The best way to manage weeds on golf courses is to prevent them from growing in the first place. To do this, golf course superintendents often use a combination of cultural, mechanical, and chemical controls. Cultural control methods include mowing, tilling, and cultivating.
What happens if you let weeds grow on your golf course?
If left uncontrolled, weed seeds can be tracked to other portions of a course by golfers, equipment tires, or other means and result in situations where control becomes more chal- lenging — i.e., tracking from roughs onto putting greens (Figure 2). More- over, letting weeds deposit seed back into the soil will ensure that problems occur annually.
What is the most difficult weed to control on a golf course?
WEED-MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES IN ROUGHS DALLISGRASS CONTROL One of the most difficult-to-control weeds in golf course roughs is dallisgrass (Paspalum dilatatum).
What challenges do golf course superintendents face in weed management?
CONCLUSION Golf course superintendents face an array of weed-management challenges in putting greens, tees, fairways, and roughs. Many weed-management challenges have no simple solutions, particularly those pertaining to peren- nial weeds like bermudagrass.
How do I control weeds in a native grass area?
Mowing native areas one to three times in the spring and/or fall is usually enough for weed control Use a non-selective herbicide to eliminate weeds before planting native/naturalized grasses to the area Remember that products that control non-desirable broadleaf weeds in the native grass area will also control or injure desirable broadleaf plants
How do golf courses control weeds?
Selective Herbicide Products for Golf Courses | Golf Ventures. Selective herbicides control specific weed species, while leaving golf course turfgrass relatively unharmed. Some of these act by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often synthetic mimics of natural plant hormones.
How do golf courses keep grass so green?
Golf courses use aerators to create small holes in their fairways, so water, air and nutrients can reach down to the grass roots. This helps the grass grow deeper roots and it also creates an opening to help it break through to the topsoil.
How do golf courses get rid of dandelions?
Any herbicide that contains 2,4-D will effectively control dandelions. Although research has demonstrated that fall is the best time to control dandelions and many other turf weeds, many turf managers find it necessary to treat for dandelions during spring when roughs can look more yellow than green.
Do golf courses use fertilizer?
All turf grass needs fertilizer and all golf courses need turf grass. See the connection? Maintaining an attractive course with great playing conditions means fertilizing appropriately and on time. Fertilizer encourages growth and provides essential nutrients to your turf grass, making it stronger and more resilient.
How do golf courses get watered?
Golf courses use a variety of water sources for turfgrass irrigation including groundwater, surface water (lakes, rivers and reservoirs), recycled water, and municipal potable water supplies.
How do golf courses get grass so short?
To keep the grass so short on greens, special mowers are used. Golf course mowers are reel mowers, not rotary like most lawn mowers used at home. The reel spins and cuts the grass like a tight scissor cut. The cut height is set by adjusting the difference between the front and rear rollers.
What is the green stuff they spray on golf courses?
Chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide used extensively in the agricultural industry, as well as on golf courses, green houses, and as mosquito adulticide.
How often do golf courses cut grass?
On average, greens are mowed at least five days per week, and in most cases six or seven days per week. Courses that choose to mow five or six days per week will take advantage of a closed Monday or Tuesday to skip mowing and focus more on agronomic programs like topdressing or aeration.
How often do golf courses spray?
To the casual observer, spraying greens every one or two weeks may appear to be overkill. However, short spray intervals allow superintendents to observe putting green performance throughout the season and apply products only at the appropriate time to maximize their efficacy.
What brand of fertilizer do golf courses use?
Graco Fertilizer Company offers several different house turf grass fertilizers, guaranteed to make your lawn, field, or golf course beautifully lush and green.
Do golf courses use pesticides?
The Pesticide Specialist explained that pesticides are used on golf courses and other recreational areas to maintain the health and appearance of the turf. James learned that most golf courses have highly trained golf course superintendents who manage the course, including turf management and pest control strategies.
What kind of grass do golf courses use?
Bentgrass is one of the most popular types of grass planted on golf courses. It's available in many varieties, commonly found in cool summer and coastal regions. It's short, even, and flat, making it the perfect match for putting greens and courses.
Why do nutsedges proliferate?
Considered one of the most invasive weeds, nutsedge can proliferate quickly due to tubers or small “nuts” that fall to the ground and lie dormant in the soil for extended periods. One plant can produce thousands of sedge-producing tubers, which is exactly why you want to identify and eradicate these weeds quickly.
What is a kyllinga weed?
Like other members of the sedge family, kyllinga can take up uninvited residence in turf for years on end. Commonly called spikesedge, kyllinga encompasses both annual and perennial species. You can easily identify it by its sweet smell of mown or crushed leaves—but don’t be fooled, there’s nothing sweet about this weed.
How deep is Torpedograss?
Underground rhizomes of torpedograss have been found up to 6 feet deep in soils, so it is a tenacious weed and very tough to control completely.
What is doveweed?
