6 \J July 1979 Official Publication of the Michigan & Border Cities Golf Course Superintendents Association MICHIGAN & BORDER CITIES GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT CLEM WOLFROM DETR OIT G O LF C LUB 530 Kendry Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48018 Off. 345-4589, Res. 334-0140 VICE PRESIDENT JAMES TIMMERMAN, CGCS ORCHARD LAK E COUNTR Y C LUB 7183 Buckthorn Orchard Lake, Michigan 48033 Off. 682-2150, Res. 682-7234 SECRETARY-TREASURER BRUCE WOLFROM, CGCS BARTON HILLS COUNTRY C LUB 639 Barber Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103 Off. 662-8359, Res. 663-9213 BOARD OF DIRECTORS JAY DELCAMP GOWANIE GOLF C LUB 19957 Great Oaks Circle South Mt. Clemens, Michigan 48043 Off. 468-1432, Res. 791-8481 WATERS EDGE COUNTR Y C L U B ED HEINMAN 10531 Bellevue Grosse lie, Michigan 48138 Off. 675-0927, Res. 676-3095 LAK E LA N D S GOLF & C OUNTR Y C LU B CHARLES GAIGE 7390 Rickett Brighton, Michigan Off. 231-3003, Res. 227-4617 WALTER TROMBLEY, CGCS ARROWHEAD GOLF C LUB 3130 Orion Road Lake Orion, Michigan 48035 Off. 373-5240, Res. 693-2924 MICHAEL EDGERTON MEADOWBROOK CO U NTR Y C LU B 3066 Sesame Howell, Michigan 48843 Off. 349-3608, Res. 517-546-5927 FRITZ MC M ULLEN, CGCS FOREST LAK E CO U NTR Y C LU B 3912 Fieldview Orchard Lake, Michigan 48033 Off. 335-1410, Res. 363-8030 PRESIDENT EMERITUS GEORGE W. PRIESKORN BURROUGHS FARM GOLF C LU B 5341 Brighton Road Brighton, Michigan 48116 Off. 227-1381, Res. 229-9437 "A PATCH OF GREEN” P u b lish e d monthly by the MICHIGAN AND BORDER CITIES GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION Circulation: 1,250 Ted Woehrle, CGCS, Oakland Hills C.C. James Timmerman, Orchard Lakes C.C. CO-EDITORS P rin ted A t BLAKEMAN PRINTING COMPANY 31823 Utica Road Fraser, Michigan 48026 Phone: (313) 293-3540 MONTHLY ADVERTISING RATES Double Page Spread.................................$150.00 Back Outside Page.......................................75.00 FullPage...................................................... 65.00 Half Page.................................................... 40.00 Quarter Page................................................ 30.00 Eighth Page................................................ 15.00 Sixteenth Page.............................................. 10.00 Classified Ad (per column inch).............. 7.50 DISCOUNT RATE: One Year 10% Note: Advertising fees may not be deducted from the above rates. AcUACltid&U- * * Century Supply Company Crown Lubricant & Specialties Ltd. FDS Fertilizers, Inc. Golf Car Distributors Lakeshore Equipment Corporation Lawn Equipment Corporation Lebanon/Agrico W.F. Miller Garden & Equipment Oxford Peat Company O.M. Scott & Son, Inc. Wm. F. Sell & Son, Inc. Sprinkler Irrigation Supply Stanton Seed & Supply Co. Terminal Sales Corporation Tire Wholesalers, Inc. Travis Maintenance Company Trees Inc. Turfgrass, Inc, Turf Supplies, Inc. USS Agri-Chemicals Wilkie Turf Equipment Company 2 S o lv e p o n d & la k e a lg a e p r o b le m s . . . with a touch of class. Otterbine@ floating aerator fountains combine the solution of water algae (and odor) control - with the added elegance of a fountain. Chemicals and plumbing are not needed ... all you add is electricity. The season for algae build-up is coming. Be ready with the algae problem solver - Otterbine. 31691 Dequindre Madison Hgts., Ml 48071 313/ 5 8 8 -2 9 9 0 • Large or small trees planted or transplanted - up to 10" Dia. trunks. • A variety of trees available - both conifer and deciduous. • U tilizing proven methods and the most modern equipment ava il­ able. • Tree management and counseling services. • Experienced in golf course techniques and requirements. • We invite our fellow members of the Michigan and Border Cities Golf Course Superintendent Association to call upon us anytime to talk about trees. - □REE QELOCATION J - □ EXCAVATION S p e c ia l is t s 627-9I55 • GRAND LEDGE TREES INC. 4874 SAGINAW HWY. GRAND LEDGE, Ml 48837 Phone: 517-627-9155 4 The following letter was received from the Michigan Department of Agriculture on March 23, 1979 On March 23, we received this from the Michigan Department letter of Agriculture. The Michigan Department of Agri­ culture has received official notice from EPA that the registrations of 2.4.5- T and Silvex for all uses except on rangeland and rice were suspended as of February 28, 1979. Specifically, suspended uses of are applications 2.4.5- T control in forests, right of ways, and pastures. Suspended uses of