Technical
weather patterns resulting in greater extremes and difficult conditions, almost inevitably means that, at some stage, fungicide treatments will need to be planned and built into turf management programmes. It has long been recognised, and further
confirmed by the latest Instrata Elite trials, that disease prevention delivers the best results in terms of turf quality and long-lasting results. For that, we are looking to apply as close as possible to the likely time of infection, which will give us the greatest level of fungicide active on the leaf to stop disease. The trials demonstrated the potential to
achieve almost total control of disease for up to six weeks from application, when there was little or no visible disease at the time of treatment (Fig 1). Using the GreenCast disease forecasts, in
conjunction with local knowledge and experience of conditions when disease is likely to break out and historic records of disease risk, can prove instrumental in better proactive prevention of disease. STRI research has shown that fungicide
application timing, based purely on GreenCast disease forecasts, could maintain better turf quality through the season using fewer fungicide applications, compared to either routine treatments or application at the first visible signs of disease. In practice, the duration of any disease
protection and frequency of fungicide applications will be dictated by disease pressure as a result of prevailing weather conditions, and the underlying health of the turf. If ITM measures have been effective and turf
is strong and healthy, the duration of control could be significantly extended - and we have had reports of completely clean turf for eight to ten weeks from a treatment programme. However, in difficult conditions and under high disease pressure, it has to be recognised that fully effective control might be significantly shorter and re-treatment may be required in as little as three to four weeks. One of the key advances with Instrata Elite to
tackle a more dynamic disease population is the combination of actives that give the ability to target Microdochium outside and in the leaf. Whilst the fludioxonil coats the leaf surface and prevents germinating spores from penetrating stomata or cut leaf ends to get into the plant, the propiconazole element is active within the leaf to stop disease developing inside. The trials’ results also showed (Fig 2.) that
applications once early symptoms are visible is not as good as a preventative treatment on clean turf, but for greenkeepers and groundsmen in a practical situation - where weather conditions or player pressures may have delayed an optimum application timing - the early curative activity is an incredibly valuable asset. For greenkeepers using indicator greens as a
guide to application timing, it offers an essential flexibility to be able to target the diversity of disease pathogen stages that will inevitably be present on other greens when early infection is seen. And, with a dynamic disease population, any
application at an early curative stage also needs the dual action to target and prevent spores from developing to stop immediate re-infection
Case study: Sand Martins Golf Club Multi-hits target autumn disease
Sand Martins Golf Club Course Manager, Matt Short, has adopted a strategy of front-loading his fungicide programme with strong options that can safely protect turf through seasonal high disease pressure and variable weather conditions in late autumn.
and give long-lasting results. With the spore acting fludioxonil, there is the chance to eliminate disease spores surviving in the thatch that will reduce the risk of outbreak from rain splash in high pressure wet and humid weather conditions - typical of autumn or early spring timings best suited to Instrata Elite applications. With the benefit of an effective ITM
programme and a planned fungicide strategy - with the flexibility to tailor to in-season conditions - it is now possible to proactively prevent disease attacks and minimise damage. This approach also ensures turf can recover quickly and maintain the consistent surface conditions right through the season.
Fig 1. Applied preventatively, Instrata Elite delivered long-term disease control. When pressure increased and disease broke out to cover 16% of the surface on untreated greens area, it continued to hold back infection at just 2%, which was significantly better than the industry standard iprodione
136 I PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017
Fig 2. On greens showing 6% surface area affected at the time of treatment, Instrata Elite prevented further development of disease, and protected turf that allowed clean regrowth and surface recovery. Within two weeks of application, the affected surface area had shrunk back to 2%, and continued to decline as turf quality improved. On untreated areas, infection spread to reach over 11%
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