Two turf videos:
Larry Stowell and Wendy Gelerntner from Pace (http://www.paceturf.org/) have posted a few videos of turf topics on their new Facebook page.
Here’s a 3-minute demo of fairy ring diagnosis:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1469235847572
And, for fun, a 1-minute clip of a field trial. It uses time-lapse and is pretty cool:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1466904469289
Even more videos!
Syngenta has produced a series of short videos that explains how to take an active ingredient and turn it into a product that is safe to plants, stores well, does not clog equipment, etc.
You can find the video clips HERE
I don’t mean this to be an ad for Syngenta products–it’s just a user-friendly way to learn a little bit about formulations.
Section #3 is the most in depth, about 7 minutes, and discusses how companies use surfactants, dispersants, buffers, adjuvants, etc, to turn a gooey, hydrophobic raw active ingredient into something that can be put in a spray tank and applied to plants.
Dollar spot
The fairway-height zoysia at our turf research center was looking “speckled” this morning.
With a closer look, it appears that dollar spot is present. It is not very common on zoysiagrass here in Kansas, but it occurs from time to time.
Brown patch is also visible in creeping bent plots where it was not present just 2 days ago:
Growth Regulating effects:
The outlined plot is being treated every 14 days with a product that contains the DMI fungicide propiconazole. DMI products can have undesirable growth regulating effects.
Dr. Lane Tredway described DMI effects here:
http://turfdiseases.blogspot.com/2009/06/beware-dmi-fungicides.html
I was in my hometown of Madison, WI, over the holiday weekend to visit family. Beautiful weather, good family time, fireworks, Mom and Dad’s cooking… Other than falling out of a hammock and hurting my wrist, which I then aggravated by competing with my brothers in a “crabwalking race” across the backyard, it couldn’t have been better.
While there, I stopped in at the University of Wisconsin-Madison turf research facility, the O. J. Noer Turfgrass Research and Education Facility. You can find a link to it HERE.
Dr. Jim Kerns gave me a tour. At “the Noer,” as it is called, there are a variety of studies going on this year.
Mowing height physiology:
Alternative turfgrass species (such as Junegrass, which is native here in Kansas) for reduced inputs (water, for example).
Shade:
Phosphorus fertility:
On the disease side, they are looking at snow molds, dollar spot, Pythium, and brown patch. There was a fair amount of dollar spot that day, but somehow I did not manage to get a photo of it. I guess I was too distracted by all the disease.
For me it was interesting to see their set-up, how they organize the field trials, etc. We have some similar interests–disease management, fertility, water use, overall reduction of inputs, etc. It’s always good to get out and see how other people approach things.
Showing off my hometown:
2 Responses to “Turf video fun, dollar spot in zoysia, hammock accidents, and more!”
When you were at the OJ Noer research facility, did they explain what they were studying with the mowing height physiology study? I'm sure my location is much different than WI, but hopefully it isn't too similar. :)
Joey
Joey, no, I'm not exactly sure what they are measuring. Could be root mass, photosynthesis rates... I'm not sure. I only had about an hour total so I did not have time to learn all the details :)
You could ask Jim Kerns.
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