Silvex are in forests, right of ways, pastures, for brush home and gardens, turf and aquatic weed control/ditch bank applications. This means all products containing 2,4,5-T or Silvex may not be sold or used in Michigan until EPA completes certain procedural steps in the can­ cellation procedures and issues a final order. R e t a i l e r s are being asked to voluntarily remove these products from sale. Recall will not be considered until its course through h e a r i n g s and such legal actions as may be instituted. issue has run the GCSAA joins chemical industry in questioning EPA’s propriety of banning 2,4,5-T and Silvex 5 Relations Committee, Through GCSAA’ s Governmental chaired by Director Richard H. Eichner, the Association has joined the chemical industry in questioning E P A ’ s sudden banning of 2-4-5-T and Silvex. An article authored by Eichner on this controversial subject in the May Issue of GOLF COURSE MANAGE- is ) MENT0 There may be many items that will need the support of not only this Governmental Relations Committee, but will need support from each of you out in the field. This information on READY RESPONSE should be retained so that you may be able to write your U.S. Senator or U.S. member of the House of Representatives. It is almost certain that we may expect many changes in energy in the near future. An open letter to agriculture from the Dow Chemical Company The Environmental P r o t e c t i o n Agency announced on March 1 an emergency suspension of the herbicides 2,4,5-T and Silvex on the grounds that ; they posed an “ imminent hazard to the environment.” The health and basis this decision was “ new evidence” brought forth in a study of miscarriages in the Alsea, Oregon area. The Dow Chemical Company has “ emergency for two major reasons. strongly suspension” opposed this for First, we totally disagree with EPA findings that these chemicals are a hazard to human health or the environ­ ment; second, the arbitary and cap­ ricious manner in which this emergency action was taken is contrary to E PA ’ s own scientific review process (RPAR). Dow has sought injunctive relief in the courts to nullify the emergency sus­ pension and appealed EPA ’ s findings through the Agency’ s own system. At Continued on next page 5 intend to Open letter cont. this time we are awaiting hearings in both areas. We fight for 2.4.5- T and Silvex because we feel both are safe products and that EPA its authority and has forgotten to the public. responsibility overstepped its in neighboring forests. The On the first statement - that 2,4,5-T is a safe product - we stand firm. It has been used for over thirty years, and over 40,000 studies and technical reports testify to its safety. In this period, and throughout these reports, there has never been a single docu­ mented case of human injury related to the normal agricultural use of 2,4,5-T. The Alsea, Oregon “ evidence” to which EPA points with such a damning finger consists almost entirely of a seriously flawed study that attempts to associate various unsuccessfully miscarriages with the spraying of 2.4.5- T data have been so badly mishandled and misinterpreted as to render the entire study worthless. Valuable data were ignored, usable data invalidated through poor gathering techniques and some data manipulated to apparently reach preconceived conclusions. When subjected to close scientific scrutiny, the Alsea, Oregon study is clearly proven to be invalid. This study is also at odds with all previous studies of possible associa­ tion between herbicide spraying and including r e p r o d u c t i v e wastage, the recent specifically, report of Bisanti et aL, Experience of The Accident of Seveso (Italy). This in­ cident in 1976 released quantities of TCDD (the trace c o n t a m i n a n t in 2,4,5-T) millions of times that en­ countered in normal agricultural use and the population of the village was ! not evacuated for several days. There were 187 cases of chloracne reported, J but birth defects were “ . . .less than | expected in a well-controlled ‘ norma’ .spontaneous abortions population. showed statistically non-significant variations. . In summary, the report concluded” . . .the data do not seem to indicate that any major event has yet happened in the field of birth defects, I abortions, births and deaths.’ . We are joined in our court battle by other concerned groups: The American Farm Bureau Federation; Western Timber Association; National AR­ BORISTS Association; Asplundh Tree I Expert Company; Chevron Chemical Company; Vertec, Inc.; National Rail­ road Contractors Association; National Agriculture Association; Bartlett Tree Company; the Davey Tree Expert Company; Southern Oregon Re-1 sources Alliance; Oregon Women for Timber; Industrial Forestry Associa­ tion; United States Steel Corporation; National Cattlemen’ s Association; Northern Michigan Electric Coopera­ tive; Michigan Electric Cooperative j Association; The Andersons; Associa- Continued on next page ! Aviation No synthetically produced fertilizer can compare with MiLORGANiTE Golf Courses Use More M IL O R G A N IT E ü Than Any Other Fertilizer TERMINAL SALES CORR 12871 EATON AVE, DETROIT, MICH. 48227 (313) 491 -0606 6 (iss) Vertagreen ^— ' A product for all reasons l | Vertagreen Tee Green Technical Turf Food for Tees & Greens 16-4-8 • Uniform particles spread evenly. • Half the nitrogen is Urea-Formaldehyde. • Uniform balance of secondary and micro-nutrients. • All potash derived from sulfate of potash. • Regular or polyethylene packaging. P.0. Box 1685 Atlanta, Georgia 30301 Open letter cont. tion of Illinois Electric Cooperatives; and Kentucky Association of Electric C o o p e r a t i v e s , Inc. They use the product, they know it’ s safe, and they know it would have been proven so through E PA ’ s own scientific review process. They also recognize the significance of the EPA action beyond just the simple banning of a chemical product. We are not going to speculate on the motives behind E PA ’ s abrupt suspension. Perhaps they will be revealed in court hearings. We do want to point out to American Agriculture that if EPA can do this to a product with a record of 30 years of safe use, there fertilizer of pesticide which can be successfully defended. is no A ll we ask is for those in charge of EPA to accept the decisions of their Agency’ s own scientific review pro­ cess, as we in industry are more than willing to do, and act as a responsible regulatory force. The American public must force EPA to accept this re­ sponsibility. AGRIGUSINESS FIELDMAN Just a reminder that our flow able thiram, Spotree F, is available for application on this season. Spotree F is used for control of Dollar Spot, Brown Patch, Pink and Gray Snow Mold. This product is available from your local turf distributor in cases, 4 x 1 gallon and 2 x 2Vi gallons. Now the golf course superintendent has the established reliability of thiram with the convenience of a liquid. This means: No more irritating dust from the wettable powder; No more broken bags; No more weighing out of pesticide; No more spray tank dispers- ability problems; No more clogged nozzles; No solvents. Wishing you a successful season. Barbara Cleary, President W. A. Cleary Corp. 7 Don’t give your grass a “ Nervous Breakdown” S tress m anagem ent of tu rf grass by John R. Hall, III, Extension Specialist, Turf Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University PART 1 (to be concluded next month) to understand the terms of stored carbohydrates, pro­ teins, etc. And, note the importance of having a lot of stored food reserves in that plant for it to call upon. For us, it is important to be able to go back to the bank to get more money, but for the plant it is necessary that it be able, in many instances, to call on the food reserves, and other materials in the plant for recuperation. It’ s easy for us idea of total stress, for as you know we can push ourselves at the job and with family and the community only so far. We all have a breaking point, and we may push ourselves to it. The plants that we are managing all have breaking points too. We need to keep this in mind as we are managing them. In my opinion there is a limit to the total stresses that the plant can bear just as there is a limit to the total stresses that we bear in our day to day life. But, I are flexible. We realize if we are getting a lot of job pressure, that we need to release the pressure somewhere else. Sometimes we need to take off a little bit early or maybe we need to take a 3 day vacation. Of course, our plants Continued on page 10 remember that you and It transition zone where The topic of this presentation is is not about budgeting stresses. preventative management, in terms of how to do it. It is about the philosophy of preventative management. This philosophy is one that we try to teach our professional turfgrass managers in the it is ex­ tremely difficult to grow a quality cool-season turf. Some transition zone summers are strictly for bermudagrass. The