TURF COMMS ID L HA R'F-V Q 4ií!b MOL i: DA YS l'fc V" îF* ^H. -JrŠV EÏPEC i: AI  G O IM F" EE Ft E IM O E MOTES PURPOSE: To pass on what we learn willingly and happily to others in the profession so as to improve turf conditions around the country. EDIT0RIAL C0!vllvlENT s 0ne o f t he thi ngs I most en joyecl r ead i ng as a USGA agronomist were conference notes sent out by the other US(3A agronomist from around the country. So to soften the blow at billing time for next year I'm sending along this extra issue a v a i 1 a b 1 e t o c u r r e n t s u b s c r i b e r s o n 1 y r e p o r t i n g o n t h e 0 k 1 a h o m a Turf Conference held Nov« 12-14» These are "notes" and thus not guaranteed to be free of errors PEST ICIDE RESTRICTIONS s Dr . Neshei m,, the Coor d i n at or f or t h e St at e of OK,, not ed possibility that pesticides with a WARNING have a 1 abe 1 st at i ng the need f or a 24 hour E x t e n s i o n P e s t i c i d e that their was a good 1 a b e 1 m i g h t w e 11 B O O n per i od befor e reen try was permitted and that those pesti ci des w e 13. s o o n have a 4 8 h o u r r e e n t r y p e r i o d — with a DANGER label might G o 1 o o k t h r u y o u r pesticides an d s e e t hese w or d s in b o1d 1 e11 er s on t h e 1 abe1 w i 11 ap p 1 y t o wor k er s an d g o 1 f er s « h o w îtî a n y h a v e e i t h e r o f R e e n t r y r e s t r i c t i o n s EQUIPMENTb Paul McBinnis, superintendent at Un ion Hi 11 s Country Club, Sun City, A Z , emphasized one of my favorite tools to wake up a b oar d of d i r ec t or s or g r een c ornm :i. 11 ee — He sug g est ed s u p e r i n t e nden t s g e t t h e b o a r d m e m h e r s t a v i e w t h e e q u i p m e n t,, Sp read i t out for th em someday « Put 1 abe1 s (5 by 7 i nch cards) on each piece with s purchase price, present replacement cost, and p u r c h a s e d a t e o r a g e i f p u r c h a s e d s e c o n d h a n d — TURFCOMMS is published at unpredictable intervals by the editor and publisher» Douglas T. Hawes, Ph D Certified Professional Agronomist Specializing in Golf Course Maintenance Consulting 2406 Roundrock Trail Plano, Texas 75075 (214) 867-0176 Subscription cost is »10. Send checks to Doug Hawes at the above address. 11 s a o n w :i. 11 b e t :i. m e t o s t a r t e d u c a t i n g t h e n e w b o a r d,, R e a d Char1es Wh ite's artie1e "Wor king Nin e to Five" in the Nov—/Dec. issue of the Record for more thoughts along this line. T RIC A L CIU M A R S E N A T E s D r« J a m e s F i c k 1 e, M a 11 i n c k r o d t,, I n c« , s p o k e o n tri ca1cium ar senate- He noted that they had been forced to reformulated Turf-Cal because of a distinct tendencies of the old product ton c: 1 ump , sink to the bo11orn of spr av t.anks,, harden 1 i ke a b r i c k i ri t h e c o n t a i n e r a n d o t h e r w i s e n o t b e h a v e i n a v e r" y sati sfactory manner— T h e n e w f o r m u 1 a t i o n h a s e x t e n d e d s h e 1 f 1 i f e (s t i 11 p r o b a b 1 y 1 e s s than a year) and i mproved f1owab i1i ty. There is also 1 ess r e a d i 1 y - a v a i 1 a b 1 e ~ a r s e n i c i n t h e n e w f o r m u 1 a t :i. o n a n d t h u s i t h a s less tendency to burn turf« That was not a severe problem with t h e o 1 d p r o c j u c t i f u s e d a t t h e r a t e s r e c o m m e n d e d,, Dr« Fi ckle reviewed Mai 1inckrodt's recommended program for t r i c a 1 c i urn ar sen at e use« Her e ar e t h e i t ems t: h at i n t er est ed me s Bel ow pH 6« 0 there i s i ncreased avai 1 abi 1 i ty of the arseni c,, Above 7«8 the arsenic is tied up as carbonates» In light of that it was recommended that you not lime four weeks to either side of a n a r s e ri i c a p p 1 i c a t i o n« Thatch ties up arsenic- Also aerifier cores will bring up fresh ar seni c free so i 1 wh ich i f worked back i n t o t he tur f wi11 have t h e ef f ec t of d i 1 ut i ng t h e ar sen i c c on c en t r at i on« SPRING DEAD SPOT : Dr — Ned Ti sser at, a p 1 ant p atho 1 og i st f rom K a n s a s S t a t e U n i v « ,, d i s c u s s e d S p r i n g D e