DRY PATCH/BROWN TURF 

Dry patch, a consequence in dry seasons.  Dry Patch is where the soil has become water repellent and if a sample of soil is taken when the condition is obvious you will find it is snuff dry even after heavy rainfall. It may also have a musty smell and contain white specks of fungal growth similar to those in Type 1 Fairy Rings

This water repellence causes a patchy network of drying brown grass amongst an otherwise green and healthy lawn. It is often associated with compaction and heavy thatch layers particularly in older lawns or turf on sandy soils.

Preventative Treatment 

Spring 

Ensure thatch is less than ½”. If it is more then it must be reduced. However, if you scarify the grass you may need to over seed afterwards. This could be a problem on soil that is water repellent so if you do need to scarify I would recommend a deep scarify in the spring before the grass starts drying out during the warmer drier months.

Next, the affected areas of lawn will definitely need aerating to allow water to penetrate. I would use a hollow tine aerator to open the turf up AND relieve compaction.

May Onwards

The penultimate step is to apply a ‘Wetting Agent’ to the turf.

Though this does not cure the water repellent nature of the soil it will enable water to penetrate more easily. You will need to apply wetting agent, of which there are many on the market.

For Existing Conditions

Once the turf has dried to such a degree, usually after a long dry period it can often take until the following spring to re-wet !

To speed the process of water penetration and therefore grass revival you should:

• Aerate the area densely – you don’t have to go deep and may not be able to due to the hardness of the soil. Just creating lots of holes will allow water in
• Water these areas of turf for about five minutes a day for a few days. Heavy watering will just run off so a few minutes is all that is required at this stage.
• Apply a wetting agent
• Repeat wetting agent and watering once a month until the lawn recovers. This will normally be 2 to 4 treatments. Additional spiking will also help.
• If the dryness has left you with dead brown grass then you will need to remove this by raking and then re-seeding the area once you have managed to wet the soil. If this occurs past September wait until spring to seed and start treatment as for a preventative lawn procedure above.

Giant Hogweed problem can be treated with Glyphosate

The US Environmental Protection Agency has found that glyphosate “doesn’t pose any threat to the endocrine system”.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer‘s (IARC) recently classified of glyphosate as a group 2A “probable carcinogen”.

But since 2009, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been reviewing the test orders (requests for data) of several widely used herbicides and pesticides, including glyphosate, as part of the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP).

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that can interfere with hormone systems and cause adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects in mammals.

Manufacturers Monsanto said glyphosate was included in the programme purely because of its extensive use and therefore high exposure potential, not because it was deemed to be particularly hazardous.

On 29 June, the EPA released a memorandum concluding that “glyphosate demonstrates no convincing evidence of potential interaction with estrogen, androgen or thyroid pathways in mammals.” It also said that the next level of testing “is not recommended for glyphosate since there was no convincing evidence of potential interaction with oestrogen, androgen or thyroid pathways.”

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, the world’s best selling weed killer, is currently up for its routine, 10-year renewal by the European Union. The review has made glyphosate a target of anti-pesticide activists worldwide.

From November 2015 there is a change afoot regarding who can apply Professional Pesticides. It is almost thirty years since the Control of Pesticides Regulations (COPR) were introduced in 1987 following the enactment of the Food & Environment Protection Act of 1986 (FEPA).  Under the rules introduced in COPR, users of pesticides approved for professional use in agriculture horticulture and amenity horticulture need a certificate of competence to apply them.

To facilitate the ‘easing in’ of these new regulations the Minister of Agriculture of that era made an exception which became known as the ‘grandfather rights’ – to give time for all spray operators to get qualified.  In the 28 years since these rights were first allowed, many  litres of chemical have flowed through the sprayer pipework and now it is time for them to end!   This and other changes to the way we use pesticides, are part of the UK’s programme to implement the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive 2009/128/EC (known as SUD) issued by the European Parliament.  This directive called for all member states of the EU to draw up plans to make the continued use of pesticides sustainable for the future.

