Encouraging results!

As you make your way down #11 fairway you may have noticed some markings around the 150 yard marker. These markings deliniate the boundaries of our 2008 Velocity trial done in conjunction with the University of Illinois Turf Department. We have done these trials since 2004 and have slowly honed in on the best rate/application interval combination.

A little background information first... Velocity is a herbicide that is relatively new to the turf market that, among other things, claims to successfully remove Poa annua from a stand of bentgrass. This very thing has been elusive and sought after by superintendents for years and now, it seems, we may have found something. Early on in the trials it was very evident that Velocity worked. In fact it worked so well that most superintendents (including myself) wouldn't consider using it! With the older rates and application intervals, the trials showed us that the Poa annua would die out and leave a void in the turf. Seeding was usually necessary to fill the void and frequently Poa annua seed would germinate alongside the new bentgrass. The net result was a damaged fairway and a small gain on the Poa. At CCC we decided to take a "less aggressive" approach and go after the Poa annua with selective growth regulators so that we would never have any voids in the turf.

Recently, through Velocity trials similar to those conducted on our course, we have found that longer application intervals were the ticket to a slow transition to pure bentgrass. While conducting these trials, we became keenly aware that within our Poa annua patches was a good amount of bentgrass. With this new approach, we have been able to injure (not kill) the Poa annua at monthly intervals, allowing the bentgrass to make a surge. Repeating this process monthly for five months virtually eliminated the Poa annua all together. Click on the picture embedded in this blog and you will see one of the plots on #11 fairway. You will notice (if you look closely) that below the plot there is a fair amount of lime green Poa annua. Within the plot there is virtually none. The University rated this plot at 1% Poa annua. The encouraging aspect of this plot is that we never saw the Poa dying out, it just slowly went away! We will be repeating this entire trial, plus a few more protocols, on #12 fairway in 2009 and will be treating the entirety of #11 fairway. I will post pictures and thoughts as we continue through the season with this exciting research.