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ITM plans for turf quality

 

 

 

 

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