“The best of both worlds” was the overriding message in the LebanonTurf booth during this year’s Golf Industry Show.

That means communicating to golf course superintendents the company’s position as a leader in the bionutritional and stabilized nitrogen markets.

“Rather than operate as separate entities, we thought it was better to combine them into one,” said Bernard Bross, the company’s senior marketing manager.

During the past two years, Lebanon has been aggressively pursuing the bionutritional market through acquisitions of the Emerald Isle Solutions and Roots brands.

Although the company realizes more university testing on bionutrients is necessary, some studies have shown that use of such products can lead to a 20 percent to 25 percent reduction in nitrogen use. Many of the bionutrients found in Lebanon’s portfolio of products, such as sea plant extracts, have been used for years in agriculture with much success.

Communicating those successes, along with the potential savings are the next steps for Lebanon.

“We still need to provide university research, but this supplements it,” Bross said.

“It results in denser turf and better color. We need to develop a network of users out there and provide them with a forum to communicate this.”

For more information, visit www.lebanonturf.com.

There are many lightning-detection and weather systems designed to help protect golfers from inclement weather, but Thor Guard bills itself as the only lightning-prediction system on the market.

“Our system looks at the electrostatic field that has to exist before a lightning strike can occur,” said Robert Dugan, president of Thor Guard.

Lightning-detection systems can tell you how far away a strike is after is has occurred, but Thor Guard provides warnings from 8 to 20 minutes before a strike occurs.

In existence since 1976, Thor Guard is used by many public parks and school districts, government agencies and airports.

The interface features easy-to-read LED displays Warnings are emitted through a series of solar-charged horns (each has a range of at least 700-900 yards), and plans are in the works to bring the technology directly into the golf car.

For more information, visit www.thorguard.com.

When Civitas debuted at last year’s Golf Industry Show in New Orleans, the petroleum by product was positioned as a fungicide. The crystal-clear liquid, which looks like water, is manufactured by Petro-Canada, that country’s largest petroleum exploration and production company.

A year later, not only has Civitas performed well in fungicide trials, it also appears to have additional plant-health benefits, according to Reinhold Drygala, manager of the company’s lawncare products division.

“It is unlike a traditional fungicide,” Drygala said. “It sort of gives a boost to the plant’s natural immune system.”

In fact, preliminary research results have shown that turf treated with Civitas has a denser canopy and deeper root system than turf that has not been exposed to the fungicide. The hopes to have independent research focus on the product’s ability to produce healthier turf. Civitas has no nutrient properties, Drygala said. But it does help turfgrass make better use of the nutrient resources already at its disposal.

Research conducted at Cornell University has shown that turf treated with Civitas used 30 percent to 60 percent less fertilizer than other test plots, Drygala said. Using Civitas also can help turf fight off fungal diseases.

Civitas calls it “discover your turf’s inner strength.”

“That’s a big cost savings,” Drygala said. “If you can get the same turf quality with less fertilizer, that’s an actual financial benefit to using the product that we need to be able to communicate.”

For more information, visit www.civitasturf.com.

DuPont’s Imprelis herbicide represents a new chemical subclass – pyrimidine carboxylic acid. It  is formulated for control of a variety of broadleaf weeds, including dandelion, clover and plantains, as well as hard-to-control weeds like ground ivy, wild violets and henbit at low application rates.

Label registration by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected by late summer, company representatives in the DuPont booth said during the Golf Industry Show.

With the active ingredient aminocyclopyrachlor, Imprelis attacks weeds through the leaves and shoots targeting the weeds’ auxin receptors. The first signs of effectiveness often are detectible within a few hours of application.

It will be available in sprayable and granular formulations.

Click here for more information.

Two years ago, Walt Norley did not know whether Advanced Sensor Technology would remain a viable business in the future as it fended off competitors and numerous legal battles. Ever since, the company has plodded forward, focused on growth and improving the science in the company’s wireless soil-sensing technology.

That included launching UgMO technology at last year’s GIS in New Orleans. The company followed last year’s release with UgMO technology for the residential turf market. Based on the same technology that AST has begun installing in golf courses around the country, the residential unit can help homeowners conserve water as use restrictions are implemented in many areas nationwide. The unit has been tested in Florida, where water districts have implemented two-day-per-week watering in almost all corners of the state.

The unit, which has a battery life of six years, is placed in the ground next to an irrigation box and in each irrigation station. According to research, the technology has resulted in 70 percent savings when tested against the two-day watering cycle in Florida. 

The South Florida Water Management District, which manages fresh water resources in parts of 16 counties in the southern half of the state, is offering matching funding to homeowners who install the unit, Norley said. Based on the projected savings identified in research, the unit ($450 for four units – installed) can pay for itself in the way of savings in as little as six or seven months.

Similar savings have been realized by many of AST’s golf customers said Norley, the company’s founder and chief executive officer, including cutting irrigation frequency by as much as 50 percent and cycle duration by about one-third.

For more information, visit ugmo.com.

The message coming out of the Grigg Brothers booth at the Golf Industry Show was “Proven Efficiency.”

“We are focusing on test results from our products that show their overall efficiency,” said Matt Nelson, an agronomist with the Idaho-based company.

Specifically, the term refers to published results of three years of research on the company’s foliar fertilizers (on four types of grasses) conducted at four universities nationwide – University of Nebraska, University of Florida, Clemson University and Rutgers University.

“This was a huge commitment of our resources,” Nelson said. “We’re trying to communicate the value of the product.”

Nelson and others in the booth also were communicating how Grigg Brothers’ fertilizers fit into an overall nutritional program.

According to Nelson, the research shows that superintendents using Grigg’s foliar fertilizers can save money by using less product, which can’t be overestimated in today’s economy.

“Everyone is under the gun to make good decisions,” Nelson said. “But you still have to deliver results.”

For more information, visit www.griggbros.com.