Doveweed is a late summer annual and you’ll recognize it by its blue to purple flowers and narrow, lance-shaped leaves growing in alternate patterns. It’s prevalent in the southeastern United States and prefers moist areas, which is why it likes to take up residence in golf course turf.
Is dallis grass a weed?
This coarse, densely matted weed produces an unsightly clump in golf courses, making it as unattractive as it is annoying and potentially hazardous. Dallisgrass is drought and frost resistant and can be found throughout the U.S. The weed spreads easily, germinating in spring and summer and growing quickly as summer weather warms. Some dallisgrass patches can be a foot or more in diameter and like crabgrass, it can withstand mowing.
Can you use herbicide on putting greens?
As with any treatment, herbicide labels should be read carefully with attention paid to turfgrass tolerance and use restrictions. Many golf course maintenance products are restricted for use on putting greens and other low-cut areas, so be mindful when using these products.
Can you mowing dallisgrass?
Some dallisgrass patches can be a foot or more in diameter and like crabgrass, it can withstand mowing. Spot applications prove the most effective for treating dallisgrass and repeated applications are necessary if you want to rid your golf course of this pesky weed.
Native and Naturalized Plants
Superintendents from the transition zone northward typically choose tall and fine fescues for low‑maintenance areas, while native warm-season grasses are utilized in the south. There is a difference in native and naturalized plants:
Best Management Practices for Weed Control
Because 100% weed control in low-maintenance areas isn’t realistic, superintendents usually choose one of two methods of managing them:
Features - Turf Health
From annual bluegrass to white clover, researchers tell us which weeds to expect this fall and how best to prepare for the battle.
Herbicide resistance problematic
Bert McCarty, Ph.D., professor of turfgrass science at Clemson University in South Carolina, says weed pressure throughout his area likely will be normal this fall. However, in the face of herbicide resistance, turf managers are having a harder time controlling annual bluegrass.
Rotation, rotation, rotation
Superintendents can rotate their herbicides from year to year, most importantly. Rotating will lessen the chances of resistance to certain chemistries.
Tropical signalgrass
While Poa is a fact of life in Florida, superintendents in the central southern part of the state also have tropical signalgrass to grapple with this fall.
White clover
It’s been a wet year so far in Dr. Nick Christians’ neck of the woods. The dampness will have an impact on fall weeds not only in his state of Iowa but elsewhere in the Midwest.
Nutsedge and kyllingagrass
In the Mid-Atlantic, it’s hard to predict which weeds will pose problems for golf courses this fall, says Elliott L. Dowling, agronomist for the USGA Mid-Atlantic Green Section.
Bottom line
A superintendent’s battle against weeds is perennial. But with wise judgment, effective cultural practices and attention to labels, greenkeepers can hold their own.
What are the challenges of managing golf course weeds?
Resistance poses many challenges to effectively managing golf course weeds. First, when a weed population evolves resistance to a particular herbi- cide, all other herbicides employing the same mechanism of action are no longer effective. Take the acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitors, for example.
What is weed in golf?
There are many answers to the question “What is a weed?” but perhaps the most specific was offered by Aldrich: “A weed is a plant that originated in a natural environment and, in response to imposed or natural environments, evolved, and continues to do so, as an interfering associate with our crops and activities” (R. J. Aldrich, 1984, “Weed Crop Ecology: Principles in Weed Management”). When applied to golf courses, the definition offered by Aldrich communi- cates that weeds not only hamper aesthetic and functional turfgrass quality, but also that they are a product of both the natural growing environment and imposed maintenance practices. Successful weed-control strategies need to address both of these param- eters to be effective for a sustained period of time.
What weeds are in Bermuda grass?
Another weed that has become increasingly problematic in bermuda- grass putting greens is green — aka perennial — kyllinga (Kyllinga brevifolia). Green kyllinga has a similar appear- ance to yellow and purple nutsedge, but it can persist and produce flowers at mowing heights less than 0.25 inch.
What is the name of the seed on the sole of a golfer's shoe?
Annual bluegrass (Poa annua) seed on the sole of a golfer’s shoe. Photo courtesy of Robert Raley, M.S. has developed an online tool to help superintendents develop herbicide programs that rotate mechanisms of action to manage resistance when controlling annual bluegrass.
Can MSMA be used on golf courses?
Until 2019, MSMA can be used as a spot treatment — i.e., less than 100 square feet — for dallisgrass on golf courses (EPA, 2015). In tall fescue, several researchers have found that fluazifop (Fusilade®II) can be an effective tool to manage dallisgrass (Elmore et al., 2013).
Can weed seeds be tracked?
If left uncontrolled, weed seeds can be tracked to other portions of a course by golfers, equipment tires, or other means and result in situations where control becomes more chal- lenging — i.e., tracking from roughs onto putting greens (Figure 2).
Can you control crabgrass in fairways?
However, while numerous herbicides can control smooth c rabgrass in fairways post- emergence, the choices to control tropical signalgrass are quite limited. Often, it requires more than just selec- tive herbicides to eradicate tropical signalgrass infestations.
