Turf Tip: Keep Your Eye On The Ball

As the days get shorter and the temperatures get cooler, you can hear the collective sigh of relief, "another season is just about in the bag!"  While the major stress issues are behind us, there remains a potential for pest damage to turf. Dollar spot can be a significant threat well into October as the warm ground starts to collide with cooler air temperatures. Fall is also the time to apply treatments that require lower soil temperatures, such as those for Take all patch. Soon, we will find the gaps in our grub control programs as the damage from feeding larva start to appear. September is typically a dry period and low humidity period in our area.  Maintaining proper irrigation and treatments for LDS are vital to preparing turf as it hardens off for winter. So, enjoy the fact that the end of the season is near, but do not let your guard down just yet!

Aaron Goy
President ProGro Solutions

Autumn is Just Around the Corner

Shorter days and cooler temperatures mean autumn is here. One of the best feelings you can have is putting on that windbreaker for the first time on a cool morning. Although summer is nearly over, now begins the key time frame for turfgrass recovery. Roots grow and thrive in this pre-fall period. Optimal weather for growing and seeding grass will be in place for the next 60 days. Keep a strong grasp on dollar spot and a balanced nutritional approach pre and post aerification. Additionally, now is the time to go after broadleaf and perennial grassy weeds. We have the product in stock to help. Stay focused, enjoy life, and take some time for your family. Best of luck.

Craig Shepherd

ProGro Sales Representative

   

2016 Early Order

It's hard to believe the 2016 early order is here. Agriculture controls 99% of the chemistries turf managers rely on every day. This means we are all at the mercy of their demand, which has been on the rise.  Over the last few years, we have consistently seen pesticides and nutrient prices increase 2-8% annually. Next year, we expect prices to continue to increase along with key active ingredient shortages. Early order gives you the opportunity to take discounts on current pricing and not pay for these products until the following season. We can even help you get products to finish out the current season and include them in the early order program. 

ProGro Solutions takes great pride in the early order opportunities we provide our customers and tweak those offerings every year based on your feedback. Please make time for your ProGro representative to explain how we can help you make your budget dollars go further.

Foliar-Pak® Aeration Recovery Program

Treat your aerated turf with a complete foliar program, including natural plant extracts and active L-amino acids. Give your turf the necessary advantage for rapid recovery.

This program results in more rapid closure of core cultivation holes, improved turf recovery and higher quality turf. With the use of this program, nitrogen applications for the purpose of aeration recovery can be considerably reduced or quite possibly eliminated.

Apply this program 3 days prior to aeration and again 7 days after aeration.

Foliar-Pak® 14-2-4 Balanced macro-nutrient fertilizer to supplement plant metabolic activity. Provides nutrients for consistent color and proper tissue development.

Rate: 3 to 6 oz per 1000

Foliar-Pak® Promote Provides nutrients and plant extracts geared to improve antioxidant activity important for recovery of leaf and root tissue. Promote will help increase root growth after disruption from core cultivation. Rate: 3 oz per 1000

Foliar-Pak® Micros Plus Improves lateral growth of stolons, rhizomes and enhances foliar recovery. Micros Plus improves cell division, nutrient use, photosynthetic properties and helps turf maintain healthy green color. Rate: 1.5 oz per 1000

Foliar-Pak® L-18 Activator™ Patented amino acid technology drives protein and enzyme production. This improves plant energy aspects for more rapid turf recovery.

Rate: 1.5 oz per 1000

HOLGANIX® Golf Blend 66GC CT Organic, bionutritional product that promotes strong turf and plant health, naturally increasing resistance to disease and insect damage by promoting significant root and cell wall development. 
Rate: 10 oz per 1000

Download the PDF for this Aeration Recovery Program.

Download the PDF for the Warm SeasonAeration Recovery Program.

Barenbrug Research, The RTF Brand / 2015

With the development of the RTF (Rhizomatous tall fescue), Barenbrug’s research group identified three distinctly different tall fescue morphotypes: Continental, Rhizomatous, and Mediterranean.  Of these three groups, the Continental-types are by far the most common. Evolving north of the Alps and Pyrenees mountains, Continental-types have been the mainstay of turf-type tall fescue breeding and production since the introduction of Rebel some 30 plus years ago. Named varieties of Continental-type tall fescue now number in the hundreds and are used throughout the world.

The least developed of these three groups would be the Mediterranean-types and these would be for forage only. Very different from both the Continental and RTF groups, the ancestry of Mediterranean-types features species completely different from the two.

The RTF Group is distinguished by the presence of longer and higher numbers of rhizomes than found in either the Continental or Mediterranean. Studies have shown RTF plants to produce as many as 20 times the number of rhizomes than Continental tall fescue and continue to aggressively form them in turf. Evolving independently on the northern Ibernian peninsula, RTF plants form an extensive root system and have also been found to be significantly more drought tolerant than Continental-types in turf. When digging deeper into RTF plants, they are shown to exhibit endophyte, physical plant characteristics, plant physiology, and plant distribution distinctly different from the Continental Group. All indications would seem to point to a completely different ancestry. 

At Barenbrug, we’re continuing our developmental work with RTF and are currently producing seed from a 4th generation RTF variety.  Moving forward we continue to find it a very unique and different group of tall fescues with significant advantages over traditional turf-types. In turf, we find a more extensive root system, dependable strong rhizome production, early spring green up, and great uniformity, It’s in the genes!

ProGro Solutions offers RTF in Barenbrug’s professional quality Turf Saver RTF brand, featuring 40% RTF varieties and 60% improved turf-types Turf Saver. We also invite you to go online and take a look at our video examining rhizome production in tall fescue. It is a great way of seeing what we see every day, real rhizome production and value, not just ‘rhizome potential.’ 

John Rector 
Barenbrug Turf Products Manager