Pedestrian controlled and knapsack sprayers will not need a test certificate but should be checked regularly

 

Statutory Instrument No 1657  “The Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012” (SUR 2012) were laid before the UK Parliament on 27th June 2012 and came into force on 18th July 2012.  These regulations will bring an end to the grandfather rights and introduce the requirement for regular testing of application equipment.

The grandfather rights allowed uncertificated spray operators to continue to apply PPP’s on land that they or their employer owned, if they were born before the 31st December 1964.  The rights did not apply to spray contractors.  These rights are being laid to rest on the 26th of November this year (2015).  After this date it will become a legal requirement for everyone applying PPP’s authorised for professional use, to hold an appropriate certificate of competence.

With regard to the responsibilities of employers and managers, there are new rules relating to the purchasing of PPP’s and delegating their application.  It is now an offence for anyone to purchase PPP’s, if it is known that the person carrying out the application is not qualified to do so, unless they are to be supervised during the whole process by a suitably certificated person.   The regulations also state that “No person shall cause or permit any other person to use a plant protection product authorised for professional use unless the person using the product holds a specified certificate or works under supervision”.

Individuals who are already qualified to use application equipment will not be affected by these new rules, as their certificates meet the requirements of the Directive and will remain valid.  However, anyone who has attended spray application training but has not yet taken the test will need to do so before the 26th November this year if they wish to continue to apply PPP’s in the future.

 

It is unlikely that the loss of grandfather rights will affect many of those working on golf courses in the UK, as the vast majority of course maintenance staff are trained and tested in pesticide application as part of their greenkeeper training programme, usually at a local college of agriculture.  However, they will need to address the issues of sprayer testing as most use some form of vehicle or tractor mounted sprayers.  Under the regulations users have a responsibility to make sure the equipment they use is properly maintained and has a test certificate where appropriate.  The parts of the turf market where most grandpas operate are in the village sports clubs such as football, cricket, tennis and bowls and also on schools playing fields.  These are the area’s most likely to be affected by the demise of the grandfather rights.

Due to “cut backs” and “Austerity measures” you will notice weeds growing along kerbs and road sides.

There is a simple, cost effective solution with 2 applications of Glyphosate per year to keep our streets tidy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chafer Beetle activity is being reported.  The adult has emerged and is looking for a mate, which it will mate with before the female then lays eggs in the lawn/turf.  If you are looking to control this pest apply Amidocloprid in June/July and water in.

Loss of Chlorpyrifos (Leatherjacket Control)

As of 21^st May we had the sudden withdrawal of Chlorpyrifos insecticide, with an almost instant use up period. This has now been extended to the end of August in terms of using up any product you have in stock, but no product can be sold / supplied anymore.

The loss of this product has major ramifications and will make life pretty tricky for us in terms of management of Ants, Leatherjackets and other pests as it was our only product for the job. I’m not sure what the future holds in terms of replacement products, I know there are quite a few new insecticide actives being introduced into the U.S market, but getting them through E.U legislation will be an issue.

This won’t be the last of the product withdrawals for our industry as I expect our fungicide options to narrow as well in the future with respect to Fusarium management and then that will really make life interesting in terms of producing a clean disease free playing surface from October through to April.

With rain looking likely we may get a short respite. an application of a wetting agent will also maximise the movement of water in to the profile as opposed to sitting on the surface only to evaporate once the sun comes out again.

Weeds are really moving on a pace now, especially Dandelions so the run up to this weekend is a good time to knock them back with a selective herbicide. Depending on your product choice and tank mix compatibility, you could mix some liquid fertiliser and iron in with that, but only if they’re tank mix compatible mind. (That’s if you need to up growth and colour on the areas in question)

It’s likely that we will see a bit of a growth flush with the arrival of this rain, however with the cool temperatures that accompany it, this shouldn’t be unmanageable. With one eye on the upcoming Bank Holiday, you may want to apply a Plant Growth Regulator  to hold growth back on outfield areas if you’re wary of them becoming hard to maintain with a combination of rain and growth.  The cold nights forecast will help to naturally ‘PGR’ your turf anyway.