Pests & Diseases
Turf managers and agronomists can look back at historic disease risk and weather data, for any site over the past decade, to see when disease typically hits and the sort of pressures a club is likely to face
past decade, to see when disease typically hits and the sort of pressures a club is likely to face.
The GreenCast site also includes a five day
spray window forecast, which highlights when there is likely to be an opportunity for application in good conditions. Used in conjunction with the disease risk forecast, it can help to ensure preventative treatments are in place ahead of infection. Or, if conditions have prevented treatment and an infection period has occurred, indicate the need for curative activity with the fungicide. In designing a pro-active fungicide
programme, we look to create a framework to tackle the key threats through the season and ready to implement if required, but if conditions - and risks - change, there remains the flexibility to shift timing or adjust product selection to counter the in-season pressures.
Business Risk
Syngenta player research has shown that, in most instances, it’s the course playing conditions and design that is the main attraction. Turf quality delivered by the greenkeeping team is paramount to keep players coming back and generate income for the club. For every individual club, it’s about finding the balance between the time and money invested in keeping greens clean and free from disease scarring, and the impact on the club of lost income from player dissatisfaction with greens quality and consistency. It’s all about achieving the best possible
result from available resources, to minimise the risk to the club.
Longer-term, if the reputation of a club is damaged by questions over turf quality and playability, today’s nomadic golfer is increasingly likely to roam to another venue that offers more consistent conditions. Investing in an effective ITM programme, and the greenkeeping team to deliver it, makes economic sense for the club and the players.
”
litany of soil structure issues to address - along with some challenging targets set by the club to restore the course layout and reputation.
The challenges faced imposed serious
increased risk of disease outbreaks that demanded an intensive pro-active fungicide programme, but always with the objective to lower the future risks and, in the longer-term, reduce overall fungicide use with an improved ITM approach. To truly test the approach and validate any
success, Lee has adopted a routine of measuring turf quality and playability throughout the programme. Objectives of the monitoring programme included:
• Regular testing on best and worst greens to plot performance
• Use of industry standards to grade between unacceptable and best performing
• Tracked monthly and then presented to committee at meeting
• Establish annual data to identify true changes and trends
Lee Strutt MG, Course Manager, Royal Automobile Club
Case Study - Royal Automobile Club
When Lee Strutt MG took over as Course Manager at The Royal Automobile Club in Surrey in 2015, he inherited two courses with a history of damaging disease outbreaks and a
• Gain understanding for the club and greenkeeping team about what is being done and how it affects playability and plant health
To cope with the high initial pressure and the intensive aeration and amelioration work - undertaken over a high disease risk period to avoid disruption to golf - the fungicide programme involved nine applications. Each application was planned to coincide with specific disease risk spikes, identified
PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017 I 119
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