a d S p o t (S D S) , a d i s e a s e of bermudagrass« He reported i sol ati ng a Leptosphaeria spec!es o f f u n g u s a n d b e i n g a b 1 e t o r e i n o c u 1 a t e a n d c a u s e t h e d i s e a s e w i t h the i s o 1 ate« H e n o t e d t h a t lvl i d :i. r o rt is s h o w x n g r e s :i. s t a n c e« That Rubigan at :i, to 2 oz in September will be labeled for c on t; r o 1 nex t year« D r » L. u c a s o f N o r t h C a r o 1 :i. n a h a s b e e n r e p o r t i n g c o n t r o 1 o f S D S wi th Tersan 1991 at 8 oz app 1 i ed :i. n October « Banner a Ciba-Geigy product has been found effective by Dr— Tisserat« N E M A T 0 D E S n M a r k A n d r e w s o f t h e 0 K S t a t e IJ « P1 a n t P a t h o 1 o g y Diagnostic Lab« reported that they run nematode test for $5/sample. Also that Dasanit has been effective for use on gr eens a 1 ong wi th Nemacur ,, the o 1 d st andby« D o n A r m s t r o n g o f C o 1 o n i a 1 C o u n t r y C1 u b ,, F t« W o r t h m e n t i o n e d i n a p r i v a t e c o n v e r s a t i o n t h a t h e h a d t r e a t e d f o r n e m a t o d e s 4 t i m e s i n the last 2 years« He felt that treatments really helped but did not solve all his problems managing small bentgrass greens under h e a v y p 1 a y t h r u a T e x a s s u m m e r Z 0 Y SIA s D i c k S t u n t z o f A1 v a m a r r e p o r t e d f i n d i n g t h a t a e r i f i c a t i o n with breaking up and working in the cores was the best approach t o t h a t c h c o n t r o 1 - A m e n ! H e a 1 s o r e p o r t e d t h a t v e r t i c a 1 m a w i n g a n d r e m o v i n g o f d e b r i s c a u s e s t w o p r o b 1 e m s - 1s 1 o w r e c o v e r y a n d 2 n h o w t o g e t r :i. d o f m a n y c u b i c y a r c:l s o f t h a t c h« H e h a s f o u n d i t n e c e s s a r y 1: o t r e a t. f o r g r u b s i n 1 a t e s u m in e r,, H e i s p u 11A n g o n a 1 o t o f p o t a s s i u m o n h i s z o y s i a a 1 s o1 a n d 1 / 2 1 b - o f N / M / y r e >i c e p t w h e r e h e has h e a v y w e a r « I n w e a r a r e a s h e is VERY SELECTIVELY «fertilizing with up to 8 Ib.N/M/yr. Beware o f t hat ch wer e h i s par t i ng wor ds« RIJ BIG A N s A P a n e I - J» C — B a n k s o f E1 a n c o n o t e d t h a t t h e c o m p a n y was n o t s u r e w h y t; h e r e s u 11 s i n c o n t r o 11 i n g P o a a n n u a w i t h t h i s product have been so erratic. He did stress that the fact that it w a s a g r o w t. h r e g u 1 a t o r h e 1 p e d e x p 1 a i n i t s e r r a t i c b e h a v i o r — H e not ed hi s own suc c ess an d ot h er s wit h 2-3 ounces of t he product per thousand square feet on overseeded bermudagrass greens. In that situation it must be applied prior to seeding in mid-October for success« Use either one application or split applications starting in mid-September« Harold Meal spoke of 1984 Elanco research on four of his greens« H e s a i d t h e y s t i 11 were s e e i n g c o n t r o 1 o f P o a f r o m t h o s e i 9 8 4 a p p 1 i c a t i o n s« H e s p o k e o f 1 o s i n g m o r e P o a t h e n h e c o u 1 d s t a n d for awhile from those fall applications« He found bentgrass growth was slow to not at all for months after the applications« M i k e W o o t e n n o w s u p e r i n t e n d e n t a t C e d a r R i d g e, T u 1 s a f o u n d a 3 oz« rate took out 85% of the Poa at his former golf course and t urned t he ben t grass pur p1e whi1e st unt i ng i t« C1 ai med he hard1y h a d t o m o w f o r 3 m o n t h s« I t h i n k t h i s w a s a n e a r 1 y s p r i n g appli cation« Rick Barnett superintendent at LaFortune, Julsa (see TURFCOMMS V« 21« 7 ) spoke of losing 2 greens because he had more Poa than e s t i m a t e d a n d d i d n ' t h a v e e n o u g h b e n t g r a s s a f t e r P o a r e rn o v a 1 « Rick was the only one to report a reduced incidence of Goosegrass o n t r e a t e d g r e e n s w h e n t h e p a n e 1 w a s a s k e d a b o u t t h i s f r o rn a member of the audi ence« Elmer Fugate of Kicking Bird in Edmond, OK, claimed to not get contro 1 at 1« 2 oz af ter