We Are Growing: Meet Dennis and Eric

We are very excited to announce that we are growing and have added two sales members to our team. Let's meet Dennis Dary and Eric Styck.

Dennis Dary has over a decade of sales/product manager experience in the turfgrass industry, in addition to over 8 years of human resource and management experience as a golf course superintendent. He is a good listener, with outstanding people skills and the ability to make customers feel comfortable at all times. Dennis takes pride in offering practical solutions to his clients. He focuses on meeting their needs, while staying within budget. Dennis believes it is important to take care of the customers needs before, during, and after the sale and also to concentrate on product education.

Eric Styck may be a fresh member of the ProGro team, but he is not a stranger to turf and ornamental management. He is the former superintendent of the Olympic Club’s Lake Course in San Francisco and has been around turf since he was 14 years old, working mornings before school at the local golf course. He also served as an intern and an assistant superintendent for 10 years at both the Olympic Club as well as Medinah Country Club.

He looks forward to using his years of experience to assist clients in their decision making process, offering creative solutions to unique problems. Eric is responsible for turf and ornamental sales to the Northern Illinois and Southeastern Wisconsin regions. He earned his B.S. in Ornamental Horticulture and is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The Power of pH

pH is a measure of the amount of hydrogen ions in a solution. A pH of 7 (neutral) means that the concentration of hydrogen (H+) and hydroxide (OH-) ions is equally balanced.

When the pH of water used in a spray solution is above 7, the solution craves hydrogen ions to achieve balance. Adding low pH herbicides, fungicides, insecticides or plant growth regulators into a high pH solution can cause the low pH chemistry to break down in a reaction known as alkaline hydrolysis.

Reducing the spray solution to a pH of 5 to 7 mitigates alkaline hydrolysis and maximizes the biological potential of the plant protectants in the tank.

Precision Products That Reduce pH

Precision Laboratories manufactures a line of spray adjuvants and surfactants that reduce the pH of spray solutions.  The data below shows the resulting pH when the products are added at various rates (v/v) into a spray solution with an initial pH of 7.7. 

	Volume/Volume %
	.000%	.063%	.125%	.187%	.250%
New Balance™	7.7	5.9	4.7	4.2	3.7
Transport Ultra™	7.7	5.5	4.5	3.9	2.8
Delux™	7.7	7.6	7.4	7.2	7.2
Chem-Stik LpH™	7.7	7.5	7.0	6.7	6.0
SYNC®	7.7	7.6	7.4	7.2	7.0

Product Selection

Spray tank adjuvants perform many functions. They can increase spray droplet spread, improve penetration through the plant cuticle, prevent wash-off and keep spray droplets viable.  For assistance selecting the Precision spray tank adjuvant that meets your needs, contact your ProGro Solutions sales representative.   

Don Spier 
Vice President - Turf Business Development for Precision Laboratories

Turf Tip: Mmmmm...Tastes Salty

"I've been told any soil that can grow a crop of weeds, can certainly grow grass. Yet over the years, I have seen some the of best looking soil seem absolutely barren. If you have a problem spot, you can't just cup it in your hand and smell it (okay, maybe you can if someone refueled a mower and spilled all over the place). You can't taste it (well maybe if it's next to a sidewalk where they've used five times too much salt all winter.) You can't put your ear to the ground and listen to all the microbiology (at least I'm pretty sure of that one).

The only way to really know what's going on down there is with a soil test. Understanding the soil will save time, money, and most of all aggravation.  With spring seeding upon us, now is the best time to do a soil test. Proper knowledge of pH, salts, soil texture, and nutrient levels will aid in seed selection and fertility inputs.  You can only know what you need after you find out what you have. For assistance in sampling or results, please contact your ProGro rep." 

Roy Cranmer

ProGro Sales Representative

Solubility is Key

When looking for a quality gypsum, there are 3 factors to keep in mind: purity, fineness of grind, and solubility. The easiest way to determine the maximum value you will get in your gypsum choice is to look at the label on the bag. Each bag is required by law to tell you the purity (guaranteed analysis) and fineness of grind (% passing through mesh).

Not all gypsums are the same. In the turf world, there are 2 types you will generally find. The first type is called Anhydrite gypsum (CaSO4). This type of gypsum is very insoluble and very low in purity. Anhydrite gypsum has a much higher level of Ca associated with the material, but because the material is very insoluble, that high level of Ca is not plant available. The second type of gypsum is called Dihydrate gypsum (CaSO4*2H2O). This type of gypsum has 2 additional molecules of water associated within the gypsum crystals. The addition of these 2 water molecules is key to solubility, increasing the solubility of the crystal by nearly 5X. Dihydrate gypsum is valuable because the gypsum crystals have not been weathered and the moisture has not been baked out of it. Because of these facts, the purity of the dyhydrate is nearly 100% pure.

Be sure to check out this video from Pace Turf, which explains the differences between Anhydrite and Dihydrate gypsum in more detail.

For over 5 years, ProGro Solutions and Calcium Products have partnered together to provide ProGro’s customers the purest gypsum source in the industry the SuperCal SO4 material by Calcium Products is mined from the purest source of calcium on the planet, regularly tested at 92-95% pure CaSO4*2H20. It is ground to the finest mesh size in the industry with nearly 75% passing through 200 mesh. Because it is so pure and ground so fine, the solubility of the SuperCal SO4 gypsum is unsurpassed, with nearly 80% of the Ca and S plant available within 24 hours. Calcium Products manufactures the SuperCal SO4 in 3 SGN sizes, SO4 (240+ SGN), SO4M (120 SGN), and SO4UGG (60 SGN), with all sizes available from your ProGro sales representative.

Golf courses around the world choose SuperCal to improve soil quality and improve playablity and it all started in our backyard with Spring Valley Golf Course in Livermore, Iowa! Check out the video below to learn more.

For additional product information from Calcium Products, either visit our website at www.calciumproducts.com or check with your ProGro Solutions sales representative.

Brian Milan
Calcium Products Territory Sales Manager-Professional Turf Global Territory

The Return of the Weeds

Much has changed since last month's newsletter. Soil temps are rising, flowers are blooming, and the turf is growing; all great things! Unfortunately, undesirable weeds such as dandelion and clover are emerging as well. It is important to get out sooner, rather than later, when trying to keep a foothold on these pesky plants. There are a plethora of herbicides to choose from, many of which do a phenomenal job. With time, labor, and money invested in these herbicide applications, it is in a turf manager's best interest to maximize efficiency so a repeat application is not needed. Including a nonionic sticker or surfactant to these applications does not add much cost and can drastically increase control. Some options include Chem-Stik LpH™, Transport Ultra™, and Pen-a-Trate II™. Ask your ProGro rep and refer to the ProGro Herbicide Guide for more details.   

Brett Ziegler
Progro Sales Representative