h u m i d i t y gets high, disease pressures are great, and the stress on the grass plant is often intolerable. If the plants do not die by being over­ whelmed by total stress they get into a situation where they are predisposed to attack by d i s e a s e s and other problems, that under normal conditions would have only a minor influence on the grass. When we talk about preventative management we need to think about budgeting stresses, both stresses that we create on the grass and stresses that the climate creates. We need to look at budgeting stresses on the turf plant as we might look at budgeting our money. Think of the turf plant as really having a bank. That may over­ simplify it a bit, but we do think in 8 SYSTEM. Because the flexibility of the Cushman Turf-Care System saves you time and money. Here’s how! The System is built around the rugged, versatile 18 hp Turf- Truckster, 3-or 4-wheel model. With this one power source and options, you can haul, spray, spike, spread and top dress. And But that’s not all. The System is also a time saver that can cut your labor costs. Accessories mount on the back of the Turf-Truckster. Your men do their work quickly, efficiently... and then move on to the next job at speeds up to 22 mph. There’s less wasted traveling time, so you get more work out of each hour of labor cost. The Cushman Turf-Care System. Versatility, superior performance, economy. It’s a tough system to beat. Write today for your free Cushman Turf Care Catalog. save as much as 35% on equipment in the process. Because, instead of buying separately powered units for each job, you buy only the Turf- Truckster and the modular Cushman accessories you need. So you pay less in total for equipment... and have only one power unit to maintain. CUSHMAN ® T U R F -C A R E E Q U IP M E N T OMC-Lincoln, a Division of Outboard Marine Corporation 6201 Cushman Drive P.0. Box 8 2 4 0 9 Lincoln, Nebraska 68501 lfou can't beat the system* GOLF CAR DISTRIBUTORS Div.Anderson Sales & Serv. Inc. 1980 W. WIDE TRACK DRIVE (U.S. 10) PONTIAC, MICHIGAN 48058 (313) 338-0425 9 Stress management cont. cannot do that. We need to think in this way in order to be aware of what we are doing and what “ mother nature” is doing to the plant in creating stress. So, as a professional turfgrass manager one needs to be aware of some of the things we do in management that creates stress and some of the things that mother nature does that creates stress on the grass plant. A professional turfgrass manager, has control over many management factors that create stress and he can alter these in his program to either increase or decrease stress as he sees fit. Sometimes the stresses are created not as we see fit, but as the people who provide the dollars see fit. We know that mowing frequency, mowing height, the type of mower, sharpness of the blade are all going to have a strong influence on the total stresses on the grass plant. We know that our irrigation practices can increase or decrease stress and that our timing on fertilization and the amount and type of fertilizer that we use, can have an impact. Such practices are either going increase or decrease the stress on the grass plant. I don’ t see any situation where m a n a g e m e n t practices maintain stress at a constant level for any period of time. These management factors vary from day to day along with the microclimate, as you well know; thus stresses fluctuate. Cultivation practices such as aeration to topdressing, and dethatching and pesticides that one uses influences plant stress. We need to be aware that some factors are more stress creating than others, and we need to know just what these are. Hardins Law says that “ There Is No Single Effect” and that is a point I would like to get across in setting up a preventative maintenance program. If you alter any one of the management factors that I have mentioned here you are influencing the total plant stress. In other words, one cannot alter any management factor, however minor, without altering the level of stress the plant is experiencing. Let us take each of these factors into consideration one at a time. With mowing we know that the lower the mowing height the more total stress we place on the grass plant. With a lower mowing height we have a reduced root system and more plants per unit area. This greater number of plants competes more for nutrients and water. The more plants per unit area, the less healthy the individual plants are. The more frequently we