Managing Golf Course Putting Green Diseases in NC

Integrated Management of Golf Course
Putting Green Diseases in North Carolina

Lane Tredway
Associate Professor and Extension Specialist
Department of Plant Pathology
North Carolina State University

North Carolina is in the ‘transition zone’.

http://www.extension.org/pages/13152/transition-zone-lawns

Creeping bentgrass is a cool-season grass.

Creeping bentgrass is susceptible to a variety of
pathogens.

Heat imposed severe stress on creeping bentgrass
greens in 2010.

30
departure from normal HIGH temperature
departure from normal LOW temperature
22.5
Departure from Normal (F)

15

7.5

0

-7.5

-15

-22.5
May June July August Sept Oct

The problems actually started in late May.

7
Cumulative Rainfall (in.)

5.25

3.5

1.75

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov

A typical fungicide program for creeping bentgrass greens.

Date Product Rate/1000 ft2
March 26GT 4 fl oz
25 March Torque 0.9 fl oz
20 April Torque 0.9 fl oz
9 May Daconil Weatherstik 3.4 fl oz
23 May Fore + Heritage TL 4 oz + 2 fl oz
6 Jun Affirm 0.9 oz
20 Jun Segway + Daconil 0.9 + 3.4 fl oz
5 Jul Fore + Insignia 4 + 0.9 oz
19 Jul Affirm + Stellar 0.9 oz + 1.2 fl oz
1 Aug 26/36 + Subdue Maxx 4 oz + 1 fl oz
15 Aug Daconil + Heritage TL 3.4 + 2 fl oz
29 Aug Fore 4 oz
12 Sep Tourney 0.37 fl oz
18 Oct 26GT 4 fl oz

Too
many
fungicides
to choose from!
flickr:kanickmoses

“It can’t be a disease because I’m on Program 13!”

“I sprayed Tartan because I’m on Program 13
and that’s what was on the schedule.”

Spray programs are not uncommon in agriculture.

flickr:TaminaMiller

Every golf course is different.

Climate, microclimate,
expectations, and
management styles vary.

How do you decide when to make changes to your program?

field observations

online alerts

diagnostic lab results

reports from colleagues

reports from sales representatives

weather conditions

0 25 50 75 100
% of respondents

NC superintendents with creeping bentgrass greens (63)

How can we get the
message through?
flickr:verbeeldingskr8

Integrating Social Media and Other Web
Utilities in Extension

Lane Tredway
Associate Professor and Extension Specialist
Department of Plant Pathology
North Carolina State University

What is Web 2.0?

“The Web we know now, which loads into a browser window in essentially

static screenfulls, is only an embryo of the Web to come. The first

glimmerings of Web 2.0 are beginning to appear, and we are just starting to

see how that embryo might develop. The Web will be understood not as

screenfulls of text and graphics but as a transport mechanism, the ether

through which interactivity happens. It will appear on your computer screen,

on your TV set, your car dashboard, your cell phone, hand-held game

machines, maybe even your microwave oven.”

--Darci DiNucci in Fragmented Future (1999)

Many sites incorporate Web 2.0 principles.

Site traffic increases with disease pressure.

Integration and workflow are key.

How do superintendents follow turfdiseases.org?

Page Referrals in 2010
Blogger 1. Facebook
Email
2. Google
3. TurfNet
Twitter
Facebook 4. Twitter
5. PSU Turfgrass
6. Golf Course Industry
7. Google Images
% of followers
8. Asian Turfgrass
Center

What does our site need to do?
• interactive

• news
• alerts

• events
• presentations
• publications

• videos
• images
Why reinvent the wheel?

Making it all work.
• maintain a consistent identity

• develop a workflow

• organize links

• use a password manager

• turn off email alerts

• pay attention to analytics

• experiment!

Who developed the fungicide program you used in 2010?

I developed it.
I don’t know.
current or former supervisor
colleague
university researcher
sales representative

golf course superintendents (121)

Which is your primary tool for fungicide selection?

sales representatives
product labels

Chemical Control of Turf Diseases
university personnel

Disease Profiles on TurfFIles

Disease Management Utility
colleagues
Pest Control for PTMs


Disease Management Utility on TurfFiles

turffiles.ncsu.edu/diseasemgmt

For which diseases do you spray fungicides preventively?

algae
anthracnose
brown patch
brown ring patch
copper spot
Curvularia blight
dollar spot
fairy ring
large patch
leaf spot
pink snow mold
Pythium blight
Pythium root dysfunction
Pythium root rot
rapid blight
red thread
spring dead spot
summer patch
take-all patch
yellow patch
yellow tuft

0 15 30 45 60
# of respondents


How often did you change your fungicide program in 2010?

Never

Rarely (<5x)

Sometimes (5-10x)

Frequenty (>10x)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

# of respondents


Comparing ways to develop and implement
fungicide programs

1. Program 13 (Clemson)

2. BASF Program

3. Bayer Program

4. Syngenta Program

5. NC State Program

6. Program ’11 - treatments adjusted as
needed based on weather conditions

Conclusions
• existing Web 2.0 services can be used effectively for
extension communications

• integration into a traditional website is possible

• social media can increase your reach

• golf course superintendents need more training in the
development and implementation of fungicide
programs

NC State Turf Pathology Fellow Bloggers
Lee Butler John Kaminski, Penn State
Mike Soika Jim Kerns, Wisconsin
Bangya Ma Megan Kenelly, Kansas State
Alex Putman Frank Wong, UC Riverside
Joseph Roberts
Allan Howard Web Development
Jim Brosnan, Tennessee
Doug Tymes, moderntymes.com

Managing Golf Course Putting Green Diseases in NC

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Managing Golf Course Putting Green Diseases in NC

Similar to Managing Golf Course Putting Green Diseases in NC (10)

More from NC State Turf Pathology

More from NC State Turf Pathology (10)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Managing Golf Course Putting Green Diseases in NC

Editor's Notes