GreenCast UK Articles

GreenCast weather is miles better

Syngenta — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 04:44:24 GMT

The leading dedicated turf management advice website for the UK and Ireland, GreenCast, now provides information on wind speed in easy to use miles per hour, instead of metres per second. Greenkeepers and sprayer operators had highlighted traditional assessments and spray records called for details in MPH, rather than the metric equivalent.

GreenCast Project Manager, Karen Roberts, reports wind speed is a crucial factor in identifying opportunities to spray, as well as assessing drying conditions that will influence irrigation and other turf management operations. "It appears MPH is more readily understood and accepted in the UK and Ireland, compared to the metric figures, which we are happy to oblige and provide. GreenCast is widely recognised as an extremely powerful and effective turf management tool, and it continues to improve and provide more detailed information."

She adds the team have also been responding to comments and some great feedback on the GreenCast Mobile site for iPhones, Blackberry and web-enabled smartphones. "In the past week we have added the Weather Radar Information, so users can track weather fronts moving across the country and foresee potential issues, along with the Syngenta Spray Windows Forecast to help plan effective spraying opportunities and programme work schedules."

Ms Roberts says the Syngenta GreenCast team welcome feedback and practical ideas from GreenCast users, to further develop a practical and easy to use service. GreenCast provides a wealth of information to aide proactive disease management and all aspects of creating consistent high quality playing surfaces. The website is free to all greenkeepers, groundsmen, agronomists and turf management students.

The new GreenCast Mobile is currently in a pilot development phase, where the feedback from turf managers and agronomists will be important in providing the most relevant and user friendly service available. To take part in the trial turf managers can log on to the website http://m.greencast.co.uk/utilities/send-sms.aspx and enter their mobile phone number to receive an automatic link. Comments on the GreenCast Mobile service can be posted on a dedicated website forum.

Click here to visit the GreenCast Mobile Forum and post your comments.

Hard water locks up herbicide activity

Syngenta — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 08:16:01 GMT

If you are reading this article over a mug of tea, take a close look and see if there is any evidence of scum on the surface? If there is, there is a good chance your water supply is hard, and that could be compromising the performance of your glyphosate herbicide applications.

That's because the calcium in hard water that is responsible for furring up the kettle - and reacts with the air and oil in teabags to create the scum - can bind on to the active ingredient molecules in a glyphosate herbicide, and render it harmless to the weeds you are looking to kill, according to Syngenta formulation scientist, Dr Andrea Hawkins (below).

She warns that some of the active ingredient in standard glyphosate formulations may be locked up with calcium salts when tank-mixed in these hard water areas, resulting in highly insoluble glyphosate calcium that is inactive as a herbicide. "To resolve this issue, Syngenta developed the System 4 Technology that is built into Proliance Quattro," reports Dr Hawkins.

"This adds a source of negative sulphate ions which are more attractive to the positive calcium ions; they readily link up together and neutralise the solution, creating an inert calcium sulphate," she explains. "With the positive calcium ions therefore taken out of the equation, the glyphosate active is unaffected by the hard water and fully available to control the weeds."

Dr Hawkins points out that hard water supplies affect over half the land area of England and Wales (above), including around 80% of the urban environments where Proliance Quattro is most widely used for weed control on pavements, embankments and amenity areas. The level of hardness is typically expressed as mg/l of calcium carbonate, ranging from soft with less than 100 g/l, up to very hard when it is over 300 g/l. As a rule, the south and east of England tend to have the hardest water, which gets softer as you go north. However, throughout the country there are pockets that can be very different to any local area.

It is made doubly difficult for weed control contractors, who may be drawing from different water catchments across a wide area that could have significantly different levels of hardness.

Performance in practice

Weed control specialists Richard Allen and Jamie Page of Hampshire-based Complete Weed Control (CWC) highlight the reliability of control they consistently achieve with Proliance Quattro. They operate across an area with some extremely hard water supplies, where the performance of some glyphosate products has been notably variable.

Mr Allen ( above) reports one trial he undertook to directly compare Proliance Quattro with another high-strength premium glyphsate demonstrated its speed of action and enhanced efficacy. "The Proliance was a clear five to six days quicker and achieved a cleaner kill in the time. That gives us greater confidence in the results we can deliver, and it's certainly appreciated by our customers."

CWC Contracts Manager, Jamie Page, adds that more city and town councils are now opting for total herbicide weed control because of the difficulty in finding staff and the physical costs of manual hoeing, as well as the damage caused to paving surfaces that allows more weeds to ingress and makes the problem continually worse. Operating two CWC franchises, for the Thames Valley and London South, the company provides direct weed control services to local councils and operates as a specialist contractor for overall facilities managers, as well as full amenity turf management for businesses and sports amenity sites across the region.

Mr Page (above) believes further budget pressure on local authorities is going to make value for money even more important in the future for services such as weed control, that may be viewed by some as 'non-essential'. He calculates a three or four-spray herbicide programme over the growing season can deliver significant cost savings and achieve better results, compared to traditional hoeing teams. "Any cutbacks in vegetation management are quickly apparent to the public as a sign of neglect. Our experience is that where councils have been using the system for successive years, the overall weed control results get continually better."

The company's system involves Proliance Quattro total herbicide applied on pavements and urban areas primarily through the company's six WeedIT automatic spot-treatment machines. Mr Page highlights they are aiming to apply the minimum possible amount of active ingredient required to achieve very high levels of control. "That means we need an inherently high-performance herbicide, with a good surfactant to achieve complete leaf coverage and to ensure the product stays on the leaf.

"You can see that virtually all the spray sticks on the leaf, so there is little or no waste or run off," he adds. The further advantage of its rapid leaf bonding and quick uptake is its rainfastness in the event of a shower. "If it does rain, the operating teams always mark a road map with areas treated in the preceeding half an hour, so we can go back and check results. With Proliance Quattro we consistently find that even 10 minutes from treatment is sufficient to achieve a high level of weed kill after all but the heaviest rain."

Herbicide treatments will also be applied by knapsack sprayer or, on larger areas or sports pitches under renovation, with the company's purpose-built amenity turf sprayer mounted on a Kawasaki Mule. On gravel paths Proliance Quattro can also be tank-mixed with a residual herbicide to provide a season-long weed free surface, he advises.

"From the public perspective the WeedIT machine is a major advantage because all the spraying is under a covered shroud, so there's no drift," according to Richard Allen. "And with just individual weeds targeted by the machine's sensors for spot-treatment with the appropriate amount of herbicide, we are typically only treating 20% of the area, compared to spraying the whole pavement. That means we can use significantly less herbicide and still achieve a better result and a more cost effective solution for local authorities."

Click here for more information on Proliance Quattro.

To find out more about CWC and the Weed-IT click here visit the company's website.

Protect turf from disease during high risk renovation

Syngenta — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 03:32:47 GMT

Greenkeepers and golf course managers are being urged to protect turf from disease triggered by end of season renovation works. With current wet weather conditions highly conducive to Fusarium spread, pro-active fungicide applications before starting work could minimise the risk of extensive turf damage.

Syngenta Technical Manager, Dr Simon Watson, warns that hollow coring and deep aeration, for example, will improve air exchange and enhance microbial activity, that in turn results in a the release of nutrient and a flush in growth. This can make the turf more susceptible to Fusarium attack. Furthermore, if the turf is then smothered in top dressing (below), it acts as an 'insulator' creating conditions ideal for disease development. The action of aeration and cutting also places the turf under some stress and damages leaf blades, leaving individual plants exposed to infection.

Since renovation weeks are often fixed in golf club diaries, there's little flexibility for greenkeepers to adjust their programmes according to weather conditions. "Applying Heritage Maxx a few days before planned renovations is a sensible precaution to prevent infection," advises Dr Watson. "It will be rapidly absorbed by leaves to ensure maximum protection against a broad spectrum of turf diseases, until plants have recovered from any damage caused through renovation process and the high risk conditions have receded."

Dr Watson highlights that the active recycling of Heritage Maxx is especially valuable in protecting turf during renovation. "It is the only systemic fungicide with good uptake by roots, with subsequent upward movement of the active ingredient ensuring its distribution throughout the plant. Protection is thus naturally transported to any point of damage that is most at risk of infection.

"Furthermore, any Heritage Maxx active which exudates in the plant sap from cut or damaged leaves may be washed back down the plant, reabsorbed and recycled back through the leaf." He adds that the root uptake of Heritage Maxx ensures high levels of total fungicide utilisation, when other fungicides washed off the leaf by rain or irrigation would be wasted.

Trials have shown Heritage Maxx can give up to four to six weeks protection against Fusarium Patch infection, as well as the broadest label approval of turf diseases, including Anthracnose, Brown Patch, Leaf Spot and seedling diseases that could affect turf that is being over sown during renovation this autumn.

Greenkeepers, turf managers and agronomists can predict the risk of Fusarium attack at any time on the free weather and turf disease forecasting website - www.greencast.co.uk - which includes a wealth of information to help with more proactive turf management decisions.

Click here to view your local weather and disease forecast.

Have you experienced disease outbreaks after autumn renovation work, or do you follow the active disease prevention route? - leave a message on the Forum discussion board to share your experinces and thoughts.

Managing turf disease through effective ITM

Karen — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:56:33 GMT

By Simon Elsworth, Head of Syngenta Professional Products

An outbreak of turf disease can ruin all the hard work put into preparing the best possible playing surface for any sporting event - be it the perfect greens for a prestigious golf tournament, or the pitch for a crucial cup game. Integrated Turf Management (ITM) has an essential role in countering turf disease, through a carefully controlled combination of nutrition, irrigation and maintenance.

Turf disease problems are undoubtedly on the increase for all turf managers:

Earlier disease attacks·
More aggressive pathogens·
New disease appearing·
Longer periods of disease attack

Turf disease issues are being exacerbated by:

Climate change·
Environmental pressures reducing managers' options
Player demand for ever higher quality turf

Some turf managers and agronomists refer to ITM as an 'Art', inferring a level of mystery with little science or technical skill involved. In reality, it takes a greater level of knowledge of all the facets of turf management, and a better understanding of the way they interact - combined with the best practical know-how of the turf manager - to make ITM work effectively.

The fact is that turf quality which was judged as fine by players 10 years ago, would be deemed unacceptable by many today; every golfer wants to play on Augusta quality greens and every footballer on a Premiership pitch - 365 days a year. The pressures placed on turf - and those responsible for its management - have increased accordingly. Furthermore, in many instances, there appears to be limited understanding among greens' committees and club managers of all the aspects that can contrive to damage turf quality through disease.

The Turf Disease Triangle

The incidence of turf disease will be affected by:·

Environmental conditions·
Disease pathogens present·
The type of turf

All three factors must be present and, with an ITM plan, turf managers must decide which of the factors they can successfully influence to redress problems more effectively, and where the role of fungicides can be most effectively employed to minimise the impacts on turf quality.

The Environment

If environmental conditions are not suitable - if it is too cold or too dry, for example - disease development will be slower, or may cease altogether. Managers must also recognise that turf stress brought on by environmental conditions, such as drought or water logging, can also make turf more susceptible to disease attack.

The weather is the primary factor in the equation and, for the most part, is outside the turf managers' influence. However, detailed weather forecasting can predict when disease will strike and can enable managers to tailor turf management and fungicide application programmes to prevent damage. The web site www.greencast.co.uk gives local disease forecasts and weather information to support the implementation of an ITM plan.

Furthermore, there are management practices that will influence the local environmental conditions and may, where practical, be adjusted by turf managers, such as

Irrigation
Drainage
Turf nutrition
Mowing height
Maintenance programmes

Recognising where there are environmental weaknesses can help predict where disease may be a greater problem, such as a shaded green that lies damp for most of the day that will be more susceptible to Fusarium Patch, for example. Although it may not be practical to cut back surrounding trees for aesthetic reasons, it may be a focus for remedial drainage work, to sweep off dew first each morning and to treat as a priority with Heritage or Banner Maxx as a preventative fungicide if disease is forecast.

Turf managers do also need to understand the environmental conditions which favour each individual turf disease pathogen. Alleviating the conditions conducive to Fusarium, for example, may make the turf more susceptible to Anthracnose.

The Disease Pathogens

Detailed analysis of most fine turf situations will reveal many of the primary disease pathogens are already present in the thatch or basal leaves - awaiting the right environmental conditions to break out. The role of ITM is to minimise the conditions that will enable that to happen. However, disease can also spread from outside sources. Domestic lawns, roadside verges and untreated amenity grass areas can all give rise to aerial infections.

Effective use of fungicide programmes will assure high quality turf in the short term by suppressing the disease pathogens. It will also reduce the disease pressure and the sources of inoculum to enable ITM practices to work more effectively in the long term.

For effective treatment, turf managers must be able to identify the target pathogen and understand the best route for its control - both in the selection of the appropriate fungicide and its application timing, as well as the optimum ITM solutions. The web sites www.greencast.co.uk and www.theturfdiseasecentre.co.uk provide excellent identification and advice guides for ITM plans.

The Turf

The composition of the turf - in terms of grass species and variety - is a key factor in the susceptibility to disease. However, disease is only one element of turf management, and other attributes of the turf use will be the primary factors in selection. In the short term, it will be a matter of managing the turf that is there, although in the longer term it may be possible to change the composition of turf through seed and management.

For most high quality golf and bowling greens, Bent grasses and fescues provide the most consistent playing surfaces and the inherent disease and stress resistance will have an important role in maximising the success of ITM strategies. Whilst they have proven difficult to maintain at the low cutting heights required to achieve satisfactory ball speed on many soil types, the advent of the PGR Primo MAXX to achieve better quality turf at raised cutting height could further extend the attraction of fescues and bent turf.

Poa annua is found in many fine turf situations and, with the right management, can produce outstanding quality playing surfaces. However, Poa is generally far more susceptible to disease attack, which can be made worse with heavy play and low cutting height.

Rye-grass provides the most hard-wearing, resilient sports turf surface of immense value in an ITM regime, but has traditionally proven difficult to create a high quality tight-cut surface. New varieties which can be cut down to 5mm may increase the attractiveness, but will still require intensive management and nutrition to maintain quality; turf managers introducing its use will have to alter their management plans accordingly.

The Role of Fungicides

ITM can help to minimise the effects of disease, but in many practical situations it can not eliminate the problem sufficiently to maintain high quality turf all year round. Fungicides remain a key component of turf disease control within an ITM programme. A good ITM plan will, however, help to achieve the best results from any fungicide application, as well as extending the length of time of protection - which could help to reduce the total number of fungicide applications required over the course of the season.

The key elements of fungicide selection are product choice and application timing. For product choice, the aim is obviously to select a fungicide that will give good control of the primary target pathogen. Secondly, since there will be a number of pathogens present at lower levels, an effective broad spectrum fungicide will help reduce the level of other diseases. An application of Heritage in July where Anthracnose is a problem, for example, will also control Take-all, Leaf Spot, Brown Patch, Rust and Fairy Ring that may occur at the same time, as well as reducing any Fusarium Patch that could flare up when conditions turn cool and wet in the autumn.

More recently, with the advent of more effective preventative fungicides, ITM plans have begun to look at fungicide application prior to disease symptoms breaking out, which can provide better results from lower inputs of modern products with lower environmental impact, and avoid issues of visible damage. U

tilising the knowledge of how different fungicides physically work on the developing fungicide pathogen, STRI trials have shown the best turf quality can be maintained by well-timed applications of Heritage after disease has landed on the turf leaf, but before it has had the chance to germinate and penetrate into the plant. Later applications still have curative activity and will stop disease sporulating and spreading, but prevention is better than cure.

Disease forecasting with www.greencast.co.uk is an integral part of selecting the optimum timing for preventative fungicide application. Where weather conditions may have prevented application and disease symptoms are visible on the leaf, then products such as Banner MAXX or Daconil Weather Stick, will give stronger eradicant activity on turf diseases.

Rotation, Rotation, Rotation

An effective ITM fungicide plan must also include provision for fungicide rotation, using products with different modes of action to minimise the risk of disease developing resistance to any one group of fungicides. If a pathogen population begins to build up resistance to a dicaboximide fungicide, for example, switching to a demethylation inhibitor (DMI) would still offer complete control. The STRI (www.stri.co.uk) provides a valuable list of product groups and activity to minimise risk of resistance developing.

Top Tips on Managing Resistance

Avoid repetitive and sole use of a particular fungicide, or those with the same mode of action
Always try to mix or alternate appropriate fungicides with different modes of action
Do not reduce rates of strobilurin fungicides in tank mixes
Integrate fungicide use with cultural control methods

By rotating fungicides with different modes of action within the ITM plan, turf managers can effectively maintain the performance of fungicides in the long term.

How do you make an ITM plan?

There is no set example of how an ITM plan should look or how it should be set out, it really depends on how much time is available for making and working with the plan. Generally ITM plans build and develop over time, as further experience is gained and new options evaluated. The following points form the basic structure of an ITM plan:

Site assessment - Identifying what pests and disease are likely to pose a threat and where the risk is highest. Create a map of high risk situations.
Set thresholds - Decide what level of pest or disease damage is acceptable to managers and players, and when action will be required.
Identify management options - Look at all available options, including cultural, biological, genetic and chemical. How should each one be used and to what degree?
Build pest profiles - Record outbreaks on your turf area: type of disease; conditions that favour it; treatments to control etc. Accurate identification of pests and disease is essential to put in place the right plans.
Create a pro-active turf management plan - How you are actually going to treat the problem. Record work carried out to control the pests and disease.
Evaluation - monitor the results and continue to update the plan: did the treatments work?; can anything else be done to improve conditions in future?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Simon Elsworthis Head of Syngenta Professional Products for the UK and Ireland, including development of the specialist turf business and the web-based decision support system for turf managers, www.greencast.co.uk This article was first published in Greenkeeper magazine, as part of the Toro Continue to Learn series.

Syngenta appoints two new Technical Managers for turf

Syngenta — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 12:08:52 GMT

Syngenta has announced the appointment of Dr Julie Dionne as Global Technical Manager Turf and Neil Young as Global Technical Manager Turf Operational. Both will operate within the Technical Management Group, located in Basel, Switzerland.

Dr Dionne has 20 years experience and extensive knowledge of turf management and the turf industry. She previously held the position of Director, Green Section/ Government Relations with the Royal Canadian Golf Association. She has served on many industry committees, including the Turfgrass and Environmental Research Steering Committee of the US Golf Association (USGA). Dr Dionne holds a masters degree and a doctorate in Turf physiology and Turf management from the University of Laval in Quebec, Canada and has published over 60 peer-reviewed articles and other technical publications.

Dr Dionne (above) has taken over the position previously held by Dr Sowmya (Shoumo) Mitra, who moved to Singapore, where he will take over the role of Regional Technical Manager Lawn and Garden.

Neil Young is currently completing a doctorate degree in turf sciences at the University of Florida. He is a turfgrass professional with scientific knowledge in soil science, turf physiology, and crop protection. He is highly experienced in golf course maintenance and construction and has extensive experience as a greenkeeper and other related management roles in Scotland, the United States and Australia.

Mr Young (above) holds a Master of Science degree in soil and water from the University of Florida and a Bachelor of Science in Turfgrass Science from the University of Central Lancashire, England.

Commenting on the appointments, Dr Andree-Anne Couillard, Syngenta Global Turf Business Manager, highlighted the company is committed to strengthening its leadership position in turf through research and development. "Turf management is evolving rapidly, with increasing demand for products that deliver high performance in terms of improved playability, while providing turf health benefits, environmental sustainability and economic value. "With an expanding Syngenta new product pipeline, additional research and development resources are required to successfully bring new and highly innovative solutions to market."

If you have a question for the Syngenta Technical Managers - either at a Global level or for UK Turf Technical Manager, Dr Simon Watson, please post a comment on the GreenCast Forum - click here to view.

Spraying advances get more for less

Syngenta — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 07:43:29 GMT

Traditionally, on golf courses, we tend to apply plant protection products in a high water rate (300 - 1000 l ha^-1) using conventional flat fan nozzles, reports Ruth Mann of STRI. The high water rate means it can be a time consuming job, with numerous tank refills and extra handling of the concentrated product that inherrantly creates added risk.

The turf management products we are applying today all have different characteristics and are being used to achieve different outcomes, so a 'one size fitting' all application technique may not always obtain optimal results. Added to that, the potential for drift from conventional flat fan nozzles is quite high, reducing the potential spray days available in our good British weather (Plate 1).

Plate 1: Drift from conventional flat fan nozzles.

Syngenta have estimated that 10% of the efficacy is obtained by applying products using the correct nozzles. This has led to extensive research into nozzles and water rates conducted at STRI for optimal application of fungicides for control of diseases on golf courses. The major outcomes of this research are the introduction of the first nozzles specifically developed for turf. Syngenta's foliar and soil nozzles have been demonstrated to effectively deliver the fungicide product to where it needs to be.

If you are applying a fungicide to manage disease, or Primo Maxx® for growth regulation, then keeping the droplets on the grass leaf is ideal. The Syngenta foliar nozzle has been designed to apply products at 250 l ha^-1 at 2.5 bar pressure (although we have seen good results down to 125 l ha^-1). There is also much less drift of product when applied with the foliar nozzle, compared to conventional nozzles. For example, trials at STRI on microdochium patch demonstrated that Heritage, Banner Maxx, Headway and Instrata provided equal control of microdochium patch when applied at 125, 250, 500 or 1000 l ha^-1 water rate compared to untreated plots.

The soil nozzle has been developed to be used where you want to get the product past the foliage and into the rootzone. Therefore, it is optimal for applying fungicides for root affecting diseases such as take-all patch, liquid fertilisers and wetting agents. Optimal results are obtained at 550 l ha^-1 water rate at 3 bar pressure.

Syngenta's foliar and soil nozzles have been demonstrated to effectively deliver the fungicide product to where it needs to be, reports Dr Ruth Mann.

Click here for more information on Syngenta Turf Nozzles

For certain products, even lower water rates are possible if applied by rotary atomiser technology (as found in the Environmist) to produce low pressure, low volume application (Plate 2). This technology uses a spinning disc to produce optimum sized, evenly distributed droplets important for foliar uptake products. The shroud also ensures minimal spray drift.

Plate 2: The pedestrian version of the Environmist

Trials at STRI investigated applying Primo Maxx® in both a golf green and fairway situation. The golf green had a grass sward consisting of bentgrass, fescue and annual meadow-grass and was mown at 5 mm. We applied Primo Maxx at 0.4 l ha^-1 by conventional pedestrian sprayer in 300 l ha^-1 water and by the Environmist in 30 l ha^-1 water. Eight applications were made at 2 - 5 week intervals between May and October 2008. The colour and quality of the turf was assessed fortnightly throughout the growing season. We saw equal improvements in terms of turf colour and quality when either sprayer applied Primo Maxx.

In the fairway trial (mown at 20 mm), Primo Maxx® was applied at 1.6 l ha^-1 by conventional sprayer in 300 l ha^-1 water and by the Environmist in 30 l ha^-1 water. Six applications were made at monthly intervals between May and October 2008. The colour and quality of the turf was assessed fortnightly during the growing season. Grass yield measurements were also made on 3 occasions to determine any effects on grass growth. Equal results were again observed from both sprayers. Turf colour and quality was improved following application of Primo Maxx and the reduction in grass yield reached 56% compared to untreated control plots.

Therefore, the Environmist allowed application of Primo Maxx® in a tenth the water rate of the conventional pedestrian sprayer, allowing effective spraying with the added benefits of reducing the water required, and potentially the time taken to complete the spraying. Further trials are continuing.

However, please be aware that there are rules around the use of pesticides at reduced volumes. It is not suitable for the application of certain products, such as those labelled 'toxic' or 'risk of serious damage to the eye' or where reduced volume application has been banned. Unfortunately, most of our herbicides do have the 'risk of injury to the eye' warning. Please always ensure when using pesticides to adhere to label recommendations and ensure all COSHH regulations are applied.

A further aspect of pesticide application that can often inadvertently result in contamination of waterways on golf courses is removal of the foils on pesticide bottles (Plate 3). Foils are used to prevent air or moisture getting into the pesticide and also act as anti tamper devices. However, while wearing thick gloves, they are difficult to remove. It is also difficult to completely wash all pesticide residues from them, which may have dried onto the foil. Current advice is to rinse the foils and either store them separately or put them into the empty, rinsed pesticide bottle, to be collected by a reputable waste contractor. New containers have been developed, such as the S-Pac from Syngenta, which has no foil seal. Instead it has a padded membrane that reseals the bottle if all the contents are not used, reducing the chance of spillage. It also has a smooth internal surface, making it much easier to rinse out once the contents have been used.

Plate 3: The small amount of pesticide present on the foil can be enough to cause environmental contamination.

Click here for more information on the S-pac

Tank mixing is another method that can be used to reduce the time spent on spraying jobs. Often tank mixing of certain products is done to ensure optimal results, such as adding nutrition to Primo Maxx applications. This can be extended to adding nutrition into certain fungicide curative treatments to ensure recovery of the affected turfgrass. Tank mixing these products saves the time of applying both separately to achieve the same result. However, you need to ensure the products are compatible as tank mixing incompatible products can cause problems, such as clogging sprayers. Advice as to compatibility will be available from all companies' technical helplines.

Also, ensuring correct sprayer calibration is paramount to achieving good results. Help with calibration is available on the Amenity forum website (http://www.amenityforum.co.uk/), and from many other websites and product brochures, such as Syngenta. Click here to view a series of podcast on sprayer calibration and application.

This article first appeared in Greenkeeping magazine, published by Union Press.

On the lookout for damaging new worm activity

Syngenta — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 05:55:27 GMT

Close-mown greens face a new menace, reports Dr Kate Entwhistle of the Turf Disease Centre. In the last few years a small, non-native earthworm called Microscolex phosphoreus has started appearing in golf greens and bowling greens across Britain. It deposits small casts on the surface of the sward that can interfere with play. Anecdotal evidence suggests it does not respond to any of the products currently available for controlling earthworms. It is thought to be spreading across the UK, and your help is needed to investigate its distribution.

Microscolex on the move

Microscolex phosphoreus is native to temperate South America. But this species has been spread by man's activities, and it has now been found in parts of North America, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and continental Europe. It was first recorded in Britain in 1899 from Worcester, followed by two more records in 1913 from Nottingham and Jersey. There were no further reports from Britain for almost one hundred years.

Close-up of two adult specimens of Microscolex phosphoreus. Each is of typical adult length, of about 25 mm long.

However, in the past five years about twenty new records have been confirmed from golf and bowling greens. These isolated populations are scattered across the country from Cornwall and Kent in the south, up to North Yorkshire. Worryingly, unconfirmed sightings by turf mangers and agronomists suggest that this species may now have arrived in many other locations in Britain. At the moment it is not subject to any official notification, nor is it on the list of quarantine species.

Microscolex phosphoreus is a small, pale, thread-like worm of length 10 - 35 mm, and width 1.0 - 1.5 mm. Unlike our native species, this earthworm is unusual because it can exude a luminescent fluid at night when disturbed, although it is not always easy to see its greenish glow. It produces small casts on the surface that are about 10 - 15 mm in diameter, up to 10 mm in height, and which detract from the visual quality of the sward. The casts consist of loose sand grains and fine soil particles suggesting the earthworm lives and feeds in the root zone where there is a high sand content. The casts are sometimes clustered close together indicating highly localised patches of infestation.

Native species that cast on the surface tend to do so at night. Therefore, areas affected by deposited casts can be swept clear before the turf is mown prior to play. In contrast, it has been reported that Microscolex phosphoreus can cast throughout the day, causing a continuous problem for play, especially on putting greens. No studies have been carried out on this species in Britain but discussions with some turf managers whose greens are infested suggest that products used to reduce the surface casting of native earthworms have no affect on this invasive species, even when applied at the highest recommended concentrations.

Putting Microscolex on the map

Now, the Turf Disease Centre and Dr David Jones, earthworm specialist at the Natural History Museum are investigating Microscolex phosphoreus with a project, sponsored by Syngenta, to map its current distribution and to assess how rapidly it may be spreading across the country.

A Microscolex phosphoreus cast (circled) next to a golf ball to show size.

You can help by looking out for this species and its small casts on your golf greens and bowling greens. However, these earthworms can only be correctly identified by examining them with a microscope. So, if you think you have this species we would be very grateful if you would send us a small sample of infested turf.

These delicate earthworms can be easily injured or killed while trying to remove them from the soil. Therefore, it is better if we extract the earthworms from the turf under laboratory conditions. Their populations may fluctuate with changing weather conditions and you may not see their casts at the time when this article is published. However, please keep looking, and send us turf samples any time over the next twelve months if you find their casts.

Close-up of Microscolex phosphoreus cast showing loose formation of sand grains and soil particles. The cast is about 10 mm high.

If possible, please use a golf hole changer to take the turf sample. Place the hole changer over a piece of turf with one or more casts on the surface. Remove the soil core and with a sharp knife cut the soil core at a depth of 50 -60 mm and send us that top layer with the grass and roots still intact. If you don't have a golf hole changer, send a turf sample of similar surface area as a golf hole.

Please fill in the short questionnaire and return it with your sample. If you send your email address we will confirm whether or not you have Microscolex phosphoreus. All the information you send will only be seen and utilized by the Natural History Museum and The Turf Disease Centre, and will be treated as confidential. We will not disclose specific site locations or contact information to third parties. A summary of our findings will be published in this magazine and full results will be published in a soil science journal and made available on the web. In all publications the distribution map of Microscolex phosphoreus will be plotted at low resolution to ensure precise locations cannot be determined.

How to send your turf sample

You can send your turf sample through the post in any small plastic container that is strong enough not to get crushed in the post. Puncture some small air holes in the top of the container. Ensure the sample is moist but not waterlogged. Loosely pack scrunched-up newspaper around the sample to prevent it being thrown about inside the container while in transit. If necessary, use strips of sticky tape to ensure the lid of the container remains firmly closed. Put the container in a padded jiffy bag together with the completed questionnaire, and send by first class post using the address label you can download here. Please place the questionnaire in a plastic bag so it is not damaged if the container should leak.

Download the questionaire here.

Are you alone in seeing the damaging evidence of Microscolex? Post a message on the GreenCast Forum to hear about the experiences of others.

Buy Syngenta Turf Nozzles and Art of Application tools here

Syngenta — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 09:36:53 GMT

You can now buy the Syngenta Turf Nozzles and other Art of Application tools direct from Syngenta by calling:

0800 652 4215

Details of the Syngenta Art of Application tools and prices are as follows:

Syngenta Turf Foliar Nozzle

£60.00 per set of 12. P&P £2.50

Syngenta Turf

Soil Nozzle

£90.00 per set of 12. P&P £2.50

Syngenta Calibration Checker System

£24.00.

P&P £4.00

Syngenta Boom Height Indicators

£5.00 per pair.

P&P £2.00

Syngenta Art of Application DVD

£10.00.

P&P £2.00

Syngenta Art of Application Kit

Contains one set each of the Syngenta Turf Foliar Nozzle (12) and the Syngenta Turf Soil Nozzle (12), along with a Syngenta Calibration Checker System, pair of Boom Height Indicators, DVD and full instructions.

Saving £32 over the cost of individual components and delivery.

£170.00.

P&P £5.00

* All prices are subject to VAT. Credit card details required.

Nozzles are supplied with calibration and output charts, or download the information here.

The Calibration Checker System is supplied with directions for use, or download the information here.

To order call 0800 652 4215

New Syngenta Turf Nozzles launched at BTME

Syngenta — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 09:10:21 GMT

New Syngenta Turf Nozzles launched at BTME 2010 have been specifically designed to improve the targeting of spray applications in turf and achieve better results for sprayer operators. The nozzles have been introduced as part of the Syngenta Art of Application initiative to help turf managers get the best possible results from their applications.

Drawing on the experience of Syngenta's dedicated Application Specialist, Tom Robinson, Syngenta has initially designed two nozzles - one for foliar applications that will deliver greater leaf coverage yet retain as much spray as possible on the plant, along with a high impact soil nozzle that effectively enhances penetration of the turf and improves the targeting of Heritage and Heritage Maxx sprays for soil borne diseases, such as Take-All and Fairy Ring.

Key benefits of the Syngenta Turf Nozzles include:

• Better targeting of sprays	• Faster operation
• Better results	• Reduce water volumes
• Reduce risk of drift	• Increase spraying opportunities

Syngenta Head of Golf & Landscape, Simon Elsworth, highlights that, whilst conventional flat fan nozzles can achieve a good result under perfect conditions, the new Syngenta Turf Nozzles can deliver more and increase the opportunities to get sprays applied at the optimum timing to get the best possible results.

Flat fan nozzles are inherrantly susceptible to drift (left), which has been largely overcome with the new Syngenta Turf Foliar Nozzle (right).

"Flat fan nozzles produce a wide range of droplet sizes, from small to large. Small droplets lack the velocity to reach the turf surface, and will be lost as spray drift and effectively wasted; in windy conditions the drift will be greatly increased. The large drops, however, will be moving so fast that they literally bounce off the leaf and roll away, especially at higher water volumes. In either case the efficacy of the treatment would be reduced and the risk of environmental loss increased," he said

"The new Syngenta Foliar Turf Nozzle is specifically designed to overcome these problems. It creates an even droplet size that virtually eliminates drift under standard spraying conditions. Furthermore, each droplet contains a built-in 'air bag', which effectively cushions the drop as it hits the leaf, so it spreads and covers the surface without rolling off. It produces around 75% more droplets per ml than a conventional bubble-jet low-drift nozzle."

The Syngenta Turf Foliar Nozzle (below, right) features a rearward facing spray angle, generated to counter the forward movement of the sprayer and give all better all-round coverage of the leaf surface. The nozzles have also been designed to work at lower water volumes than currently used on most golf courses. Instrata trials by STRI have shown the best disease control using the Foliar Turf Nozzles was achieved with an application rate of 250 l/ha.

A recent Syngenta survey of turf sprayer operators identified most turf managers are still operating with an average water volume of around 750 l/ha. Reducing the water volume to 250 l/ha means a golf courses with a 300 litre capacity sprayer could treat all their greens with one tank, compared to three fills when spraying at 750 l/ha. "The combination of faster operation and the dramatic reduction in drift can significantly increase spraying opportunities available to turf managers, so they can spray at more convenient times and when the application will give the best results," advises Mr Elsworth.

"STRI trials have shown that applying Heritage Maxx when there has been a period of disease risk, but before there is any visible signs of disease will achieve the best results in maintaining turf quality, with the least number of applications required over the course of the season. The new Syngenta Turf Foliar Nozzle could help ensure that application goes on at the ideal time." Mr Elsworth adds that the Syngenta Turf Foliar Nozzle could enhance performance of all treatments where foliar retention is the target, including fungicides and Primo Maxx growth regulator.

The second new Syngenta Turf Soil Nozzle (below) is designed specifically for soil applications - primarily Heritage, Heritage Maxx and Headway for Take-all and Fairy Ring control. The solid brass construction creates high-energy droplets for enhanced spray penetration and very low risk of drift.

The Syngenta Turf Soil Nozzle is intended to deliver equivalent product through to the soil surface from water volume of 550 l/ha, compared to over 1000 l/ha with conventional nozzles. The result is a significant increase in sprayer output and improved application timing. Surface aeration prior to application and a tank mix with a high quality wetting agent is still advocated to enhance soil uptake.

Both Syngenta Turf Nozzles are manufactured in the UK to fit conventional sprayer bayonet housings and simply replace existing nozzles.

The Syngenta Turf Nozzles are part of the Syngenta Art of Application Kit, which includes a turf dedicated Calibration Checker System, with a graduated cylinder, pre-marked with specified nozzle outputs. Sprayer operators who have pre-calibrated their sprayer can quickly use the cylinder to check nozzle output and confirm sprayer accuracy. Also in the kit are a pair of Syngenta Boom Height Indicators These are easily fitted onto each end of the sprayer boom and cut off as required, to give the operator a constant visual check that the boom is working at the correct height.

The Art of Application is a key component of the Syngenta GreenCast. The advanced local disease forecasting can help turf managers assess the risk of infection and time fungicide applications more effectively.

Additionally, to improve the skills and operation of sprayer operators, GreenCast features a series of training podcasts, an on-line application advice forum, practical sprayer calculators and a series of downloadable spraying record forms.

Syngenta cycle team Paris bound

Karen — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 09:02:50 GMT

An intrepid Syngenta UK cycle team are preparing for this year's 'London to Paris' 300-mile cycle race, in aid of the charity Action Medical Research. The team of eight, including Simon Elsworth and Karen Roberts from the Turf and Landscape business, have been training hard for the event which begins on Thursday (July 22^nd).

"Team Syngenta have put in many, many, miles of road craft in training, during lunch-breaks, after work and weekends. The legs are ready and we've all been preparing for those 'butt-numbing' hours on the road!" reports Turf & Landscape Business Manger, Simon Elsworth. "The average speed of the group has improved dramatically. We're really looking forward to the challenge, and it's for a great cause."

With 300 miles to cover in just 3 days, Team Syngenta is taking on a huge challenge in aid a great cause. The team has already gathered over £11,000 in sponsorship and if you would like to show them your support (and help Action Medical Research's funding of research to save and change children's lives) you can contribute on the sponsorship site: http://www.action.org.uk/sponsor/kroberts

Seven of the eight intrepid members of Team Syngenta show off their new strips: (from left to right) Simon Parker, Inez Cornell, Andrew Cottrell, Karen Roberts (Syngenta Turf & Landscape Communications Manager), James Barkhouse, Simon Elsworth (Syngenta Turf & Landscape Business Manager) and Bruce McKenzie. The eighth team member is Alison Pawson.

Action Medical Research is a great charity that believe diseases and disabilities can be beaten, and through medical research. They are creating a healthier future for everyone. Action Medical Research have been making medical breakthroughs for over 50 years - including helping develop the UK polio vaccine, ultrasound scanning in pregnancy and the hip replacement operation - saving countless lives and preventing disease and disability.

Today the Charity is looking for answers to many serious illnesses, selecting the best research projects in areas where we are most likely to find cures or treatments. To find out more about the ground breaking work of Action Medical Research (Registered charity number 208701), you can visit their website www.action.org.uk

Turf Science Live proves success

Karen — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:56:00 GMT

Over 100 greenkeepers, turf managers, agronomists and golf club managers attended the first ever Turf Science Live at the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) this week (Tuesday 27 July 2010). The event, which included an innovative approach of live demonstrations of some of the latest developments in turf agronomy, was hailed a great success.

Organised by Syngenta, Scotts Professional and STRI, practical topics covered highlighted surface conversion techniques to establish desirable fine grass species on greens, how to successfully manage environmental features around the golf course to maximise biodiversity value and application techniques to get spray treatments on target. The new format gave the opportunity for small groups of greenkeepers to engage in active discussion and debate on the merits and potential for different techniques.

	Simon Barnaby of Scotts Professional reported the ability of Primo Maxx to increase chlorophyll concentration in the leaf can help plants stay greener and healthier through periods of stress. Raising the height of cut by just 1mm can significantly relieve stress and reduce susceptibility to Anthracnose, whilst the enhanced turf density means no loss in green speed, he added. Turf Science Live trial plots demonstrated the potential of Primo Maxx and nutrition programmes to enhance turf colour and surface smoothness. Discussion between greenkeepers at Turf Science Live highlighted how many find using a lower Primo Maxx application rate of 0.2 l/ha applied at fortnightly intervals can maintain growth suppression more evenly than rates of 0.4 l/ha at monthly intervals, and fits with the 'little and often' approach to plant nutrition.
	Accurate quantitative assessment of playing surface quality, using the latest tools and techniques, gives greenkeepers the vital information to make better turf management decisions. STRI agronomist, Henry Bechelet, told groups of greenkeepers at Turf Science Live that objective monitoring can help the move towards targets for improved turf conditions. "Armed with the knowledge provided by the STRI Programme you can focus maintenance and priorities in the right areas for speed, smoothness, hardness, moisture and organic content management," he said.
	Over seeding with a mix of desirable bentgrass species and sand direct into groves cut into the turf surface can achieve the combined objectives of lowering organic matter and enhancing sward composition in one operation, reported Keith Kensett of Kensett Sport. Trials at STRI, assessed at Turf Science Live, compared the success of the Graden machine, to hollow tine coring and other over seeding techniques. Application of Primo Maxx five-days prior to over seeding to suppress competition from existing plants can significantly improve the establishment of seedlings, he added.
	Nutritional input for fine turf areas has been one of the hottest topics of discussion in the turf industry for many years, claimed Ed Carter of Scotts Professional. Demonstrating a full range of fertilizer technologies at Turf Science Live, he highlighted that inappropriate fertilizer applications have long been known to create poor growing conditions for fine turf. "Too much nutrient can create soft lush grass, which is susceptible to disease and excess wear. It can also encourage the coarser grass species, such as Poa annua," he warned. It is also worth noting that too much nutrient is wasteful and can harm the environment, he added. "Liquid and foliar applications are becoming more popular as they can be easily tank mixed and give the turf manager flexibility with inputs, whilst allowing maximum control of growth. The key to successful turf is to use high quality products, proven through research, which allow the turf manager a flexible and prescriptive approach to feeding."
	Knowing the current status the soils beneath your golf greens allows you to make the decisions required for your management plans, says STRI Laboratory Manager, Michael Baines. He demonstrated some of the latest techniques used in the STRI laboratories to analyse more than 5,000 test samples every year including rootzones, construction and maintenance materials used in sports playing surfaces, golf courses and amenity areas. The USGA approved laboratory is the official testing house for the British Rootzone and Top Dressing Manufacturers Association, he added. STRI Plant Pathologist, Julie Wheater, also demonstrated how the STRI laboratory can manipulate environmental conditions to test products in small-scale trials. Laboratory studies showed how Primo Maxx can be used in conjunction with Heritage Maxx to reduce stress and increase water use efficiency of turf plants.
	Improved application techniques could help greenkeepers target sprays where they will get consistently better results, according to Syngenta Application Specialist, Ben Magri. At Turf Science Live h e demonstrated in action the new nozzle developments from Syngenta that include foliar nozzles designed to retain more spray on the leaf at lower water volumes and with significant reduction in drift, compared to conventional flat fans, along with Syngenta Turf Soil Nozzle designed to target applications into the base of plants and the soil surface for enhanced Take All and Fairy Ring control. Mr Magri pinpointed the need for regular calibration and the importance of correct boom height setting in achieving accurate results and optimum spray coverage.
	Syngenta trials conducted by the STRI to assess new management techniques of environmental areas to boost bumblebees and biodiversity created a buzz of interest and excitement at Turf Science Live. STRI Head of Turfgrass Protection, Dr Ruth Mann, said new options to use Rescue and Primo Maxx to control invasive grasses and allow sown wildflowers to flourish had achieved amazing results in just two seasons that would have taken years to create with conventional techniques. Syngenta Technical Manager, Dr Simon Watson, added the turf specific knowledge being generated by the Syngenta-sponsored STRI project built on the success of the company's Operation Pollinator, which had seen endangered bumblebee numbers increased by up to 650% by the management of specific areas of farmland dedicated to habitat creation and managed to boost pollinating insect populations.

Introducing Turf Science Live, STRI Chief Executive, Gordon McKillop, said: "At a time when there are constant demands from club management and players calling for ever greater quality within tough budget constraints, it's crucial that turf managers get the chance to see first-hand the many exciting developments in turf agronomy, and how they can put the innovation into practice on their own courses.

"Turf Science Live proved to be a highly informative and practical format to showcase some of the industry's latest innovations. The feedback from those who attended has been extremely positive."

Neil Smith, Head Greenkeeper at The Belfry, added: "I found the whole day to be extremely useful and thought-provoking, presented in an enjoyable format. There have been some valuable ideas from the demonstrations, along with the discussions on the experiences of other greenkeepers, that I can take away and consider how we could use in the future."

Heat is on for Anthracnose attack

Syngenta — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:16:42 GMT

Forecasts of rising temperatures after recent rainstorms in many areas raise the prospect of Anthracnose foliar blight infection breaking out. Foliar blight can affect any turf surfaces and any stress imposed now will significantly increase the risk of a damaging attack, warns Dr Simon Watson of Syngenta.

Drought conditions, nutrient deficiency, compaction from play or simply cutting tighter for the competition season could all trigger foliar disease outbreaks (below). "With thoughts turning towards end of season 'renovation weeks', turf maintenance activities place extra pressure on plants and will further increase the chances of attack," he advises. "With turf under stress, the effects will be more visible and any recovery will be slower."

The increased pressure on greenkeepers and course managers to reduce costs, including nutrient programmes, and to produce faster surfaces by lowering cutting heights, will have contributed to increasing the risk of Anthracnose. This is being compounded by the trend towards hotter summers; every year for the past decade August temperatures have exceeded the long-term average.

Dr Watson recommends greenkeepers and course managers keep a close eye on the GreenCast website over the coming weeks to identify local Anthracnose disease risk. "If you can see risk rising and turf is under stress from any source, it is advisable to apply Banner Maxx or Instrata to protect turf from infection. It is even more important to apply a fungicide prior to any renovation work that will stress plants further."

Many types of stress predispose turf to Anthracnose, such as drought, inadequate nitrogen, insect or nematode feeding and excessively low cutting heights, warns STRI Head of Turfgrass Protection, Dr Ruth Mann (below). "Therefore, any stress factors need to be alleviated," she says.

"Anthracnose is often described as a 'biological indicator' - highlighting that the turf is not healthy. Nitrogen fertility is often low in affected areas, so an application of nitrogen as a foliar feed, in conjunction with the fungicide programme, may reduce the stress and suppress the symptoms."

Dr Mann also advises irrigation scheduling should also be carefully managed to avoid drought conditions, especially on the more susceptible Annual Meadow-grass (AMG) dominant turf. Anthracnose is frequently mistaken for drought stress, but when applying water to alleviate symptoms you can actually spread spores and further exacerbate problems, she adds.

"Excessively low cutting heights should also be avoided, as this adds to the stress on the grass plants; Primo Maxx programmes may enable turf manager to raise cutting height, without adversely affecting turf density and the playing surface quality, as well as alleviating plant stress."

She advocates any sward composition management should aim to promote less disease susceptible Bent grass and Fescue mixtures, with Primo Maxx application also helping to assure greater success with over sowing programmes this autumn.

Autumn Basal Rot risk

Turf managers with predominantly AMG greens must be also vigilant for Anthracnose Basal Rot (below) when conditions turn cool and wet in late August or early September, warns Dr Simon Watson.

"At a time when Fusarium Patch risk can also be increasing as temperatures cool, Heritage Maxx would be the preferred option to prevent infection. With Anthracnose Basal Rot there is no curative option available, so preventative action is the only route. Heritage Maxx application ahead of autumn renovation activities can give the best possible protection against a broad spectrum of diseases."

GreenCast goes mobile

Syngenta — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 04:51:54 GMT

The Syngenta dedicated turf website - www.greencast.co.uk - is renowned for its accurate weather forecasting, proactive disease risk warnings and detailed information direct to your computer. GreenCast is an essential tool to enhance turf management decisions and helping to make good turf great.

Now we are looking to take GreenCast out onto the course, with a new mobile Web-App capability, designed to supply key turf management information to Apple iPhone, Blackberry and smart phone devices when and where you need it.

Currently the GreenCast Mobile pilot phase is supplying essential information including weather, disease notes and product use details. We would welcome your help to evaluate the information being supplied, check how convenient and user-friendly you find the system works and help us to tailor the most useful mobile turf management website for all greenkeepers and turf managers over the coming months.

Click on the following link or picture, and then enter your mobile number on the box. Press send and you will auotmatically get a text message with a web link sent to your mobile phone, from which you can access the Greencast Mobile website.

http://m.greencast.co.uk/utilities/send-sms.aspx

PLEASE NOTE, this is only a pilot development phase of GreenCast Mobile, set up for user evaluation and comment. The weather forecasting and live information is precisely the same as supplied by the main GreenCast site. However, further extension of capability and functionality will be added as the site develops according to users comments and requirements.

If you try out the site and have any comments, please post on the Feedback Forum here, or email to karen.roberts@syngenta.com

Click here for more information.

Primo Maxx proves a clear winner for line marking

Syngenta — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:26:10 GMT

Sports turf managers could halve the time and cost of line marking this season, with a new approval to mix Primo Maxx with line marking paints. Independent trials by STRI have shown the opportunity to retain line visibility for up to 50% longer, compared to line marking alone.

Mixing the turf growth regulator with line marking paint can suppress grass growth for up to six weeks and has been shown to give significantly better retention of line colour and visibility for longer. Furthermore, there is no damage to the playing surface associated with total herbicide applications, which can allow weeds to ingress and create the need for re-sowing at the season's end.

Primo Maxx is approved for use as a pre-mix with paints for wheel-to-wheel application or with spray line marking applicators. The combination has been extensively tested with a full range of commercial paints and line marking equipment.

"At the end of the season, the turf simply reverts out of regulation with no damage or lasting effects," reports Rod Burke of Syngenta. "There is no cost or effort of re-seeding, no bare soil for weeds to establish and, if sports turf is being used for another event over the summer, new lines can be quickly and easily put in place."

STRI trials have shown the lines marked with paint mixed with Primo Maxx (foreground) remain clear and visible up to 50% longer than line martking paint alone.

Primo Maxx should be used at a rate of 2 ml per litre of line marking paint applied, or 40 ml in a 20 litre tank, for example. The cost of the Primo Maxx is less than 15p per litre of paint mix used, compared to the paint cost of around 40p to £1.80 per litre, depending on product choice and concentration used. Glufosinate ammonium adds a cost of around 33p per litre of paint mix for initial marking.

"Turf managers who use Primo Maxx on sports playing surfaces have already recognised the improvements in turf density, rooting depth and the added strength of to resist the wear and tear of heavy play, along with up to 50% reduction in mowing requirement and clipping yield," reports Mr Burke. "Now, Primo Maxx can make a further contribution to cutting costs and simplifying management, by reducing line marking requirement by up to a half."

Primo turf vigour cuts disease

Syngenta — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:14:43 GMT

Healthy, stronger turf promoted by Primo Maxx applications through the growing season can reduce its susceptibility to disease and maintain better turf quality right through the winter, according to results of new research.

Trials undertaken to support a new registration for Primo Maxx in Scandinavia have shown significant reductions in Fusarium Snow Mould infection and corresponding improvements in appearance directly proportional to increasing rates of Primo Maxx (pictured below). The level of Fusarium damage on fairway turf in the spring, following Primo Maxx programme the previous summer, was reduced from 17% of the turf surface affected in the untreated, to less than 2% with a six spray programme at UK fairway rates.

A summer Primo Maxx programme on a Bentgrass green demonstrated over 70% reduction in winter disease effects, along with an 18% improvement in green cover and turf appearance score.

Norwegian researcher, Dr Trygve Aamlid of Biofosk Ost, believes the enhanced winter survival of Primo Maxx treated turf is most likely due to the higher accumulation of carbohydrates in the plant tissue prior to the winter. This echoes other research which has shown a significant connection between the carbohydrate content of leaves and infection of Microdocium nivale. Trials have shown up to 40% increase in the carbohydrate fructans in creeping bentgrass treated with Primo Maxx.

"Regular application of Primo Maxx may also allow greenkeepers to increase fertiliser levels slightly to reduce the risk for Anthracnose and other turfgrass diseases, without compromising green speed," Dr Aamlid (pictured below) reports.

Following the full trials programme, on three golf courses and the Bioforsk research facility at Grimstad, Norway, the team has advocated Primo Maxx programmes at 1-2 week intervals on greens, every 2-3 weeks on fairways and up to four weeks on semi-roughs and roughs. Greens applications dovetail with the typical 'little and often' liquid fertiliser programmes used by greenkeepers, whilst the potential to reduce fairway mowing from three to two times per week may be attractive to many golf clubs, as well as contributing to reduced CO₂ emissions, according to Dr Aamlid.

"Many greenkeepers will probably also find it helpful to spray Primo Maxx in areas that are steep or otherwise difficult to reach using ordinary mowing equipment," he adds.

Primo Challenge shows results

Greenkeepers and Course Managers taking part in the Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge this season will have the chance to assess the benefits of turf health for themselves, reports Rod Burke of Syngenta. The Challenge gives the opportunity to assess improved turf quality and simplified turf management, where one fairway is treated with a balanced programme of Primo Maxx and Scotts Sportsmaster WSF water soluble fertilizer, compared to untreated.

Syngenta Turf & Landscape Portfolio Manager, Rod Burke, highlights Primo Maxx is now widely used on golf greens and tees. "For those already using Primo Maxx on fairways the primary objective has been to simplify management and give greater flexibility through reduced mowing requirement. However, we have had repeated comments that the turf quality of fairways has been significantly enhanced with the Primo Maxx programme and the right nutrition.

"These improvements have also been identified by the club management and players, which can help course managers to gain the financial commitment to deliver better overall turf quality across the course."

Syngenta and Scotts are so confident that course managers will see a beneficial result, that they are offering a 'Money-Back Guarantee'* on the Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge investment.

Furthermore, all entries for the Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge will also be entered into a free Prize Draw, with the winner receiving travel, accommodation and entrance for two to the world-leading US Golf Industry Show, to be held in Las Vegas in February 2012.

Click here for more information on the Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge and to register to take part.

* Terms and conditions apply to entry for The Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge money-back guarantee. Please refer to the GreenCast page for further information and details.

Have you seen any reduction ion disease from healthier turf with Primo Maxx applications, or want to find out more about the experiences of others and how it could work for you? Post a comment on the GreenCast Forum here.

Justin Rose launches Golf Environment Awards 2010

Syngenta — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 03:55:00 GMT

Justin Rose has launched The Golf Environment Awards 2010, in his new capacity as the official ambassador of the awards.

The awards, now in their 13th year, are managed by STRI and recognise and reward both individuals and golf courses for the time and focus they have put into environmentally sustainable management projects. Syngenta and Scotts Professional are sponsors of The Golf Environment Awards.

As well as receiving official recognition for the development of outstanding environmental projects, the awards also gives winners the opportunity to travel to some of the USA's world's most famous golf venues, including Pine Valley and Shinnecock golf clubs, along with further training and assistance from STRI ecoliogists.

Speaking about his new role, Justin Rose said: "I am honoured to become an ambassador for The Golf Environment Awards. It's great that these awards are helping to promote and highlight the work that many golf clubs are performing to improve the environment and support a positive future for golf within the UK."

One of Justin's first official duties as ambassador of The Golf Environment Awards was to meet the 2009 winners at the PGA Championship at Wentworth, where Rose finished one under par for the tournament.

He added:" It was great to meet last year's winners and hear why their specific projects have been so successful. We need to do more to highlight how golf clubs can introduce their own environmental projects and shout more about the achievement and success of current schemes."

Click here or on the banner for more information

Gordon McKillop, STRI's chief executive added: "We would encourage any golf club that focuses on environmental issues to enter - the winners are chosen for their dedication and enthusiasm to succeed, and not on the scale of project or size of golf club."

Entry to the 2010 awards is now open. Entry is free and details can be found on the new website http://www.golfenvironmentawards.com/

There are 11 awards split into three categories.

Environmental Improvement - four awards recognising projects involving:

Nature Conservation Management
Turfgrass Management
Waste Management
Water Management

Environmental Achievement

Five regional awards and one overall winner award recognising golf courses that have implemented a successful environmental management strategy, with clear objectives and targets on how this strategy will directly contribute to a better environment.

Conservation Greenkeeper Award

To recognise an outstanding individual contribution to the success of environmental and ecological management.

Register for the Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge

Syngenta — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 05:50:26 GMT

Greenkeepers and golf course managers can significantly improve the quality of their fairways this summer by taking the Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge, and have the chance to win a an educational trip of a lifetime to the acclaimed US Golf Industry Show (GIS), to be held in Las Vegas in February 2012.

Click here to complete the on-line registration for the Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge.

The Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge, organised by Scotts Professional and Syngenta, gives turf managers the opportunity to use a programme of Primo Maxx and the new water-soluble fertilizer from Scotts, Sportsmaster WSF High N, on one selected fairway, and to score the results against an untreated fairway. The 'before' and 'after' assessments will be made by the greenkeeper and club secretary or golf professional.

Click here for information on how to take part in The Primo Maxx Challenge, what is required and to view the entry form as a guide on what to record.

Fairway quality improvements from the combined Primo Maxx and turf nutrition programme will be judged on selected attributes important to individual greenkeepers, including turf density, mowing reduction, colour, drought resistance, divot recovery, root development, wear tolerance and cutting pattern retention.

The Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge is an ideal opportunity to show club management and players the great improvements in fairway quality that can be achieved. Syngenta and Scotts are so confident that course managers will see a beneficial result, that they are offering a 'Money-Back Guarantee'* on the Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge investment.

Click on the logo for more information on Primo Maxx

Completing The Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge will also give entry to a free Prize Draw, with the winner receiving travel, accommodation and entrance for two to the world-leading US Golf Industry Show (GIS), to be held in Las Vegas in February 2012.

"These improvements have also been identified by the club management and players, which can help course managers gain the financial commitment to deliver better overall turf quality across the course."

The Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge will involve a programme of three Primo Maxx applications between June and September, each tank-mixed with Scotts Sportsmaster WSF High N fertilizer. The Scotts Sportsmaster WSF range consists of three high quality premium foliar fertilizers, for enhanced foliar and root nutrient uptake. The range covers all turf feeding requirements and seasons.

Click on the logo for more information on Sportsmaster WSF fertilizers

Ed Carter, Scotts Professional National Key Accounts and Development Manager, added: "The prize of a trip to the US Golf Industry Show is an amazing experience to see the very latest advances in turf management, and identify opportunities to improve turf quality in the UK. In 2012 there's the added attraction of it being held in Las Vegas."

The Golf Industry Show and Education Conferences is organised by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and attracts over 17,000 turf managers and industry specialists from all over the world. The education programme covers both agronomic and economic aspects of golf course management.

The Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge is open to all golf courses across England, Scotland and Wales. Clubs must register by 16 July to take part in the 2010 Challenge.

* Terms and conditions apply to entry for The Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge money-back guarantee. Click here for further information and full details.

Click here to complete the on-line registration for the Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge.

ITM plans for turf quality

Syngenta — Fri, 14 May 2010 05:14:17 GMT

With the effectiveness of modern fungicides it's very easy to reach for the bottle to tackle turf disease. But for the best long-term results turf managers need to be addressing the causes and reducing the potential for disease outbreaks with their management programmes. A recent Syngenta survey revealed that less than 30% of turf managers were aware of Integrated Turf Management (ITM), and only half of those have positive plans in place to use the techniques.

Syngenta Technical Manager, Dr Simon Watson, says: "ITM is all about doing the best you possibly can with the resources you have available to help deliver the desired playing surface quality."

He highlights that, in some instances ITM measures have little or no associated costs, such as switching dew off greens to reduce the risk of Fusarium. Other requirements, such as a large scale drainage project, however, may prove costly to implement. In many cases, ITM can immediately save money, if activities can be targeted on smaller specific areas.

"The key is to think what impact any activity is going to have on turf health and diseases, and to plan the actions such that they will minimise the risk of infection breaking out," reports Dr Watson. He cites actions including aeration, organic matter management, drainage, irrigation, cutting height, fertiliser programmes and PGR use as positive activities that can reduce stress and disease risk on turf. By adjusting these activities, or paying more attention to specific areas, it may be possible to positively enhance turf health and quality.

Create a seven-point ITM Plan for your turf

Identify and map turf areas most at risk from pest and disease attack.
Select management options, including cultural, biological and chemical controls.
Create a proactive ITM plan for each pest and disease and different scenarios.
Set thresholds of acceptable damage and when treatment will be required.
Brush-up identification skills to know precisely what pest or disease you are tackling.
Build profiles of what local conditions encourage pest or disease attacks on your turf.
Evaluate and record what control options worked, and what could be improved in future.

Dr Watson acknowledges there are other pressures that can impinge on ITM practices. To alleviate Anthracnose risk, for example, the cutting height can be raised by 1 to 2mm. But if players are demanding a fast green speed for a competition that week, it may be impractical to deliver.

Even if you get all management aspects right, there are still going to be times when outside factors and the sheer weight of disease pressure is going to overwhelm turf. It is precisely at these times that preventative fungicide applications can give optimum control. "The difference is that, if the underlying conditions are good and the turf is strong, it will recover faster and the effects of disease will be less damaging."

For ITM to work effectively it ideally needs greater flexibility in the timing allowed for management activities. Frequently greenkeepers are compelled to undertake many of their core activities during a pre-designated 'time, usually late or at the end of the main playing season. The multiple actions in a short period inevitably puts huge stress on turf and, if weather conditions turn out to be bad during the renovation period, it can cause significant problems. Flexibility to time actions when there is the lowest risk of disease would be a significant step forwards, but may be impractical for players and club management. Anticipating issues and preventing disease with an appropriate fungicide application before renovation week begins could help to reduce the impacts.

With an effective ITM programme it may be necessary to micro-manage different areas of turf on a smaller scale due to specific circumstances. A beautiful green nestled in a hollow surrounded by trees may provide a wonderful golfing challenge, for example, but it's always going to remain humid and highly susceptible to disease. "The key is to do everything possible to reduce disease risk, and be prepared to treat just the high risk greens during a period of disease pressure, rather than a blanket coverage across the course," he advises.

The other challenge is that managing turf to reduce the risk of one disease, may make it more susceptible to another. Lowering the fertility to minimise the risk of Fusarium, for example, could make plants more susceptible to Anthracnose attack, for example. "It is a difficult balancing act, but understanding the disease pathogen and using that knowledge to time management actions is important."

Turf managers also need to be aware that changing weather patterns will have an effect on the disease pressures and their ITM programmes. They need to be prepared to adapt to local conditions and immediate pressures. Earlier, warmer springs are making Take-All more of a problem, for example. The trend to short periods of intense rainfall could leach out nutrients and increase stress on turf. Any ITM programme also has to be tailored to individual circumstances, such as undersoil heating on a Winter sports pitch that will change environmental conditions.

"ITM is never a prescriptive blueprint for managing turf, since every situation is different. But turf managers that develop ITM plans find it gives a framework to see how their activities can complement each other more effectively to improve turf quality, to justify their actions and to use fungicides more appropriately at the right time and in the right place to get the best results."

Dr Watson, believes that Integrated Turf Management is going to become even more important in future to maintain better quality playing surfaces more cost effectively. Furthermore, with the implications of European legislation and environmental protection measures coming into force, turf managers need to be planning now how they can get better results from more appropriate use of fungicides in the future

Rod Burke joins Syngenta Turf & Landscape

Syngenta — Wed, 12 May 2010 07:22:25 GMT

Syngenta has appointed Rod Burke as the company's new Turf & Landscape Portfolio Manager. With a wealth of experience of developing new fungicides and herbicides within the Syngenta business, Mr Burke will now focus solely on introducing new turf and amenity management and agronomy solutions across Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EAME).

"Syngenta researchers have identified a range of exciting products that could mark a significant advance in turf and landscape management over the coming years," reports Mr Burke. "These can replace outdated old chemistry with new and more effective products that deliver better results combined with outstanding environmental credentials, as well as innovative new products and complimentary technologies that can solve previously unsolvable problems.

"Allied to that, we are committed to developing the GreenCast on-line agronomy advice and the pioneering advances in the Art of Application to manage turf and amenity areas more efficiently and more effectively," he added.

Mr Burke joins a recently established dedicated Turf & Landscape team for the EAME region, headed by Syngenta Business Manger, Simon Elsworth.

"Syngenta is seeking to further expand its turf and landscape business and work closely with its partner distributors in key markets across Europe, Africa and the Middle East," said Mr Elsworth. "This now has the support of an experienced turf team to ensure greenkeepers, sports turf and amenity managers receive the best possible level of service and advice."

Within the new organisation, Dr Simon Watson has the role of EAME Technical Manager, James Kay EAME Technical Development Manager and Karen Roberts EAME Marketing Communications Manager.

If you have any questions for Rod or the Turf & Landscape team, you can click here now post a question on the GreenCast Forum.

Rescue spring clean for rough

Syngenta — Wed, 12 May 2010 05:33:44 GMT

Spring and early summer applications of the new selective herbicide Rescue in areas of golf course rough could prove the most effective for the control of dense invasive Ryegrass, according to Syngenta Technical Manager, Dr Simon Watson. "Rescue application whilst the rough is still sufficiently open for effective spray targeting and whilst plants are actively growing should have the greatest effect," he believes.

New research and on-course user trials are assessing spring Rescue treatments in rough and semi-rough this season to achieve the best possible control. Experience last summer and autumn highlights application can prove difficult in long dense rough. "Control proved slower than some greenkeepers had expected, especially on heathland courses where mature grass growth had ceased in dry weather," he reports. "Rescue applications are best made when target weed grasses are actively growing."

Dr Watson highlights that as an environmental management tool Rescue is proving highly successful in opening up rough and semi-rough to allow native grasses, wildflowers and biodiversity to flourish. "Where greenkeepers are looking to open up rough areas to make ball location easier and speed up play, a spring application this year could prove an instant winner with players," he adds.

Rough is an extremely important area of the golf course for wildlife, according to STRI Ecological Consultant, Dr Kelly Harmar. "However, not all rough is of equal biodiversity value," she reports. "Thick rough on nutrient rich soils tends to be dominated by coarse grass species and supports a lower proportion of wildflowers; this lack of botanical variation also limits the diversity of wildlife that the grassland can support." Dr Harmar (below) warns chicks of ground-nesting birds can die of exposure if nests in thick rough do not dry out after rainfall.

She believes that Rescue can be usefully employed to create a mixed sward containing finer grass species, including Fescues and a greater diversity of wildflowers. Removing the undesirable grass species, such as perennial Ryegrass, serves to thin the sward and open up gaps for colonisation by wildflowers and finer grasses. "Wildflower seed requires light to germinate and will not thrive if sown into thick grassland rough. Management of the rough to encourage finer grasses can let in the light and increase biodiversity," she says.

"The use of the selective graminicide Rescue as a management tool, particularly when used in conjunction with cultural practices, clearly has the potential to improve biodiversity in rough grassland and to raise the whole environmental potential of golf courses." It is vital however, that the user has full grasp of the grass species within the target sward before treatment.

Trials at The Berkshire Golf Club by Course Manager, Chris Lomas, (before treatment - left, after - right) have shown the potential to remove coarse grasses and open up rough areas to the advantage of players and ecological biodiversity, he reports.

STRI trials undertaken in areas of rough at Loch Lomond Club in Scotland achieved an average of more than 80% Ryegrass control from a single application of Rescue in the autumn. Furthermore the Yorkshire Fog, which had been particularly dominant in some of the areas, was significantly smaller and more compact. "The treated plots generally had a greater proportion of finer grasses when assessed the following spring," added Dr Harmar.

The results were replicated in a similar trial at the Mid-Herts Golf Club, recorded an average of more than 90% Ryegrass control, and with no other adverse change in the botanical composition of the sward.

Wait for active growth

Rescue needs the target plant to be vigorously growing for the herbicide active to be taken down to the roots for a really effective kill, advises Dr Simon Watson. "For treatments on fine turf areas it is also beneficial to have good growing conditions to enable rapid recovery of the fine grass species and help get the playing surface back to the best possible condition as quickly as possible.

"If the turf is under stress from drought or nutrient deficiency at the time of application the recovery is going to be slower and other weed grasses may have an opportunity to get in," he warns. Good growing conditions will also aide any over seeding necessary to quickly establish and fill the gaps left by controlled Ryegrass.

Dr Watson advocates Rescue application when growth rates are increasing, rather than slowing down. Recording the amount of clippings being boxed off greens during mowing is a good indication of when growth is actively taking-off, he adds.

Click here for more information on Rescue.

If you have any questions on how Rescue may help restore fine turf quality on your course, or any experiences with Rescue that you think may help others, please post a comment on the Rescue Forum.

GreenCast UK Articles

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Protect turf from disease during high risk renovation

Have you experienced disease outbreaks after autumn renovation work, or do you follow the active disease prevention route? - leave a message on the Forum discussion board to share your experinces and thoughts.

Managing turf disease through effective ITM

The Environment

The Disease Pathogens

The Turf

The Role of Fungicides

Rotation, Rotation, Rotation

How do you make an ITM plan?

Syngenta appoints two new Technical Managers for turf

Spraying advances get more for less

On the lookout for damaging new worm activity

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New Syngenta Turf Nozzles launched at BTME

• Better targeting of sprays

• Faster operation

• Better results

• Reduce water volumes

• Reduce risk of drift

• Increase spraying opportunities

Flat fan nozzles are inherrantly susceptible to drift (left), which has been largely overcome with the new Syngenta Turf Foliar Nozzle (right).

Syngenta cycle team Paris bound

Turf Science Live proves success

Heat is on for Anthracnose attack

GreenCast goes mobile

Primo Maxx proves a clear winner for line marking

Primo turf vigour cuts disease

Justin Rose launches Golf Environment Awards 2010

Register for the Primo Maxx Fairway Challenge

ITM plans for turf quality

Rod Burke joins Syngenta Turf & Landscape

Rescue spring clean for rough

Wait for active growth