Turf Line News

September 2012

Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/82830

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 26 of 47

Continued From Page 24 green I decided to start rolling my greens 2x daily. I had been warned numerous times from turfgrass experts that rolling more than 3-4x per week wasn't a good idea. In June I was now rolling 14x per week in an attempt to culturally control the fusarium. In June I rolled my putting greens 60x. Now I wasn't rolling for green speed but as an important IPM tool. Rolling this much allowed me to raise cutting heights further reducing disease pressures. I was forced to make a contact fungicide application in early June as I wasn't totally convinced that rolling could completely control fusarium especially in a curative mode. I had a lot of very active mycelium and couldn't afford any significant turf loss going into our busy season. I left a few areas unsprayed and it turns out that the fungicide application wasn't necessary and the 2x rolled untreated turf easily outgrew the damage caused by the fusarium. The fact that I have been monitoring growth rates via clipping yields for the past year gives me a very valuable tool to determine when I can confidently hold off with fungicide applications and outgrow the disease. On the plot that was rolled IN THE MEDIA BY LORNE HEPWORTH HEALTH CANADA CONTROLS MAKE Re: the issue of pesticides coming up again at Kamloops city council. The British Columbia Special Committee on Pesticides studied the issue of urban pesticide use extensively and came PECTICIDE SAFE 2012 CAMPUS NEWSVIA UBC PRESS RELEASE UBC TO OFFER HORTICULTURE TRAINING PROGRAM UBC Botanical Garden is pleased to announce a new provincially-accredited Horticulture Training Program with the endorsement of Industry Training Authority of BC (ITA) and the Industry Training Organization, HortEducationBC (HEBC). to the conclusion that the current regulatory system in place protects people, animals and the environment. Therefore British Columbians should be able to continue to buy and use approved pesticides, as the study wisely pointed out. 1x/day, the cluster of disease suggests that the disease could be spread by a mower from a nearby control plot located to the top right of this plot. I began using my trial green as an indicator to find the optimum rolling frequency for both turfgrass quality and disease suppression. It wasn't until early July that I went back to rolling 1x daily as the plots that were rolled more were starting to get a little muddy with the heavy rains we were experiencing. By this time my attention had shifted from fusarium to dollar spot as the rains suddenly stopped and the temperatures finally warmed up. Going into fall, I plan on giving rolling a shot. I think that there is some potential for it to work combined with other cultural practices but I'm not holding my breath. Growth rates will be slowing and any additional stresses will be magnified. Typically stress = bad. Currently I am using phosphites and Civitas for disease control with really good results. Of course winter is a different story so falling back to the reliable synthetic fungicides is always an option. I will also be conducting a small study on my nursery turf to better see if rolling has an effect of fusarium in the winter months with and without different fungicide treatments. Stay tuned! Just as the committee discovered, when it comes to health and safety, before any pesticide can be sold in Canada, it must first be approved by Health Canada. This process involves a comprehensive set of over 200 tests and a review of all scientifically credible studies that exist to ensure that the product will not cause harm to people, animals or the environment. Only those products that meet Health Canada's strict health and safety standards are registered for sale and use. Readers should also know how homeowners in Ontario feel about the ban now that it's been in place for three years. A recent poll of Ontario homeowners shows over half feel the provincial government did not do the right thing by implementing a ban and they would rather have the ban scrapped or modified. The polling also found that many Ontarians are mixing potentially dangerous concoctions on their own or wilfully breaking the law by using pesticides that have been banned to protect their lawns and gardens. The fact of the matter is that pesticides used on lawns and gardens are designed as tools to address specific pest problems infesting valuable landscapes — they are not "cosmetic" at all. Pesticides help control threats to human health (such as rats and mosquitoes), they protect private and public properties from pest infestations and they help ensure that Canadians have a safe and affordable supply of food thereby contributing to healthier communities and greater well-being and prosperity. I would encourage readers to visit Health Canada's website to learn more about the safety of these products so they can make a decision on pesticide use based on scientific evidence. Lorne Hepworth is the President, CropLife Canada ASSOCIATION NEWS MEMBERS NEW AND RETURNED Through September 3rd, 2012 Running from September to May, this full-time program is designed to give students the skills and experience necessary for entering the field of horticulture. Completion of 1100 hours of classroom and hands-on practical instruction and supervised practical work will lead to Levels I & II Apprenticeship technical training credit. "The UBC Horticulture Training Program is special because of its emphasis on fundamentals and practical aspects of horticulture," states Douglas Justice, Associate Director and Curator of Collections, UBC Botanical Garden. "The gardens and facilities here are beautiful environments for practical learning, and the program will provide excellent opportunities for students to train alongside our industry-leading horticulturists." Students will be introduced to principles and techniques of landscape construction and design, garden ecology, plant biology and plant health, the nature and role of soil in natural and constructed landscapes, aspects of ornamental and food crop management, as well as practical, hands-on landscape and garden management. "The increasing demands to solve the environmental concerns with urban forestry, agriculture and many other 'greening' initiatives of the future are becoming more difficult, especially when the choices for education and training are limited," states Brian Scott, Superintendent of Operations, Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. "I feel that the new UBC Horticulture Training Program will benefit our field tremendously by providing graduates who are well prepared to step into these evolving horticultural positions." Horticulture instruction will be undertaken using the facilities of the Botanical Garden, Botanical Garden Nursery, Nitobe Memorial Garden, Totem Research Fields, and the UBC landscape at large. Instruction will include a variety of off-site fieldtrips to various horticultural organizations and operations. Rick deJong..................................Terralink Horticulture Dale Ekman............................Drayton Valley Golf Club Rob Egan...................Cedar Valley Memorial Gardens Todd Henry.................Northwest Community College Lee Heuther..............................Sports Turf Association Michael Malo ....................Northern Bear Golf Course Ian Boyd .................................................. City Of Calgary Verna Mumby..............................................The Tree lady WESTERN CANADA TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION 27

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Turf Line News - September 2012