Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/82830
Continued From Page 28 timing relative to that change. Ideally, the survey would be completed during the normal fall/winter season – it will be available for user groups to respond in the upcoming season. The final report will be completed in early 2013; $3300 of the $6600 WCTA commitment has been distributed. extremely interesting and well written. It can be found (along with photos) at: http://www.wcta-online.com/turfgrass- research/item/192-whistler-golf-club- snow-mold-trial-project *This project was originally put forward in 2006 and had been approved for funding but was put on hold part way through the project at the request of Dr. Holl. 2011 Special Project – Whistler Golf Club Snow Mold Trial Last fall while attending the Lower Mainland BCGSA windup at the Whistler Golf Club, I learned from Assistant Superintendent Stuart Carmichael that the course was planning a full greens renovation the following spring and would not be applying fall fungicide. It was immediately obvious this was an incredibly rare opportunity to undertake a snow mold trial project but because it was already late September, we had to move quickly. Scott Mitchell, then WCTA President took the lead role in coordinating with course Superintendent, Dave Gottselig and Stuart Carmichael and an impromptu project was born. The original idea was to determine the potential of using phosphites for Fusarium control but it quickly expanded to include Civitas and Instrata. Oregon State University had seen success with phosphite application but a real Canadian winter was needed to test the theory. With such a project, the work was almost entirely shouldered by the Whistler Golf Club however support was received from Terralink Horticulture and Syngenta. Whistler GC staff did a fantastic job ensuring the trial was as scientific as possible and Stuart's final report was The WCTA Research Committee would like to acknowledge the efforts of Dave, Stuart and the Whistler Golf Club for undertaking this trial and sharing the results all while busy renovating their greens. Demonstration projects as they were once called, have become nearly extinct as most turf managers have become so busy at their facilities, there isn't much time left for research projects. Not to mention, who wants a bunch of dead grass! 2012 Projects: Project Title: Canadian Turf Research Foundation Cooperative Funding The CTRF collects and distributes research monies much like the WCTA but on a National Scale. We have contributed to this collaborative approach to research funding annually since 1992. PROJECT LENGTH: Mult. projects / varies WCTA COMMITMENT: $6,600 TOTAL PROJECT VALUE: $43,000 Projects funded by the CTRF in 2012 include: i) University of Guelph Dr.'s Goodwin and Hsiang's project titled 'Defense Activators as an Alternative to Pesticides for Controlling Turfgrass Diseases' is valued at $25,000 per year for two years. The purpose of the work is to investigate an organic control strategy for turfgrass diseases by stimulating the inherent ability of plants to resist pathogen attack. Past research has found that resistance can be induced in susceptible plants by microorganisms and their metabolites or by synthetic analogs of natural products. The benefits of such an approach could be enormous as the industry and society trends away from traditional synthetic pesticides. ii) Tompkins, Fry, Ross and Anderson of the Prairie Turfgrass Research Centre based out of Olds College will build on previous winter turf survival work through a project called 'Evaluation of Ventilation Systems under Winter Covers to Prevent Injury from Anoxia on Annual Bluegrass Putting Greens' valued at $18,000. The project stems from testing done at the Glendale Golf Club where clever systems have been installed (in winter) using roof turbines to blow air through pipes laid under impermeable covers on greens to mitigate any toxic gas build-up. The goal is to develop a simple and inexpensive system that can be used at all courses that have chronic ice damage issues. Project Title: Evaluation of Alternative Management Strategies to Reduce or Eliminate the Use of Fungicides for Control of Microdochium Patch, Oregon State University More money is spent on fungicides to control Microdochium patch than any other turfgrass disease in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest United States. Turfgrass managers continue to be scrutinized when it comes to pesticide use for the control of problematic turf pests. This project will evaluate cultural practices as well as new alternative products that have shown potential to control Microdochium patch. Each component will be evaluated individually and upon completion of the two year research project be integrated into a complete management program for the control of Microdochium patch with the intent of greatly reducing or eliminating fungicide use. PROJECT LENGTH: 2 years WCTA COMMITMENT: $15,000 USD TOTAL PROJECT VALUE: $70,000 CURRENT STATUS: With the departure of Dr Rob Golembiewski from OSU, all non-initiated projects were put on hold until a new professor was hired. Funding has not been disbursed as we await word from OSU. Project Title: Investigation of the Okanagan Valley Resident Canada Goose Sub-population to Assist with Strategic Goose Management Our goal is to investigate the resident (i.e. non-migratory) sub-population of Canada geese that reside within the Okanagan Valley. Our study will help determine how geese use the valley spatially and temporally. In doing so we expect to discover a) if the population is closed (e.g. new geese do not immigrate into or emigrate from the population, and population growth occurs from locally nesting birds), b) if the goose population seasonally fluctuates due to migration patterns of non-resident geese (e.g. do migratory Canada geese that have nested in northern Canada boost the valley sub-population during spring and fall migration or winter?), and c) if the valley goose sub-population uses the entire valley or if geese restrict their movements to specific areas (e.g. do geese in specific communities use only the respective community region or do they migrate along the valley and to what extent?). Understanding these questions will be extremely advantageous to designing and implementing management techniques to alleviate conflict with resident Canada geese and reduce goose-related damage and management costs. PROJECT LENGTH: 2 years WCTA COMMITMENT: $2,500 TOTAL PROJECT VALUE: $8,750 CURRENT STATUS: $1250 has been distributed and the project is in progress. 30 WESTERN CANADA TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION