By using alternative products and management strategies, a great turf manager can find ways to manage world-class turfgrass with minimal crop protectants... like the broad selection that is accessible in America.

Here at Great Northern, head greenkeeper Aidan O'Hara uses beneficial microorganisms in his preventative fungicide plan. Microbes and soil pH are two of Aidan's many strategies for managing turf diseases.

Only three fungicides are legal to use in Denmark as of June 2018:

The legal pesticides for Denmark (that I know of).

Aidan had me apply TourTurf Bio Active Plus one morning. This product contains 3% nitrogen, 6% potassium, 10% seaweed, 22 amino acids, and a whole bunch of good microorganisms.

The TourTurf Bio Active Plus jug.

I had to do a little research on the product, because theres no way Im reading this Danish label!

Listed below are the different microbes/microorganisms in TourTurf Bioactive Plus and their purposes:

• Bacillus subtilis: Produces cell elongating auxins (growth stimulators), solubilizes phosphates (good for disease resistance), and helps to protects the roots.
• Bacillus licheniformis: Provides better stress tolerance for the plant, and eats away at the organic thatch mat layer.
• Bacillus amyloliquefaciens: Helps with disease resistance, and prevents saline/salt and drought stress.
• Bacillus pumilus: Helps with resistance to the diseases Rhizoctonia and Fusarium.

As an American turf manager would spray a fungicide such as Flutolanil (active ingredient in products like ProStar), here in Denmark we regularly use microorganisms to help prevent fungi.

The ProStar jug. (Shoutout to my sponsor Bayer Golf!)

With a very narrow selection of fungicides to use, including beneficial microbes in your Integrated Pest Management Program is the way to go!

I was glad to be using a John Deere sprayer Im comfortable with.

This spray application opened my eyes to using other management strategies for fungi control, and I hope other aspiring greenkeepers are now influenced to learn more about these different methods.