991. FOR SALE of the month precedine publication and npanied by casn i full payment. be accompanied by cash or money order covering Mail aa copy to Dorothy Lowe LAWN CARE INDUSTRY, Box 6951, Cleveland, Ohio 44101 HELP WANTED LAWN CARE Š Landscaping com-pany. Seeking a qualified person for turf applications and landscape ser-vice. Ground floor, private owned company, salary plus extras. Send resume to: Pro Green Inc., P.O. Box 143, New Castle, Ind. 47362. LAWN SPRAYING AND HYDRO-SEEDING COMPANY needs service manager and foremans. Starting in April. Send resume to C & H Spraying Co., 4720 Hatchery Road, Drayton Plains, Michigan 48020. POSITIONS OPEN NOW. Leading horticultural services company in Houston, Texas (established, 1959). Major expansion program requires 
experienced working crew super-visions and assistants in Landscape 
Maintenance Division (leading to 
superintendent positions). Chemical Division (industrial weed control and chemical lawn maintenance) 
and Landscape Division Š experi-ence all levels. All division, 
including Indoor (plant leasing & greenhouse) offer career oppor-tunities for untrained, but willing to learn. Apprentice program, pro-motions, excellent fringes. Year round, no layoff jobs. The Spencer PRACTICE RANGE GOLF BALLS from $1.50 per dozen. Solid yellow 
balls $2.50. Free brochure. Raven Golf, 6148 Thornycroft, Utica, Mich. 
48087. 313 731-3469. USED EQUIPMENT FOR SALE: Two (2) custom lawn combines, excellent condition. Stainless steel construction. Aerate, roll, seed, fertilize and spray in one operation. Come with custom made trailer. Combine $2900.00. Trailer $1500.00. Call 314 837-8733 or 314 831-6079. WANTED TO BUY LAWNMAKER 67, tractor mounted lawn seeder or equivilent. Send 
description of condition and price wanted. Write R. Ross & Sons, P.O. 
Box 47, Shady, New York 12479. 914 679-7641. MISCELLANOUS 14 x 1 insert Green Thumb Leasing For the turf you care for: proven protection against nine damaging diseases from America's leading fungicide for turf. Now a 500 gram per liter flowable formulation. Daconil 2787 is the broad-spectrum fungicide that helps you fight such problems as dollar spot, gray leaf spot, large brown patch and red thread. Easy to handle with great flowability. Disperses quickly in the spray tank. Effective even in hot weather. Daconil 2787 also provides effective disease control on a number of ornamentals. Now in a new 500 g/l formulation. Diamond Shamrock gives you all the help you need for weed problems, too. Dacthal® is the preemergence herbicide that controls more than 20 weeds and unwanted grasses. Stops early and late germinating weeds without affecting healthy, growing turf grasses. Tough weeds like crabgrass and Poa annua can't stand up to Dacthal. Dacamine® gives postemergence control of over 70 broadleaf weeds including dandelion, annual chickweed, knotweed and Canada thistle. Kills'em right down to the roots so they won't come back. Daconate® gives the postemergence herbicide that knocks out nutsedge, chick-weed, wood sorrel, sandbur and othergrassy weeds. It's a ready-to-use liquid herbicide with a built-in surfactant for uniform wetting. For beautiful turf and ornamentals, count on the big four from Diamond Shamrock to make your job easier. Diamond Shamrock The resourceful company. See your turf chemicals supplier, or contact the Diamond Shamrock Agricultural Chemicals Division sales office nearest you: Three Commerce Park Square, 23200 Chagrin Blvd., Beachwood, OH 44112 Ł 1760 The Exchange, Suite 100, Atlanta, GA 30339 Ł 5333 Westheimer, Suite 850, Houston, TX 77002 Ł Commerce Plaza Bldg., 2015 Spring Rd— 
Oakbrook, IL 60521 Ł 617 Veterans Blvd., Redwood City, CA 94063 Circle 115 on free information card Ł vHHvw A . . .v.v.\ .q* W,, . )ViaWrv .. n- s Ł , \ v»xv 7T» . ...n . wM . -.1 »m WWrliiyllLltf« -, ts VilHitvl- v if Ł *H y v V w Ł . ^ v f , * * r£7v- Ł V x < Arnold Palmer has confidence... in his game and in Lofts seed. Hill Club and Lodge will host Horida Citrus Golf Classic. Baron Kentucky Bluegrass Ł Yorktown Perennial Ryegrass Ł Jamestown Chewings Fescue Everyone recognizes Arnold Palmer for his golfing ability. However, few know Arnie as a golf course turf specialist. But he is. As a perfectionist he personally makes sure each of his privately-owned courses has a well-designed turf program. . . a program that includes Lofts. We at Lofts Pedigreed Seed are proud that on Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Florida, he uses Lofts Yorktown Perennial Ryegrass and Lofts Jamestown Fescue. Jim Ellison, Golf Superintendent at Bay Hill, claims, 'There's nothing better for our overseeding program, particularly when you consider this turf has to stand up to the abuse of 
300 rounds of golf daily." At Arnold Palmer's Latrobe golf club in Pennsylvania, he uses another winner in its field. . .Lofts Baron Kentucky Bluegrass. You may consider Arnold Palmer's swing as the ultimate to strive for. Take his lead, too, when yo it choose 'grass if an expert like Arnold Palmer uses Lofts Yorktown, Jamestown and Baron, maybe you should too. Ü LOFTS V -J Circle 121 on free information card Lofts Pedigreed Seed, Inc. Bound Brook, N.J. 08805/(201) 356-8700 Arlington, Mass. 02174 617-648-7550 Lofts ¡New York Cambridge, N.Y. 518-677-8808 Great Western Seed Co. Albany, Ore. 97321 503-926-2636 Lofts Kellogg Seed Co. Milwaukee, Wis. 53201 414-276-0373 Lofts/Maryland 2816 Landover, Md. 20785 301-322-81 1 1 Arnold Palmer discusses his overseeding program at Bay Hill with Peter Loft.