Protect Your Turf from Summer Stress with the Holiday Spray Program

During summer, stressors like heat, humidity, traffic, aeration, and disease pressure are tough on turf. This easy spray program will keep your turf healthy and resilient. Before major summer holidays, apply Intrinsic® brand fungicide to fortify your cool-season fairways, greens, and tees from heavy disease pressure.

Intrinsic brand fungicides also boost your turf’s ability to deal with stress. So if you’re concerned about summer stressors, follow this program. Your turf will be championship-ready all summer.

Holiday Spray program for cool-season greens:

BASF suggests that you treat your greens with Lexicon® Intrinsic brand fungicide before major summer holidays. This will provide your turf with an optimal plant health foundation. Lexicon Intrinsic brand fungicide provides resilient, healthy greens by controlling 27 turfgrass diseases.

Holiday Spray program for cool-season fairways, tees, and surrounds:

Before major summer holidays, apply Honor® Intrinsic brand fungicide or Insignia® Intrinsic brand fungicide to fairways, tees, and surrounds. Honor Intrinsic brand fungicide supplies excellent preventive control of dollar spot and summer patch. It also provides 28 days of turf-boosting plant health. Insignia SC Intrinsic brand fungicide is the industry standard for plant health and disease control.

Grub Identification and Control Options

Several grub species impact the roots or stems of cool season grasses within the Midwest. Turf managers must be aware of the symptoms and damage that each species can cause due to the impact to turf quality on golf courses, home lawns, and sports fields the grubs can have. The most common grub larvae that continue to impact turfgrass roots are both the Japanese Beetle and S. Masked Chaffer. 

Both adult beetles are distinguished by their color as well as their flight patterns. SMC typically fly at night, are attracted to light and can be observed on driveways or sidewalks. The Japanese Beetle, on the other hand, flies during the day and can be observed feeding on flowers and leaves. Once mating has occurred, eggs are deposited into the turf. Within one month, grub larvae emerge and begin to chew on grass roots below the soil surface.

Another grub species that is one of the misdiagnosed is the bluegrass billbug. This beetle has an easily identifiable feature, its elongated snout. Females use it to lay an egg in the stem of the plant. The tiny larvae feed inside the stem, which causes the turf to appear wilted. To see if bluegrass billbugs are present, employee the “tug test.” Pull upward on the affected turf stems and see if you see a “legless” grub at the base of the plant. Sometimes weakened or dead plants can be associated with the early stages of damage.  

The black turfgrass ataenius or BTA is the tiny grub that exclusively impacts golf course turf consisting of bentgrass and/or annual bluegrass. These small beetles can overwinter in plant debris or near woods and emerge the following spring where they can produce 1-2 generations of grub larvae. BTA beetles and their damage can occur during the same time as other grub beetle complexes.

Choosing the correct insecticide for controlling various grub complexes begins with proper timing and selection of granular or sprayable applications. Almost every turf manager selects a preventative approach using new class chemistries (CNI – Merit Mallet or Arena or Chlorantraniliprole – Acelerpryn) for only one application per season. Product applied to the turf will control for various larvae instars before damage occurs. Watering in is recommended to move active ingredient into the soil and reduce any photodegradation. Applications can begin during the month of May or early June to optimize control.  

Should a curative treatment need to be used in the late summer/fall, Dylox® granular, from Bayer®, is the best choice for controlling both small and large instars. Dylox needs to be irrigated to be effective and only lasts for less than a couple of weeks.  

The #1 question about the grub forecast for 2017? Will we have higher populations of grubs this year? Yes, I believe we will have higher populations due to the higher precipitation from last summer.  

John Turner

Sales Account Manager, Advanced Turf Solutions

Coal City School District Testimonial

"Healthy Grow 10-3-2 fertilizer provides the results I need when I need them. The fact that it is organic makes it the perfect fertilizer for my applications." 

                                                                                       -Matt Cook, Coal City School District

How to Properly Sustain Pressure on Your Z-Spray

Learn how to maintain proper pressure in the spray system of the Z-Spray zero turn sprayer/spreader.

8 New Standard Golf Company Products

Standard Golf Company, the world's largest continually-operated manufacturer and marketer of golf course accessories, is proud to announce eight exciting new products coming to the market. 

Click here to learn more

Quickly Establishing A Newly Seeded Area In The Spring

You may be eager to establish turf in an area you are renovating and asking yourself, "How do I quickly establish a newly seeded area in the spring?" The chief step in establishing a newly seeded area is a comprehensive preparation of the seedbed.

The method of seedbed preparation will be different, depending on the area you are seeding. The preparation process can be complex if it’s an area on a golf course. Start by rough grading the area and clearing away rocks and existing vegetation. Soil tests should be completed at this time to determine what amendments will be needed. When rough grading is complete, sub-surface drainage and an irrigation system can be installed. The finished seedbed should be uniformly firm, so areas don’t settle and create “bird baths.” These "bird baths" can make it difficult for seed to establish.

The quality of the seed will determine the long-term success of the area. Don’t skimp on quality. At the time of seeding, apply a starter fertilizer. 

Frequently water as needed to keep the top half-inch of the soil constantly moist. However, avoid making puddles. Water at least three times per day until all the seed has germinated and you have mowed several times (up to six weeks). The best times to water are from morning to 2 pm or 3 pm. Do not let the soil dry out in the afternoon sun and heat and do not water in the evening. 

When you are all done and want the seedlings to grow quickly, let us help. Foliar-Pak® Micros Plus enhances density, rooting, and recovery. It's great for turf establishment. 

A recommended program for rapid turf establishment involves applying a two-ounce rate per 1000 square feet on a weekly basis for three weeks. Follow that up with two bi-weekly applications at a two-ounce rate per 1000 square feet. Start the applications when the seedlings are well established, and when it is possible to drive a sprayer across the area without resulting in damage.

Using Foliar-Pak Promote or Foliar-Pak Bio Sea, with the last two applications, will improve the stress tolerance of the newly established turf. Maintaining correct nitrogen and phosphorous levels are important. Foliar-Pak Amperage, Foliar-Pak 11-0-11, and Foliar-Pak Armament P will help.

For turfgrass establishment on sports fields and lawns, try Foliar-Pak GROW-IN. It' an all-in-one product that provides a complete turfgrass establishment program with the convenience of one single product.