/ U N I T ED STATES G O LF ASSOCIATION G R E EN SECTION S O U T H W E S T E RN D I S T R I CT TEXAS A8CM C O L L E GE C O L L E GE STATION, TEXAS S O U T H E A S T E RN D I S T R I CT P L A NT INDUSTRY S T A T I ON BELTSVILLE, M A R Y L A ND MARVIN H. F E R G U S ON M I D - C O N T I N E NT D I R E C T OR N A T I O N AL R E S E A R CH C O O R D I N A T OR JAMES B. M O N C R I EF S O U T H W E S T E RN A G R O N O M I ST JAMES M. LATHAM, JR. S O U T H E A S T E RN A G R O N O M I ST SOUTHERN TURFLETTER V o l. 1 No. 1 A p r il 1957 ** This is the f i r st issue of the Southern T u r f l e t t e r. It replaces the Southeastern T u r f l e t t er and w i ll go to some of the persons who have been receiving the Southeastern T u r f l e t t e r. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * If your club is located in T e x a s, L o u i s i a n a, Arkansas or M i s s i s s i p p i, you w i ll be served by the Southwestern Agronomist. If you have Bermudagrass greens, however, it appears that the Southern Turf- letter w i ll serve your needs better than w i ll the Mid-Continent T u r f l e t t e r. and the Southwestern T u r f l e t t er have been super- seded by the Southern T u r f l e t t er and the Mid- Continent T u r f l e t t e r. The Southern T u r f l e t t er The Southern T u r f l e t t er w i ll be prepared j o i n t ly by the Southwestern Agronomist and the Southeastern Agronomist. Your suggestions for the betterment of the publication always w i ll be appreciated. PREVENTIVE MAINTMANCE "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of c u r e ." This should remind you of the past when the preventive type program was h e l p f u l. This type of program includes equipment as w e ll as diseases and other "practices related to t u r f ." which w i ll produce d i s e a se when weather conditions favor t h e ir a c t i v i t y. A preventive spray program may stop some p o t e n t i al d i s e a se trouble in i ts early s t a g e s. Even on healthy t u rf there are fungus spores CHANGE OVER TO BERMUDAGRASS The time is near for a change from ryegrass to Bermudagrass. This would be an excellent time to a e r i f y, werti-cut and topdress. Those who overseeded with bent in the winter should consider this an op- portune time to aerify and get ready for the long summer growing period. Do you s t i ll have your USGA Journal for the Winter of 19^9? If you do, refer to Jim HamnerTs article on "Preparing a Southern Golf Course for the USGA Amateur." Jim says, in part: When the Bermuda began to show the first signs of growth in the spring, Milorganite was applied at the rate of 50 pounds to 1 , 0 00 square feet, and 25 pounds to 1 , 0 00 square feet thereafter once a month u n t il about September 1. Our experience has been that the steady feeding of the organic nitrogen in Milorganite and the absence of burn to the t u rf appear to be the ideal source of that form of nitrogen for Bermudagrass. Preceding the first application of Milorganite, the A e r i f i er was put on the greens with the one-inch spoons set to penetrate the s o il to a depth of four inches. The spooned-out pieces of s o il were removed with the Early Bird worm rakes. A topdressing, consisting of one- h a lf coarse sand, one-fourth granulated peat and one- fourth woods s o i l, by volume, was worked into the greens with f l e x i b le steel mats. Very heavy topdressings were used to f i ll the large holes made by the A e r i f i e r. During good Bermuda growth the holes covered completely in about ten days. We don't know whether Jim would s t i ll use one-inch spoons but his advice is s t i ll good. INSECT CONTROL Those of you who are plagued with mole crickets, ants or other insects in fairway areas may be interested in the use of an insecticide mixed with f e r t i l i z e r s. The newer insecticides are very adaptable to this usage and many f e r t i l i z er companies w i ll prepare the mixture on order. Such an application eliminates one operation and has proved to be very successful when it has been used. This method of application, however, w i ll not supersede other applications at later dates. webworms, e t c ., w i ll probably require several sprayings to eradicate each egg crop as it is produced during the year. Sod SPRAYER CALIBRATION The use of new weed killers on golf courses makes it extremely important to know how much material is to be applied. The new chemicals have a definite range of selectivity and should be applied exactly as directed in order that damages to desired grasses be kept at a minimum. The following procedure suggested by Dr. R. J. Aldrich and Dr. D. A. Schallock, of Rutgers University, is taken from the Eastern Turfletter: ( 1) Divide the width of the boom into ^3*560 (square feet per a c r e ). ( 2) Measure off the travel distance (answer obtained in step ( l ). (3) F i ll the spray tank with water and spray the measured distance with tractor speed and pump pressure set exactly as they w i ll be when applying chemicals. Measure the amount of water needed to r e f i ll the spray tank upon completion of step (3)* This quantity is the number of gallons required to cover an acre of ground with your equipment. If more than 20 gallons are applied to the acre the spray pattern should be checked for uniform coverage. This can be done by making a ffwetf< run over a dry concrete or asphalt pavement and watching for streaks to appear while the water evaporates. A bright, colored dye can also be used to check distribution on grassed areas. TURF CONFERENCES The Southern Turf Conference was held February 25 and 26 at the Colonial Country Club, Memphis, Tennessee. A record-breaking crowd of 136 was present. A ll who attended the conference received a real benefit judging by the interest shown by audience participation - both asking and answering questions. Tift on*s 11th Annual Southeastern Turfgrass Conference had 135 in attendance, representing l6 states. This rapid-fire conference, field day and equipment show gave a good cross-section of the new turf maintenance practices. We owe a hearty vote of thanks to experiment stations, colleges and turf associations which make these programs possible. « Southern Turfletter USGA GREEN SECTION Sec. 34.66, P.l.&R. U. S. POSTAGE MT PAID Beltsville, Maryland Permit No. 4