If you want to avoid pests on your course, DON’T do these three things

 

The amenity turf management industry is seeing a reduction in the number of products that are available to greenkeepers and groundsmen. Chemical solutions that were available in the past are being removed out of fears they could cause damage to human populations and the wider environment. As a result, turf managers must constantly be on the lookout for the next threat to their golf courses.

Speaking at an emergency summit to discuss the impact of pest diseases on the amenity industry, Dr Kate Entwhistle of the Turf Disease Centre, highlighted some everyday practices at golf courses that may actually be contributing to the impact of turf diseases.

“We have to be aware of bio-security,” said Kate. “It’s a constant battle to keep your turf healthy and with less products that provided a quick fix to any problems that arose, pests and diseases can come in very quickly and completely kill your turf.”

Here are three everyday actions that greenkeepers could be doing, that may unknowingly lead to them introducing pests and diseases to a golf course. 

Laying new turf

What do you do if your turf is damaged? One solution is to lay new turf. But have you found that the new turf is quickly reducing in quality or is being immediately torn up by the same predators that caused the damage in the first place? The cause may have been brought in by the new turf that you laid. 

Turf pests live within the rootzone of a plant and that includes any product that you have purchased and shipped in. 

Before purchasing turf, ask your distributor what methods they’ve been using to fight nematodes, pests and other diseases. Have they had any outbreaks that they have supressed? If they do have pests within the turf, have they undertaken a soil sample to find out exactly what pests there are, which will aid you if you need to begin fighting them yourself?

And if you’re importing your own turf from a nursery or elsewhere in the course, have you checked to see whether you’re not unintentially introducing other pests to this area yourself?

Topdressing

A healthy microbial environment is important for maintaining healthy turf. Think of the soil in the same way as any ecosystem; if you change the habitat then some species will thrive and others will die out. Root pathogenic nematodes are big fans of sandy soil as less life lives in them, meaning less predators to eat them. Less microbial diversity also means fungal disease problems don’t have anything to supress them.

If you look after your rootzone and maintain a healthy soil with a good microbial diversity, many fungal and nematode problems will naturally reduce. The age-old practices of regular aeration and the maintaining of organic matter levels will help keep the turf healthy and naturally support that microscopic ecosystem.

Additionally, to prevent new diseases being introduced with your sand and soil mix when topdressing, ensure that the product has been kiln-dried as this will kill any potentially harmful microbial life. 

Hosting machinery demonstrations

Hosting machinery demonstrations is a fantastic way to bring colleagues from the area together to witness machinery being used first hand. Sales personnel from distributors for all the major brands will be delighted to showcase the latest products and innovations. But have you thought about where that machine will have been before it arrives at your club?

If it hasn’t been correctly cleaned, you may be unwittingly introducing pathogens and other pests onto your course. And machinery can come a long way to be used in a demonstration – last week it may have been in a different part of the world, encountering pests and diseases that aren’t native to your area and as such could cause major problems if they take hold. 

If you're seeing damage on your golf courses due to turf being torn up and you're wondering what the cause is, BIGGA has the answer. Click here to find out what's going on.