mow, the more stress we create on the grass plant. So as we increase the stress factors with regard to mowing, we need to look at the other parts of the management program to reduce total stress. If you are in a very tight budget situation with regard to stresses where are you going to alter the management program to reduce the Continued on page 13 P r o T u r f Helping the superintendent through tu rf research... I Controlled Release Fertilizers I Fertilizer/Pesticide Combinations I Fungicides—Flerbicides—Insecticides I Soil Testing—Weed & Disease Identification s c o t t s • l e l y • g a n d y s p r e a d e r s Finest quality turfgrass seed-Fairways • Greens • Tees • Roughs Scotts Windsor and Victa blends Jim Brocklehurst Technical Representative 1964 Catalpa Berkley, Michigan 48072 Telephone: 313-547-9632 10 TORO. TURF PRO 84 “ worth more The hydraulic Turf Pro 84” needs less maintenance — that, alone, makes it worth more. Toro presents the first all-hydraulic tri-plex, for the same good reasons you find hydraulic power in heavy construction equipment - low maintenance, less shop time, high reliability and outstanding performance. All of which adds up to a tri-plex worth more to you than any other make you can buy! WILKIE TURF Equipment Company P.O. BOX 749 • PONTIAC, MICHIGAN 48056 1050 OPDYKE ROAD • PHONE (313) 373-8800 11 SOUTH LYON, MICHIGAN 48178 Phone: Area 313 437-1427 GENE JOHANNINGSMEIER PROXOL 80 SP INSECTICIDE TUCO A N O T H E R T U R F P R O D U C T F R O M T H E M A K E R S OF A C T I - D I O N E ® F U N G I C I D E S ARE YOU INTERESTED IN JOINING THE MICHIGAN AND BORDER CITIES GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION? F IL L IN THE QUESTIONAIRE BELOW AND MAIL TO: BRUCE WOLFROM BARTON HILLS COUNTRY CLUB 639 Barber Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103 Office 662-8359, Residence 663-9213 D A T E ____ NAM E _____________________________________________________ ADDRESS _________________________________________________ C IT Y ___________________________ S T A T E ______________ Z IP ___________ OR Y O U M A Y C O N T A C T T H E N E X T G O L F C O U R S E S U P P L I E R W HO C A L L O N Y O U A N D G I V E H I M T H E I N F O R M A T I O N N E E D E D F O R A P P L I C A T I O N . 12 P L A N T B R E E D E R SREGAL JDNAPB N O R T H A M E R I C A N TURF-TYPE PERENNIAL RYEGRASS PI' % Incomparable color Darkest green o f any perennial Excellent texture Cuts clean and easy Reduced disease risks Good heat tolerance and cold'hardiness STANTON SEED & SUPPLY CO. 3515 James Street PO. Box 2252 Saginaw, Michigan 48605 (517) 752-8760 Stress management cont. stresses mowing? that have been created by REGAL The type of mower used and the sharpness of the mower are an impor- ■ tant factor in creating stresses on the grass plant. Almost all professional groundsmen have observed the rela­ tionship between mowing height and the invasion of weeds. I have already mentioned that lower mowing heights do increase stress on the plant, and the lower cutting height has an addi­ tional side effect of increasing weed competition. Not only may the weeds themselves create more stress, but the fact that you have to apply DSMA or some other h e r b i c i d e in June in creating i certainly important is increased stress on the grass plant. Consequently, when the greens committee comes to the superintendent and says - we want the fairways at 5/8” and that is the way it is, the superintendent needs inform the committee of the increased maintenance 13 to time grass turf costs associated with the increase in the stress level. Thus, one may be forced to go above the maximum level of stress that the turf can tolerate and it is likely that he may lose some grass in July or August. Obviously mowing is important. frequency and quality Sharp mowers are very important. is mowed with a Every dull mower, is torn. This is equivalent to someone coming up to you every morning as you walk into your office and hitting you on the back o f the head with a baseball bat. Do not for a minute that a dull mower doesn’ t make a difference to the turfgrass plant. The plant has to recover from that wound in the same way that you have to recover from a wound. To recover from a wound your body has to secrete wound hormones and get in producing com­ pounds that are not a normal part of your daily life. The turfgrass plant has to do the same thing. It begins to Continued on next page involved think LA K E S H O R E EQUIPMENT 8- SUPPLY CO. HOME OF LESCQ PRODUCTS SULFUR COATED FERTILIZERS Distributor Et Formulator GRASS SEED, FERTILIZERS INSECTICIDES FUNGICIDES, HERBICIDES Call Us Today TOLL FREE 1- 800- 321-5951 300 S. Abbe Rd. Elyria, Ohio 44035 Price Quotation On Request (216) 323-7544 TURF SUPPLIES INC. 690 0 Pardee Rd.,Tay lor, Michigan (313) 291-1200 DON’T EVEN THINK OF BU Y IN G ........................ G R ASS SEED FERTILIZERS FUNGICIDES WITHOUT CALLING 291-1200 TURF SUPPLIES INC. 6 900 Pardee Rd.,Tay lor, Michigan (313) 291-1200 Stress management cont. use carbohydrates for the production of wound hormones that it does not normally need to produce. The plant perhaps would have used that mole­ cule for roots, rhizomes or leaf tissue development. Be constantly aware that a dull mower can increase stress on the grass plant. Irrigation frequency, amount and timing plays a role in plant stress. We killed more golf greens in Virginia in 1977 with irrigation than through any other management factor. improper the plant Superintendents said that they were syringing, when in fact, they were not syringing, but were irrigating when it was 90 degrees F. The automatic irrigation systems are wonderful if used properly. It is common to see the yellowing of the turf that we associate with o v e r w a t e r i n g . Overwatering creates stress on the grass in that it predisposes to suscepti­ to Pythium, Rhizoctonia and bility other warm weather diseases. It is important for professional turf grass managers to be aware of what the rooting situation is on all the greens. If we probe some p o r t i o n s of the rooting media with a probe, we may find layering. No matter what the turf manager does with irrigation he must be aware of what areas on the course are most likely to create prob­ lems. Soil layering creates a false water the water moves poorly. Once the water stops moving Continued on next page table where rs RO W N LUBRICANT & SPECIALTIES LTD. Lubricants • • • Designed to make the Superintendent s job easier. WE ARE GEARED TO SERVE YOU B E T T E R CHAS. W. KING 313/525-3902 BOX 2065 LIV O N IA , MICH. 48151 CHAS. W. KIN G , JR. 313/398-5964 14 Stress management cont. you get a bath tub e f f e c t and an i anaerobic situation. The accumulated ^ water has a great heat absorbing potential, and all of a sudden there is the potential to heat the crown of the bentgrass plant to 115 to 120 degrees j or higher. Because of the tremendous heat absorption potential of water the plant begins to show the effects of } excessive moisture and heat. The grass begins to die back from the tip and the death process begins. I vary This excessive moisture buildup in the presence of 90 degree weather is what kills a lot of greens in Vir- > ginia. The superintendent must always be aware of what kind of thatch layer is present. Depending on the soil type and on thatch buildup, syringing should from green to green. Obviously on a green with an excessive thatch layer one cannot afford - when tempera- } tures are 90 degrees and 95 degrees during the day - to wet the thatch layer to the point where it’ s going to remain excessively wet for 2 or 3 hours during mid-day. If one is not careful with syringing is easily possible to create sun scald situa­ tions. We know that proteins precipi- ? tate out of the plant protoplasm at about 125 degrees F to 135 degrees F and these kinds of temperatures are it I easily obtainable when thatch is loaded with water. tissue through We can do a great deal in reducing t stress on the grass plant by cooling the the process of water evaporation if syringing is done properly. For every gram of water that is turned from liquid to vapor by the energy of the sun, approximately 540 calories of heat is dissipated. So the system dissipates energy by allowing water to change from liquid to vapor, and thus excessive heating is a v o i d e d . Heat dissipation by evaporation is really the theory behind syringing. Syringing, is the Continued on next page \ theoretically and practically, | of grass plants > plant ENGINEERED RAIN Turf Topics Precision Controllers With Unmatched Flexibility. J-M Buckner is first in the industry to offer you solid-state microelectronics in an irrigation controller. Our KCS line of controllers are as easy to operate as pocket calculators. KCS offers unmatched flexibility with 12 or 24 individual circuits and four 14-day schedules ... all with timing accuracy down to a fraction of a second. The KCS totals daily watering time, allows skipping up to nine days, has both automatic