The job of being a golf course superintendent just got a lot easier, courtesy of the turf team at North Carolina State University.
Recently, the university made available the 2017 edition of Pest Control for Professional Turfgrass Managers.
The 74-page guide, available online as well as in hard copy, includes a wide variety of information on insect, disease and weed control options in cool- and warm-season turfgrasses; a section on nematode control; how to manage aquatic environments; what's new for 2017; and tips on establishing an integrated pest management plan. There is even a short section on the pitfalls of failing to follow label directions when applying commercial pesticides.
Each pest management section includes a glossary of currently available insecticides, herbicides (including a section on aquatic weed control), fungicides and nematicides grouped by pest, then cross-referenced by active ingredient. Each section also includes trade names of each chemistry, label rates for the various formulations of each and relevant special instructions.
A section on plant growth regulators is grouped by warm-season and cool-season turfgrasses, active ingredient and trade name, along with application rates and precautionary remarks.
The guide also includes a directory, along with contact information, for NCSU's entire turf team.
The guide can be accessed online for free, and hard copies are available for $10 each, and there is a 25 percent discount for orders of five or more.