TURF COMMS v -I . -7 SEPT -- 87 PURPOSE: To pass on what we learn willingly and happily to others in the profession so as to improve turf conditions around the country. TEAMŽ NOT FOR YOUR Team For the last year now I have been quietly suggesting to superintendents that they not use the preemerge Team on their fairways. Yet, although research was indicating a potential problem with the product I had not seen any in '86 or had I heard 
of ^tny. This year I heard of several problems in Pennsylvania where Poa annua was lost on Team treated -fairways. A word to the wise is perhaps sufficient? Beware of Team, especially if you 
want your Poa annua to live thru the summer. Expect stress if accidently over applied to any cool season grass. PRQGRASS (Norton or ethofumesate) - If you are thinking of using Prograss on your perennial ryegrass fairways this fall I have three pieces of information to pass on. Prograss suppresses seadhead production in any Poa annua plants not killed by the application. Secondly, November at label rate is considered by one extensive user to be the best time. Thirdly, you will probably get some clover and common chickweed control from the Prograss. TURFCOMMS is published at unpredictable intervals by the editor and publisher« Douglas T. Hawes, Ph D 240B Roundrock Trail Certified Professional Agronomist Piano, Tenas 7507S Specializing in Golf Course (214) B67-0176 Maintenance Consulting Subscription cost is «10. Send checks to Doug Hawes at the above address. GQOSEGRASS CONTROL IN BENTGRASS GREENS OR FOR BERMUDAGRASS ENCROACHMENT INTO BENTGRASS GREENS, A NEW TOOL???? ACCLAIM, the new postemerge herbicide for crabgrass control, has been used successfully in research plots and on golf courses for the control of goosegrass in bentgrass greens. It is very phytotoxic to (rough on) bermudagrass. Therefore it is something one might try for control of bermudagrass encroachment. A rate of 1/8 pound of active ingredient per acre kills young seedlings of goosegrass and has proven safe on Penncross. A rate of 3/8 pound of a.i./A has been used in one case without damage to Penncross- This product although labeled for use in other cool season grasses is not yet labeled for bentgrass greens and based on past experience with herbicide labeling will probably never be thus labeled. If you have an bermudagrass encroachment problem you might give it a try on a few selected green edges. The rate to try is 1/8 pound of a.i./A this equals 16 liquid ounces of the 1 EC formulation/A. ACCLAIM IS NOT, I REPEAT, NOT FOR USE ON COHANSEY - As of August, 1987, I have two reports that Acclaim is not safe on Cohansey. You apparently are safer using 1/2 or 3/4 rates of RonstarŠBetasan on Cohansey for goosegrass control than Acclaim. The damage on Cohansey from Acclaim takes a week or more to show up and lasts for several more. The Cohansy appears to be more damaged by Acclaim than the goosegrass is. Ronstar-Betasan on the other hand applied with a high phosphorous fertilizer at less than full strenght injures Cohansey but recover is quicker than after Acclaim damage. The time of year these materials are being applied is probably a partial factor -summer for the Acclaim and spring for the Ronstar. HYDROMULCHING WORKS SAY ANOTHER SUPERINTENDENT GREAT WINTER PROTECTION Steve Johnson, superintendent of Williston Country Club, reports that hydromulching got his greens thru the winter in good condition. Williston C.C. is located in the city with that name in Western North Dakota. The winter in that region is almost 
always cold, very dry and open. Winter desciccation is a yearly event. It cost them $1800 to do 10 average size greens. The municipal course did their greens also. They did not make out as well because a need to do repairs to the irrigation system forced them to leave the mulch on too long. Vern Burks of Great Falls, MT is given credit for originating this approach 10 years ago- He has used it on the greens at the Meadow Lark C. C. successfully for a decade. He puts them to bed in November and goes himself to Mexico- In March a couple of vertical mowings, followed by sweepings and the greens are ready to play. Removal needs to be done when the weatherman guarantees you that three days of above freezing weather will follow. DON'T THROW IT AWAY, RE-USE IT !f! Did you see that barge load of New York's baled trash on your TV last month. As I get ready to take this issue to the printer on August 26 it was still not unloaded. New York, New York and many other big Eastern cities have run out of places to "dump" or "bury" that trash. That barge is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Many of you on big city courses are well aware of how expensive it is to get rid of trash. It is going to get more expensive. Composting is one answer to the problem for certain kinds of "trash". It is time to start saying that ain't trash and garbage - its potential useful compost. Grass clippings, tree leaves and limbs, and any other vegetable matter from coffee grounds to newspapers are trash that can be composted. The books and articles I read talk about aerobic composting without soil. This involves mixing all your organic matter together in a somewhat loose pile or in a container with sides that allow air movement. Aerobic composting involves allowing the natural small critters and microbes to "eat" the plant material. The eating process accomplishes two things; it breaks the plant material into very small pieces and produces a humus material which when combined 
with soil stablizes the soil in small granules. Thus the organic matter after composting is mixed with the soil or used as a mulch on the soil. If mixed with the soil it produces a high organic content soil that has good physical properties. If you would like to read about the above approach I suggest you read "Everyone's Guide to Home Composting" by Robyn Bern or The Complete Book of Composting" by J.I.Rodale. If you want the latest on the urban trash problem read "Mining Urban Wastes: The Potential for Recycling" Worldwatch Paper 76 by Cynthia Pollock. Or read DEBRIS DISPOSAL pg. 31, Grounds Maintenance, June, 1987. AND THEN THERE'S MY WAY -I do all my composting by mixing soil with the "raw" organic matter. This eliminates the odor problem that sometimes results from the above process. It also tends to result in a smaller pile. Instead of getting humus you end up with a high organic soil with good physical properties- The aerobic process correctly done kills most weed seeds; my approach does not. I start my piles where convenient usually building it as alternating layers of organic matter and soil. Preferably having at least some soil from a previous compost pile included. After getting the pile as big as that space allows I like to turn and mix the pile as soon as possible. I may do this by using this pile as the "soil" for a new one. This is a very desirable approach if the original pile had very poor quality soil or the 
organic matter used was mostly sticks, twigs and old dead leaves. My compost pile grows vegetables while it is "working". The other method does not allow you to do that. I will plant vegetables in any pile that has set for 3 or 4 weeks, but most often try to turn and mix the pile first because the layers do not make for a good planting media. The time required for organic matter to decompose and in the process produce a soil of good physical properties depends upon several factors. Some of these are the quality of the starting soil and organic matter added, the availability of adequate moisture and a warm temperature (JO^F to 90°). With most soils and added organic matter, adding nitrogen and sometimes phosphorus fertilizer speeds up the composting process while improving the resulting compost's fertility irregardless of which method you use. In the acid East throw in some lime, in the West some sulfur. Shredding the organic material and mixing it with a reasonably good soil will get things off to a good start. Some gardeners 
will always use some of the last batch of compost as a starter for the next batch this is great for either process. In Dallas starting with a broken up black gumbo, leaves and twigs it usually takes two or three mixings and additions of fresh organic matter over a two year period to produce a high quality soil. If enough twigs, branches and leaves are added the 
composted soil will come out a dark brown. Turning a black, modeling-clay-1ike soil into a granular mellow brown soil is a very rewarding feat. Now that you have this beautiful soil what do you do with it? When you are planting trees take the soil away from that extra wide hole you dug and replace it with your composted soil. Or use it for flower beds or the crew's vegetable garden. Or sell it to the neighborhood gardeners. Those of you that are going to removing of clippings from tees and fairways will have lots of great material to compost. END