Counting Down to Winter

We've pretty much completed all the preparations for winter.  Last week saw the last fairway get its treatment and up to now the weather has been cooperating.  The funny thing about spraying fairways is timing.  It is not possible to treat the areas we spray in a timely fashion because of size and weather (as I referenced in the last post) so we are somewhat forced to be done by the end of October.  Although it's nice to be done the trade off can be the length the treatments are left exposed.  We use a product with three different fungicides mixed together.  The mode of action for 2 of the 3 occurs within the plant (i.e. has to be taken up by the plant) while the third chemical is a contact.  Because of this mixture we obviously have to spray before the plant goes dormant.  It could happen that if you spray too early and the fall is unusually mild the efficacy of the spray declines (if you're a "techno geek"go here for extra info).  With respect to the greens the timing is just as important but even more so since disease pressure is higher due to density, species, health, and the low HOC.  The longer I do this the more trusting I become of the chemical even when the weather is less than perfect.  I will always keep a spray handy as a back up and if I don't need it I know it will be used the following season.

The forecast for the next couple days is for sort of rain/snow so we put out all the tarps on Friday (last years post, here, covers all the basics if you itching for more info).  My plan was to purchase a new impermeable for #7 as well as more of the Enkamat to be used under both #7 and #15 tarps but weak numbers for September put the brakes on purchasing.  I did get two roll of Enkamat to use on #7 but had to stick with the ripped up tarp.  We didn't roll out the Enkamat mostly because of time constraints but I am pretty sure we'll have time since there is a history of the first snow fall usually melting.  With no Enkamat available for #15 we'll go with what we've always done (a single impermeable tarp) and hope for the best.  One more point about #15 green.  It is kind of unique because of the large hill along the right side of the green.  During spring melt and even ill timed rain events during the winter water will run on the green from the hill.  We cut one edge of the tarp into the hillside to prevent moisture from running under the tarp and creating an ice layer directly in the surface.  We've done this for years and seldom has ice of any amount developed on the green surface.

The slope is huge PITA when we blow snow because we have to blow the snow in one direction and because of the size of the green we usually end up blowing 1/2 the snow twice, if you follow me.  I am getting ahead of myself so I'll wrap up with a video of the cutting the beetle tree down on the right of 9 green.

My definition of Cosmetic

The debate is still on and we are still waiting for a formal response/recommendation from the Committee on Cosmetic Pesticides ( see We got a problem.... post for refresher).  I had a goofy idea last fall.  I wanted to stress the importance of the cosmetic pesticide debate to people who golf at KGC.  We chose an area on #1 fairway and deliberately did not spray it with our overwintering fungicide.  To encourage as much involvement as possible on the pesticide issue I wanted to get peoples attention so we spelled out the word "WHY" with garbage bags and sprayed over top of the bags.

The "WHY"

The hope was that the areas covered with the bags would be riddled with disease while the surrounding area would be green and healthy and show no disease.  When people asked what the "WHY" meant I would use that question as my lead-in to the cosmetic pesticide debate.  However, stuff happens.  In the race to get everything ready for winter we forgot the location of the "WHY" and sprayed right over it and, as a result, the area I was hoping to act a show piece for disease came through looking great!?!  I guess the good news / bad news is there is lots of other areas to show the importance of an overwintering spray to KGC but you need to know where to look.  Take a look:

#4 Fairway

The left side of picture shows the control achieved with the low rate of an overwintering fungicide while the right side had no fungicide applied and is covered with snow mould.

I like to leave some areas on the golf course untreated for cost reasons but also for reference points to get an indication the disease pressure from year to year.  The following pictures are from 8 fairway. 

Start of #8 Fairway: not treated

The rest of #8 Fairway: treated

Had we not treated sections of  number 8 the whole fairway would look like the area in the first picture. 

#12 Fairway

I took the picture of 12 fairway from on top of the hill on the right of the fairway.  The line between treated and untreated on the fairway is obvious.

IMO, I don't think the disease pressure was exceptionally high this year based on what I've seen on untreated areas of turf.  I am comfortable with the rate that we used and I would be hard pressed to give up treating fairways based on cost or legislation.  How long will it take for those area we didn't spray to recover?  This is where Poa is good because I know we have a huge seed bank in the soil so, ultimately, the grass will come.  How long it takes depends on weather and other stresses (play, mowing, etc).  There is things we can do to speed recovery but with this years budget we don't have the man power or necessary equipment to address these areas adequately.

As you play the course this year keep an eye on those areas shown in the previous photo's and see how long it takes for those fairway areas hit by snow mould to recover to a playable condition.  For me, none of the sprays we did last fall were for cosmetic reasons.  There is too much golf to choose from locally to risk not having the course in the best possible condition.  Unlike damage from other winter stresses (ice, crown hydration, etc), I have some level of control on how severe winter disease damage can be by applying fungicides.  Actual risks associated by application of products for cosmetic reasons are, perhaps, best demonstrated by this photo:

Week of Oct 17 -24

We continue with our fall maintenance and prep for winter. Aside from the tree removal for pine beetle (previous post) and aerating greens with the deep tine aerator, we have begun our winter disease prevention program. Right now we are in better shape (health and treatment wise) than last year. Temperatures have been in a nice range with overnight lows only moderately below zero (versus 10 to 15 below zero last fall) and day time highs anywhere from +5 to +12 C. We require 2 more preventative sprays on the greens to properly preparing them for winter.

Applying Snow Mould
Treatment on 12 Fairway

The funny thing about preventative sprays is the timing. An application needs to be before conditions are right for disease to fully develop but not so soon that you risk the treatment loosing its potency. Two of the green sprays need to be done while the turf is still able to absorb the treatment; i.e. still growing/photosynthesising. The recommendations for the third application is to apply just before the first permanent snow cover. The "just before the first permanent snow cover" is the weird part. Weather forecasts, historical averages, and my "spidey sense" are the only tools I have to decide when to time that last spray.

One problem with spraying too early is the affect moisture has on spray efficacy. The more a treatment is exposed to rain events or snow melt (with respect to a contact fungicide) the less effective is its control. Aside from rain, UV light can also lessen fungicide effectiveness as a result of UV degradation. One more thing: fungicides have recommended spray intervals that range from 7 to 28 days depending on environmental conditions and disease severity. Snow cover obviously limits re-applying so, ideally, you would want to be at the beginning of the time line with respect to the spray interval when the snow does come.

We can spray all 18 greens with just over one tank so it only takes 3 to 4 hours to finish. When it comes to treating the rest of the golf course we need another 10 tanks which, when you throw in frost delays and the time needed to have spray dry on the leaf, can take up to 5 days to complete the 10 sprays required.