“Using products in the most efficient manner, in conjunction with providing specific tools and information, means that turf managers’ decisions can be made more easily and based upon facts where possible”
Stuart Staples, Scotts International Technical Manager Practical tools The basic tools available are:
• Soil analysis - nutrient inputs based on facts
• iTURF software - providing an ITM programme that is easy to follow (available through Scotts Sales team only at present)
• iTURF solutions - ITM sheets naming specific products for specific problems based on facts
• Product information sheets - providing information that turf managers need to select and apply products accurately
• Syngenta’s Greencast website at
www.greencast.co.uk
“We see integrated turf management as being crucial for the long-term sustainable management of turf,” says Stuart. “iTURF covers every aspect of turf management including flooding, drought and wear - not just pest problems as with integrated pest management (IPM).” Scotts, one of the largest fertiliser, pest and disease products and seed suppliers in the world, has a strong environmental policy and consistently promotes best practice in product application. The advantages of the new iTURF system are that turfcare professionals are able to counteract problems in advance by building programmes based on trial data from the STRI. “Building an ITM programme in any turf environment will make turf more tolerant to stresses and will build the health of turf for future years,” says Stuart. “By proper analysis of your situation you can choose products that will be justified in use - like wetting agents. Applying products at the right time and in the right way will ensure you are meeting all the requirements for a proper ITM programme - including maintenance routines.” At present the iTURF sheets, which can be downloaded, include information on green speed, drought management, overseeding, moss prevention and solutions to anthracnose, algae, black layer, chafer grubs, dollar spot, earthworms, fairy rings, fusarium patch, leatherjackets, red thread and take-all patch.
Other subjects are being added over time and trials are continuing at the STRI - particularly into the use of correct nutrition, wetting agents and fungicides. “The trials carried out at the STRI have given us plenty of information to
work with, so that we can give turf managers the correct solutions and best products for their particular problems,” says Stuart.
STRI trials
The trials have taken place over the last 18 months at the STRI’s grounds at Bingley, West Yorkshire. Dr. Ruth Mann, head of turfgrass protection at the STRI, oversaw the programme. “Turf managers need to think about every aspect of disease control. Integrated turf management systems must be put in place and all methods at our disposal to control disease must be looked at. Cultural practices, such as regulating surface and rootzone pH at 5.5, controlling irrigation and improving airflow are all part of that process. Choosing the right grass varieties and using biological controls are all part of the integrated management system." The timing of application
of products is vital, Ruth says, to avoid problems. “Most of the products
that are available are best when they are used preventatively or at the very first sign of disease.” She advises golf
greenkeepers and course managers, for example, to use an ‘indicator green’ which is the first one to get disease to highlight problems.
“I’m trying to get people
away from firefighting disease because that uses a lot more fungicides,” says Ruth. “Good cultural practices can help throughout turf management in the prevention of disease. In golf, the quicker greens dry, the less chance there is of disease,” she adds. Her turfgrass pathologist colleague at the STRI is Julie Wheater. Julie has worked on all the iTURF trials during the 18 months she has been with the STRI. “The results have been very productive and all the information is proving useful to Scotts in their approach to integrated
STRI trial showing results of Sierraform GT (slow release fertiliser) and H2Pro wetting agent
treatment programmes of slow-release fertiliser, wetting agents, fungicides and Effect iron, then two-way and three-way combinations of these products. In the fertiliser trial, slow-release
product was tested alongside a conventional potassium nitrate as the nutrient source to evaluate if it’s possible to pre-condition turf to resist disease by implementing a good fertiliser regime.
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turf management,” says Julie. “The main object is to show the effects of using chemicals as efficiently as possible to achieve control over pests and diseases - this fits in with the EU Sustainable Use Directive to reduce use of chemicals in the environment.”
The trials evaluated different management regimes by staging single
STRI trial showing conventional potassium nitrate based fertiliser used with wetting agent
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