a 0« 4 oz app 1 i cat i on on a 1 i mi ted area« Bud Best, superintendent in charge of the famous Oak Tree Golf complex, reported on his results on new Cohansey greens« Two out of nine greens treated turned a bluish cast and stopped growing for about one month after 0«5 oz applied May 16th following an earlier 0.5 oz application made without problems on the same greens Apri 1 16« Thi s reacti on combined wi th F'ythium on the c o 11 a r s o f s o m e o f t h e t r e a t e d g r e e n s the n e x t !vl a r c h s c a r e d h i rn a w a y from Rub i g an use as a Po a c ont ro1 ch em i ca1« It was generally concluded that you might well expect stunting on bentgrass greens from the 2 to 3 oz, needed for Poa control— Stunting might last 1 to 2 months from spring use and all winter f r o m f a 11 u s e« N o n e o b s e r v e d :i. m p rove d r o o t i n g -T R E E S j; I) r » J o h n P a i r , l< S S t a t e H o r t i c u 11 u r e R e s e r c h e r , g a v e a g o o d t a 1 k o n t h e e f f e c t s o f t r e e s o n t h e g o 1 f c o u r s e» F o r p 1 u s e s h e 1 i s t e d t h e c r e a t i o n o f s c h a 11 e n g i n g s h o t s,, s h a d e f o r t h e g o 1 f e r , and aesthetics,, On the negative side he listed root competition for the grass, restricted air movement,, and shade weakened turf,, H e n o t e d t h a t w e o f t e n c r e a t e a c o r r i (j o r f o r t h e g o 1 f e r t o p 1 a y d o w n w i t h t r e e s,. T h a t c a u s e d m e t o t h i n k o f S o u t h e r n H i 11 s a n d K a n s a s C i t y C « C « , o n h o t h o f t h e s e c o u r s e s 1 h a v e t r i e d t o p 1 a y down their tree lined corridors with not much success« H e a 1 s o n o t e d t h a t a 1 o t o f c o u r s e s a r e n a m e d a f t e r t r e e s« (m o r e t h a n I r e a 1 i z e d - r la n t h r u a 1 i s t a n d s e e) — S o m e new t r e e s h e s u g g e s t e d f o r t h e . g r e a t e r 0 k 1 a h o m a a r e a» Chinese Hackberry, has shiny foliage, smooth bark and is good for city c o n d i t i o n s, t h i s o n e i s s t i 11 b e i n g 1 o a k e d a t b y r e s e a r c h,, Saw tooth oak, from Korea, likes clay soil and has good drought t o 1 e r a n c e« S h i n g 1 e o a k a 1 s o h a s s i m i 1 a r p r o p e r t. :i. e s — H e f e e 1 s the thornless male osage~ orange is a tree worth looking at« R u s s i a n f r u i 11 e s s m u 1 b e r r y h e n o t e s h a s n i c e f o r rn,, F1 o w e r i n g c r a b a p p 1 e s, h e n o t e s s o m e d o n o t d r o p t h e i r f r u i t: a n d t h u s a r e n o t m e s s y i n f a 11 b u t a c t u a 11 y 1 o o k p r e 11 y a f t e r t h e 1 e a v e s f a 11 0 f f w i t h f r u i t o n t h e m,, D r.. P a u 1 M i t c h e 11 , 0 K E x t e n s i o n H o r t,, 8 p e c i a 1 i s t, t a 1 k e d a b o u t tree maintenance« His most, important steps start with 1» select c o r r e c t t r e e, 2» t r a i n t r e e t o w a r d g o a 1 i n m i n d d u r i n g t h e f i r s t 3 years after planting,, 3« most training should be done in growing season« F e r t i 1 i z :i. n g - s i n g 1 e b e s t t i m e i s 10 d a y s a f t e r f a 11 f r o s t — B e s t nitrogen source he feels is urea,, He recommended 1 pound of N/1000 square f eet of c:anopy cover« But, suggest ed you shou 1 d 1 g n o r e t h a t a r e a c 1 o s e t o t h e t r u n k,, H e s a i d i g n o r e t h a t i n n e r are 1/2 the radius of the canopy out from trunk, but go out that di stance agai n fr om dr ip 1i ne to i nsure pu11 i ng the f ert i1i zer w her e t he feeder r oot s ar e« CHEMIBATIONs Dr. R. V— Sturgeon, retired OK pathologist, now research consultant, talked about chemigati on— Chemigation i s use of the irrigation system to app1y pesticides« His work has been mostly with big circle irrigation and fungicides« He r e p o i'" t e d t h a t i t w o r k s w e 11 b e c a u s e w h e r e y o u h a v e m o r e w a t e r y o u have more fungicide applied« The higher disease incidence common t o e x c e s s w a t e r s i t u a t i o n s i s t h u s e f f e c t i v e 1 y t r e a t e d« EI N E>