and manual syringe cycles for services such as dew removal and many more unique features. Operation is simple, fast and accurate. NOW is the time to consider converting existing quick coupling valves or manual systems to automatic -- with J-M/Buckner, solid state KCS automatic equipment and new automatic valves and sp rin kle r heads. You may do i t yourself - - or check with Jim Vince on design and in s t a lla tio n . Write or call direct C4UC O ENGINEERED RAIN Sprinkler Irrigation Supply Co. A division of A.J. Miller Inc. 1316 No. Campbell Rd. Royal Oak,Mi. 48067 Phone (313) 398-2233 Chicago Sales Office/Warehouse 1738 Armitage Court, Addison, III. 60101 (313)629-7730 15 'For Land's Sake-'Use Peat'' OXFORD ? m CO. 1430 E. Drahner Rd. Oxford, Michigan 48051 PROCESSED PEAT Bulk or Bag Custom Blending FRED LATTA 313/628-5991 nN^( iC lr f .g Go v \' 4 ' < .„ * * * * ? I G ^ V u ^ ° ^ AV A- 1 so^ . o p , 3 ^ :4 - Tire W holesalers Company, Inc. Phone: (313) 354-5644 TRUCK-CAR TRAILER MOTORCYCLE INDUSTRIAL ¡t|U J UNIROYAL A TIRES WHOLESALE PRICES TO COMMERCIAL ACCOUNTS 16 Stress management cont. process of misting the grass plants. Obviously, most of our irrigation systems are not designed to mist the turf. In golf green m a i n t e n a n c e the superintendent needs to be aware of what kind of soil mixtures are present and what areas are going to need to be spot aerified, or require extra wetting agent to keep water moving through the green mixture. On some of our sand-peat greens we are observing spotty water penetration occurring in areas where the sands have developed organic, hydrophobic layers. These areas allow a b s o l u t e l y no water penetration once they are allowed to dry. A topnotch superintendent needs to know exactly what mixture he has and know what areas are going to need syringing, extra aeration or extra topdressing, etc. Greens should be mapped to locate these trouble spots in case the superintendent is absent. too varieties bluegrass Obviously, when we talk about the selection of varieties is water, important in decreasing total stress. In situations where moisture is going to be limiting perhaps bermudagrass is a reasonable choice. If the location is far north then selection of Kentucky that have drought tolerance is important. In our work in the Mid-Atlantic transi­ tion zone, Vantage, Georgetown and Merion have exhibited good drought tolerance. Poor drought tolerance has been exhibited by Pennstar, Fylking, Bonnieblue, Nuggett, Majestic, Ram No. 2 and Warren’ s A-34. Where the goal to minimize water stress, variety selection for drought tolerance is essential. is With fertilization stress factors it is i m p o r t a n t to be aware that the amount and type of fertilizer used can increase or decrease total stress. In Virginia and the climatic transition zone, we strongly recommend late fall I will not say that it fertilization. Continued on next page Stress management cont. will definitely work for you. I would just present it to you as a philosophy of fertilization that might reduce total stress on your turf grass plants. is two systems In the plant system we basically have two metabolic systems. Photo­ synthesis is the process whereby the plant produces food in the presence of light, carbon dioxide and chlorophyl, water. The other system is called i respiration - this is where the plant utilized the energy produced in photo­ synthesis. The interesting thing about that the light the reaction of photosynthesis is rela­ tively temperature insensitive. In the bluegrass plant this process occurs almost as efficiently at 35 degrees as it does at 80 degrees F. However, when it is hot the plant burns up more food and can, in fact, utilize food at a faster rate than it can be produced in photosynthesis. The question that we is; Why push bluegrass to grow when respiration is maximum? Ferti­ lizing in hot weather is like putting 10 dollars in a checking account and writing a check for fifteen. You can’ t do it forever. Our theory of late fall fertilization hinges around fertilizing the grass in the late fall of the year, ; ask respiration is minimum and J when Ï thereby forcing the foods to go into into clippings. instead of reserve in­ From a management standpoint, creased foliar growth just means more mowing. Stress management in turfgrass w ill be concluded in the August issue of A Patch of Green. One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon - instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today. — Dale Carnegie 17 i s pivot it, trickle it, guide it, gun it, pump it, wWe plan it, design it, mist it, spray it, travel it,tsprinkle it, meter it, igation systems, supplies,rdesign counsel, drawings, conserve it. Complete irr­ filter it, control it, specs . . . for turf, nursery, greenhouse, agriculture. Biggest stock and selection in the midwest. Master Distributor R a in ^ B ib d niUiiriiUMajj} 31691 Dequindre Madison Hts., Ml 48071 (313)588-2990 341 Lively Blvd. Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 (312) 640-6660 MOSQUITO CONTROL or you Our methods of mosquito control w ill p o s itiv e ly control your adult mosquito population and your sa tisfa ctio n is always guaranteed pay nothing. Our methods are so e ffic ie n t and e ffe ctive that a season’ s service to an average 18-hole golf course cost only about $500.00 per year. We spray only at night and use proven established pesticides that offer a high degree of safety and co n tro l, and we fo llo w a ll precautions and guidelines to insure the safest and most e ffe ctive control of target species. Please c a ll or w rite us for a free estim ate anywhere in the D etroit Metro area. T ravis M a in t e n a n c e C o m p a n y 2675 TRAVIS POINTE ROAD ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN 48103 SCOTT FORD, COM M ERCIAL PESTICIDE A P P L IC A T O R (313) 662- 4662 Hook a backhoe up to a Kubota B-Seriesor L-Scries diesel tractor and you’ll have a mighty useful digging machine at your fingertips. AS LOW AS $2260 A FULL U N I OF MID-RANGE DIESEL TRACTORS AND IMPLEMENTS MUKUB0TR WM. F. SELL & SON, INC. 1 6 5 5 5 T E L E G R A P H R O A D T A Y L O R , M I C H I G A N 4 8 1 8 0 T E S T DRIVE A K U B O TA D IE S E L TRACTOR NOW A T: 3 1 3 / 2 8 2 - 5 1 0 0 18 V - MBCGCSA ROSTER - Changes and Additions AX, NORMAN Klein Fertilizers, Inc. 320 Garden Lane Fowlerville, Michigan 48836 Off. 517-223-9148 Res. 517-546-1688 BIDWELL, ALAN 5370 Normandy Milford, Michigan 48042 887-6958 Farmington Country Club 553-3335 DELCAMP, JAY (Diana) 4700 Edgewood Pontiac, Michigan 48055 Leisuretime Development Corp. 673-0573 KACHMARCHYK, STEPHEN 35357 Drakeshire Road Apt. 201 Farmington, Michigan 48024 Willow Golf Course 753-4849 KUHN, DANIEL (Hope) 195 Surrey Lane Clarkston, Michigan 48016 625-8041 Pine Knob Golf Club 625-0709 LINDEN, JAMES H. (Patricia) 13354 White Lake Road Fenton, Michigan 48430 313-629-6239 Linden Nursery-Land Corp. 517-546-2802 MANION, RAY (Sandra) Highway #3 Oldcastle, Ontario Canada NOR1LO 519-966-4911 Silver Tee Golf Center MYERS, CHRIS (Elaine) 2831 Saturn Lake Orion, Michigan 48035 391-2074 Bloomfield Hills Country Club 642-0707 SZYNDLAR, ROY A. (Cathy) 46100 Bemis Belleville, Michigan 48111 699-3139 Southgate Municipal Golf Club 283-2100 WOHFEILL, ERNEST (Laura) 11332 Denton Hill Fenton, Michigan 48430 Green Acres Golf Course 777-3510 F D A B A F F A A A HOWARD COMMERCIAL TURF EQUIPMENT COMMERCIAL 60” MOWER The Howard 60" Commercial Mower with forward mounted cutting head affords maximum visibility, non-tracking per­ formance and unparalleled trimming capabilities around and under bushes, chains, guard rails, picnic tables, etc. By having your cutting head out in front, independently attached, you can actually see the mower following the contour of the ground, not the tractor. The Howard Commercial Mower with hydrostatic transmission enables you to set your cutting speed to an infinite range, between the speeds of 0 and 6.2 M.P.H., depending on your m ow ing conditions. The heavy duty transm ission and diffe re n tia l allow s for a responsive, yet smdoth, operating forward and reverse action in open or congested areas. The transmission is backed by the strongest warranty in the field. The outstanding versatility of our tractor is evidenced by the attachments which are available. The attachments are quick change and may be run off our live P.T.O. LAWN EQUIPMENT CORPORATION 520 W. 11 MILE ROAD ROYAL OAK, MICH. 48068 TELEPHONE: (313) 398-3636 19 The E -Z -G O M aintenance M achine. The E-Z-GO GT-7 Truck is a vital part of any efficient maintenance system. The GT-7 is engineered for versatility and durability. Its all-steel construction takes on the tough jobs longer. E-Z-G O TEXTRON Call Now For A Demonstration And Price Quotation W.F. M iller & & p a n y TELEPHONE: (313) 647-7700 1593 S. WOODWARD AVE. BIRMINGHAM, MICHIGAN 48011 "A Patch of Green" 31823 UTICA ROAD FRASER, MICHIGAN 48026 U S POSTAGE PAID; PERMIT MO 3 7 i.“ B. ssTuS,IV5RSIIï 48023 “ “ W . » C H , “