Purdue Turf Students Place 3rd at the Sports Turf Managers Association Annual Student Challenge

Two teams of Purdue students traveled to San Antonio, TX to participate in the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) Annual Collegiate Challenge sponsored by Hunter Industries on 24 January, 2014. During the two-hour competition, teams were divided into students pursuing either a 4-year or 2-year degree. All competitors were required to properly identify turfgrasses, weeds, insects, diseases and turf soils. In addition, they were tested for their knowledge of general sports turf management, the mathematics related to turf management and supplemental irrigation. The two Purdue teams placed 3rd and 13th out of 32 teams competing. The 4-year competition was won by the University of Maryland and Virginia Tech took 2nd place. Those students competing were; Matt Dudley, Zach Ferguson, Andrew Marking, Andrew Wilhelm, Matt Shaffer, Cam Rice and Matt Hession. In addition to the competition, the students were able to take advantage of many educational activities specifically geared for students, the industry trade-show and also attended the annual STMA awards banquet. The teams are greatly appreciative for the support in defraying travel expenses that they received from the Mid-West Regional Turf Foundation and the Indiana STMA chapter.
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Status: The Office of Indiana State Chemist & Seed Commissioner

Following recent flooding in their office due to a water line break, "the Office of Indiana State Chemist & Seed Commissioner has restored operational status for most of its internal activities of licensing, registering, and responding to telephone calls.  As of Tuesday, January 21, all staff reported to their regularly assigned duties. The laboratories continue to be  repaired and restored to operational status. The offices will remain closed to the public until reconstruction activities allow for  visitation. We thank you for your patience.”

Dr. Bob Waltz
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Weather warms up at week's end for the Indiana Green Expo (January 8-10, 2014)

January 8-10, 2014
Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, IN

While the weather outside is frightful today (Monday, January 6 2014) and tomorrow (Tuesday, January 7 2014) it does look to improve considerably by week's end with highs near 40 degrees for the Indiana Green Expo (January 8-10, 2014).

Don't miss out on Indiana's largest turf and landscape education event.

Education schedule (different education tracks), workshop descriptions, speaker highlights, exhibitors and trade show events found at www.indianagreenexpo.com or click here for IGE 2014 Brochure.

Highlighted Turf Speakers
We are excited to bring in a great group of speakers in the turf sessions this year. Highlighted speakers include:
Eric Baumeister, The Toro Company
Joe Becovitz, Office of the Indiana State Chemist
Cale Bigelow, Purdue University
Bill Brown, CGCS, Turf Republic
Mark Esoda, CGCS, Atlanta Country Club
Kevin Frank, Michigan State University
Keith Happ, United States Golf Association
Rick Latin, Purdue University
Bruce Martin, Clemson University
Aaron Patton, Purdue University 
Doug Richmond, Purdue University
James Rutledge, Bayer
Pamela Sherratt, Ohio State University
David Shetlar, Ohio State University 
John Sorochan, University of Tennessee
Fred Whitford, Purdue University

Many other great speakers will be here for the plant materials, installation/maintenance, production, business, and hardscape education tracks as well.

Don't forget Wednesday's workshops including golf and lawn specific options. Check out the workshop listings.


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2014 Turf Weed Control for Professionals, Now Available

