W M. H. BENGEYFIELD Western Director Phone KEllogg 2-2935 • W e s t e rn T u rf l e t t er • 9 - No May - June 1960 EMERGENCY CONTACT FOR SUMMER ASSISTANCE If and when summer emergency help is needed, your USGA Green Section office is as near as your telephone. Handling emergencies is an important part of your Visiting Service Program. If you are unable to make contact at Kellogg 2-2935 * * this summer, please call JEfferson 7-8694, Garden Grove, * Calif, M r s. M. Siegel, Green Section Secretary will have * a complete itinerary of travels and will gladly coordinate * emergency contacts. M r. Harold Dawson, Executive Secretary * * * of The Southern California Golf Association, 1709 W. 8th * * St., Los Angeles 17, C a l i f, will also have a complete # * itinerary. * T U R F G R A SS N E W S, V I E WS A ND N O T ES B o o st I t! June 11th is National Golf D a y. It deserves your active support. The directors of the National Golf Fund (the organization on handling proceeds from National Golf Day) have annually appropriated moneys for turfgrass research. Last year $10,000 was earmark- ed for studies in grass breeding and selection, work on soil mixtures for putting greens, weed and disease control projects and many other important turf research undertakings. The "Round of The Champion ,! will be played by last year's U . S. Open Champion Billy Casper and P.G.A. Champion Bob Rosburg. The site will be the Firestone Country C l u b, Akron, O h i o. As a participant, you will match your score with the champion's score by playing your golf course and using your own handicap. Encourage all fellow golfers to participate. Clean It I (Spray rigs) Spray rigs that have been used for 2 4-D and 2,4,5-T applications are best kept for that purpose o n l y. However, if the rig must do double duty and is used to apply insecticides, fungicides and fertilizers to greens a thorough cleaning is mandatory. Do not use a contaminated spray rig on a green unless these steps are followed: 3 1. Fill the spray tank, lines, boom and nozzles with 1 part household ammonia to 100 parts w a t e r. 2. If you use hot water, let it stand in the tank for 18 h o u r s. 3. If you use cold water, allow the tank to soak for 36 h o u r s. 4. Rinse the tank two or more times with clean w a t e r. 5. Test your cleaning job by spraying a few sensitive plants with the final wash w a t e r. If these show no effect in 3 or 4 days, your tank is probably free of toxic residues. Received It 1 . (Research) To further support his studies of turf diseases (with emphasis on Fusarium Patch), D r. C. J. Gould and the Western Washington Experiment Station recently received an additional $1000.00 from the U.S.G.A. Research and Education Fund, Inc. Similarly, a grant of $500. was made to the University of California, Los Angeles to support the work of D r. V. B. Youngner on environmental factors in turfgrass production. D r. Youngner has disclosed some very interesting facts on the winter dis- coloration of bermuda grass. In spite of temperatures well above the freezing level, why does bermuda go "off-color" in the fall or early winter? "This is caused by an interaction of moderately low temperatures and high light intensity, says D r. Youngner. Apparently, the high light intensity of the fall or early winter days destroys more chlorophyll than the bermuda grass leaf can produce at the reduced temperatures. His studies reveal that the least discoloration resulted under low light intensity despite night temperatures of 34° F. 11 Proved It I (Labor Saver) How much can a farmer afford to invest in equipment to save his chore labor time? Purdue University tabulates it this w a y. If time is worth $1.00 an hour: Machine Saves: Farmer Can Afford: 60 minutes per day 50 minutes per day 40 minutes per day 30 minutes per day 20 minutes per day 10 minutes per day $2,250 1,900 1,500 1,100 700 300 Read Itl (Soils) "We think your last Turfletter on soils was well put and consider our- selves fortunate to have had your past recommendations and advice on the selection of materials that was made when we built the new greens. They have gone through an extremely wet winter season in excellent condition and there wasn't a single day's play missed, except for the few days when snow was on the ground. No temporary greens were used at all and from what others have told u s, our new greens, at this time of the year (April) are in as good or better shape than any in the Northwest." Adolph D. Schmidt, Jr., former Green Chairman Olympia Country Club Olympia, Washington Bel ieve It? (Compaction) "If you figure that a man's foot is about three inches wide and about ten inches long, it covers about 1/5 of a square foot when he steps. If you figure that the man weighs 200 pounds, then he exerts a force of about 1000 pounds per square foot when he steps on the soil, If you figure that a tractor weighs 3000 pounds and the three wheels cover an area of about three square feet, the tractor also exerts a force of about 1000 pounds per square foot. So, one man stepping on the soil covering a smaller area, exerts about the same force in bringing about compaction as does a tractor." Protect It'. (Insects) Cutworms and sod-web worms are already at w o r k. These leaf feeding insects can cause considerable damage in short time. Let's look again at con- trol measures: 1. Chlordane - most widely used of all turf insecticides. It is less toxic to man and animals than other insecticides. For leaf-feeders, apply at 2 1/2 lbs. actual Chlordane per acre or with the 407 2 1/2 o z s. per 1000 s q, feet. wettable powder, apply o 2. DDT - the reliable stand-by of insecticides. Apply at the rate of 5 l b s. actual DDT per acre or if using 507o wettable powder, apply 4 o z s. per 1000 s q. feet * 3. Heptachlor - very fast sod penetration but short lived effectiveness in the soil. Use it if rapid sod penetration is desired. Apply at the rate of 2 lbs. actual heptachlor per acre or at 3 o z s. of the 25% wettable powder per 1000 s q. feet. ick'kif^rk'k'k'k'kicifk'k'k'frk "A man is sane morally at thirty, rich mentally at forty, wise spiritually at fifty -- or never!" D r. William Osier . IJ. S. GOLF ASSOCIATION GREEN SECTION WESTERN OFFICE P.O. Box 567 Garden Grove, California ^ £ BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID Gardeh Grove, Calif. Permit No. 83 R a d k o, N o r t h e a s t e rn M r, Alexander D i r e c t o r, USGA Green Section North- eastern ;f f ice Rutgers Un 1 v r:, i t.y New Bruns /ic , , College of A g r i c. t ,