Technical Agrostis canina ssp. canina
Agrostis stolonifera
Poa annua Curragh Golf Club field trials two straightforward questions to answer:
- Does phosphite suppress Microdochium nivale in turfgrasses?
- By what means does this occur?
To answer these questions, we have been carrying out extensive field trials and numerous laboratory procedures, which have produced interesting and significant results.
Field trials
The basic aim of the research was to determine conclusively if phosphite treatments reduce M. nivale infection and, to do this, trial plots were established in 2010 here at the Curragh Golf Club. The plots are composed of three turfgrass species - Poa annua, Agrostis canina ssp. canina, and Agrostis stolonifera. Treatments comprise of sequential applications, applied bi-weekly from September to March each year using 20 litre capacity knapsack sprayers calibrated to deliver 800 l/ha2
. Treatments applied:
1: PK Plus 3:7:18 (Grigg Bros, 14% KH2
PO3 ,) applied at 20 l/ha-1
efficacy and safety of these products is not disputed, their use sometimes gives rise to a number of contentious issues:
- adverse public opinion due to the perception of high frequency of use
- associated costs of chemicals
- possible inhibition of non-target beneficial microorganisms
- development of fungicide-resistant populations
- possible legislative restrictions
This makes new or alternative means to reduce susceptibility to M. nivale a desirable target for turfgrass research.
One possible means is the use of phosphite as a component of an integrated approach to disease management, and this is the subject of a research programme which has been on- going in Ireland and at the Centre for Research in Biosciences in Bristol for the past number of years. The research has
2: PK Plus (20 l/ha-1) + Ultraplex Biostimulant (Grigg Bros, 5-0-3 applied at 10 l/ha-1
)
3: Chipco Green, (Bayer, 255 g/l iprodione) applied at 20 l/ha-1
4: Chipco Green (20 l/ha-1 (20 l/ha-1
)
5: NPK control (3:7:18 to match nutritional input of PK Plus) applied at 20 l/ha-1
6: Untreated control Assessments
The plots are assessed each month for M. nivale occurrence and rated on a scale of 0-100. Turf quality (which excludes the impact of disease within each plot) is also measured and assessed visually and marked on a scale of 1 - 10.
Field trial results - disease incidence
In each year of the study, M. nivale occurrence developed naturally, with high levels of infection from October to February. Data from both years’ trials determined that the control plots, as would be expected, displayed the highest
) + PK Plus
Mean disease incidence over two years (n=5), bars represent standard error, letters indicate significant differences at <0.01
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013 PC 107
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148