The revised edition of Turfgrass Weed Control for Professionals is now available. The 96 page publication includes content on:
  • Turfgrass Culture
  • Weed Types
  • Weed Life Cycles
  • Developing a Weed Control Program
  • Indicator Weeds              
  • Herbicide Information (use, nomenclature, classification, mode of action, movement, resistance, etc.)
  • Control of Tough Weeds
  • Frequently Asked Questions and Answers About Weed Control with Herbicides
  • Nonselective Herbicides/Fumigants for Turfgrass Renovation
  • Nonselective Herbicides for Turfgrass Border Maintenance (Edging)
  • Preemergence Herbicides (weed control ratings for preemergence herbicides, turf tolerance information, and more instructions for each product)
  • Postemergence Herbicides (weed control ratings for postemergence broadleaf herbicides and turf tolerance, and more instructions for each product)
  • Commonly Used Broadleaf Herbicide Combinations for Turfgrass
  • Active Ingredients in Commonly Used Herbicide Combinations
  • Sedge Control Herbicides (sedge control and turfgrass tolerance ratings, turf tolerance information, and more instructions for each product)
  • Plant Growth Regulators for General Turf Use
  • Preemergence, Postemergence and PGR Options for Putting Greens
  • Postemergence Weed Control in Creeping Bentgrass Putting Greens
  • Common and Trade Names of Registered Herbicides and Plant Growth Regulators (278 different products and 103 unique herbicide ingredient combination are discussing in this publication)
  • Herbicide/PGR Common Names, Chemical Families, and Modes of Action
  • Herbicide Math
This is truly a comprehensive guide for those using herbicides in turf regardless of whether you manage athletic fields, a golf course, lawns, cemeteries, sod farms, parks, or other turf areas.

Added in 2014 are
  • New Herbicides (6 new products)
  • Updated weed control recommendations based on label changes and new research
  • Revised and udpated answers Frequently Asked Questions
A .pdf version is for sale for $10 for those that want an electronic copy. Use this electronic copy on all your devices.


It is sold for $12 as a hard copy (paperback) and $10 as an electronic (.pdf) copy. For companies with many employees interested in this information, a 25% discounted bulk order of 25 copies is available for $225.

Turfgrass Weed Control for Professionals, 2014

Aaron Patton, Turfgrass Extension Specialist

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Indiana Green Expo 2014

January 8-10, 2014
Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, IN


Education schedule, workshop descriptions, speaker highlights, exhibitors and trade show events found at www.indianagreenexpo.com or click here for IGE 2014 Brochure.

Speakers
We are excited to bring in a great group of speakers in the turf sessions this year. Highlighted speakers include:
Eric Baumeister, The Toro Company
Joe Becovitz, Office of the Indiana State Chemist
Cale Bigelow, Purdue University
Bill Brown, CGCS, Turf Republic
Mark Esoda, CGCS, Atlanta Country Club
Kevin Frank, Michigan State University
Keith Happ, United States Golf Association
Rick Latin, Purdue University
Bruce Martin, Clemson University
Aaron Patton, Purdue University 
Doug Richmond, Purdue University
James Rutledge, Bayer
Pamela Sherratt, Ohio State University
David Shetlar, Ohio State University 
John Sorochan, University of Tennessee
Fred Whitford, Purdue University

NEW! ICPI and NCMA installer certifications
Along with a great selection of workshops, IGE 2014 offers two new certification opportunities — Certified Concrete Paver Installer (Workshop F) and Certified SRW Installer (Workshop K)! Check out all the workshops.

Hotel Reservations are still open but subject to availability. Call the Hyatt Regency at 317-632-1234 right away!


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How Late is Too Late to Control Broadleaf Weeds?

Many are asking is how late in the year can I apply a broadleaf herbicide to control dandelions, white clover, ground ivy and other broadleaf weeds. Generally, the best answer is that broadleaf herbicides can be applied in Indiana until mid-November and still provide effective control. This timing is +/- 2 weeks depending upon your location in the state. Broadleaf week control in Northern Indiana is best by November 1, whereas broadleaf weeks can effectively be controlled in southern Indiana prior to December 1. This window can be extended if temperatures are above average and days are sunny.
 
Many herbicides are effective in late fall because plants are more likely to translocate (move downward) herbicides into root and stem tissues as the day lengths shorten and the temperatures cool. Typically, this will occur near or following our first frosts which has recently occurred. Previous research shows that 2,4-D and/or dicamba were far more effective in controlling dandelions and Canada thistle in Nebraska when applied 1 to 10 days after the first fall frost than when applied 5 to 11 days before the frost (Wilson and Michiels, 2003). Other research in Michigan found that "good dandelion control can result from herbicides applied through late October, even when the plants are not actively growing." (Hanson and Branham, 1988). More recently, research at Purdue (Reicher and Weisenberger, 2007) found the following in regards to ground ivy control and application timing (also see Figure below):
  • November applications of most herbicides resulted in ground ivy control similar to earlier (September and October) applications when rated the following June.
  • Triclopyr was the most effective and consistent in controlling ground ivy.
  • Long-term control of ground ivy from triclopyr was not affected significantly by application date.
  • When using three-way herbicides (2,4-D + MCPP + diacmba) or products containing fluroxypyr, applications on 1 September through 1 November were most effective.
  • Adding carfentrazone (FMC’s Quicksilver, PBI Gordons’ Powerzone and Speedzone) to 2,4-D+MCPP+dicamba dramatically improved short-term control of ground ivy from November applications, but had little long-term benefit on any application date. Products containing carfentrazone will aid in quick “burndown” and immediate customer satisfaction when making fall applications but they may not increase long-term control, especially with ground ivy.
The bottom line is that if the herbicide is rated to provide excellent control on the weed that you are trying to control, it may not bee too late to control broadleaf weeds this fall. 

Other notes:
  • In all cases read the herbicide label before making an application. 
  • Winter annuals. Many winter annuals like henbit, common chickweed, purple deadnettle and others have already germinated and are small and easily controlled in the fall. Applications in October and November will control these small winter annual broadleaves as well as the perennial broadleaves.
  • Newly seeded areas. Read the herbicide label carefully if the area you want to treat has recently been seeded. Most herbicides require that newly seeded turf be germinated and mown 1-2 times prior to a herbicide application. 

For more information on weed control, search this blog and archived turf tip postings and check out our Turfgrass Weed Control for Professionals Publication.




Sources:

  1. Hanson, K. V., and Branham, B. E. 1988. Broadleaf weed control research update: II. Late fall weed control. Proc. of the 58th Annu. Mich. Turfgrass Conf. 17:44-51.

  2. Reicher, Z. J., and Weisenberger, D. V. 2007. Herbicide selection and application timing in the fall affects control of ground ivy. Online. Applied Turfgrass Science doi:10.1094/ATS-2007-0831-01-RS.

  3. Wilson, R. G., and Michiels, A. 2003. Fall herbicide treatmets affect carbohydrate content in roots of Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) and dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). Weed Sci. 51:299-304.



Aaron Patton, Turfgrass Extension Specialist


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What To Do With All Those Falling Leaves?

It is that time of year when leaves are falling faster than you can rake them in many places. It is important to rake leaves when there are many leaves on the ground (so many that you can't see the turf underneath) so that heavy layers of leaves will not shade out, smother, and kill turf. However, when only a moderate number of leaves are on the ground, you can use your mower to mulch them back into the turf. Research results at Purdue and other universities demonstrates that:
  • Tree leaves (both oak and maple) can be mulched without any detrimental effects on the soil or turf and usually results in improvements in soil structure.
  • Mulching leaves into the turf will not increase thatch or disease.
  • Leaves have no effect on soil pH and no measurable effect on nutrient availability.
  • Mulching leaves will not result in increased weed pressure and some recent research in Michigan even suggests that mulching leaves back into your lawn can reduce dandelion populations.
Helpful tips:
  • The easiest way to dispose of leaves is to simply mow them into the turf.
  • Regular mowing during the fall will chop the leaves into small pieces and allow them to filter into the turf.
  • Dry leaves mulch more easily and readily than wet leaves.
  • Mulching leaves with a mower is much easier and less time consuming than raking, blowing, and/or vacuuming the leaves like we have done in the past.
  • Mulching leaves disposes of the leaves without filling up our landfills and saves our municipalities thousands of dollars in disposal costs.
  • Do not burn leaves because of our current burn bans and due to environmental pollution.

     

     
Aaron Patton, Turfgrass Extension Specialist


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