Cover St ory
Planning for Success Against
Turfgrass Pests By Peter T. Hertl, Ph.D., and Rick L. Brandenburg, Ph.D., North Carolina State University
Life
for turfgrass and landscape managers is usually hectic during the growing season, which can encompass much of the year in transition-zone states. Typically, though, there are slow periods during winter and early spring that provide a little time to get organized and make a plan for the following year. This is a good time to figure out the budget and plan your equipment, labor, fertilizer, sod, seed and pesticide needs for the upcoming season. With regard to pest control, this is a good time to consider new products and approaches, and how to integrate them into the management plan. There are several good reasons to consider using the new or different pest-control products that frequently come on the market. New products and formulations may provide superior control. They may be more environmentally friendly or safer and easier to use. Older products’ labels are occasionally expanded to include
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additional pests or use sites, or the product may become available as a less expensive “generic” product. Depending on the severity of your pest problem, changing products can be a big decision. When deciding on which products to use, it’s best to rely on research-backed advice from experts, rather than glossy ads or promotional literature. Advice from fellow professionals may also be helpful, especially if they have experience using the product. However, tracking down this type of information takes time and should be started well before pest problems crop up.
Avoid pesticide resistance. The use of new or different products is important to consider as a matter of product stewardship. Insects, weeds and diseases can all develop resistance to pesticides when the same chemical is used over and over, as many examples from the turfgrass arena have proven. When
TENNESSEE TURFGRASS October/November 2013 Email TTA at: tnturfgrassassn@aol.com
this happens, perfectly good pesticides become useless and ineffective. The rotation of pesticides from season to season is an important practice to prevent this. Usually, several classes of pesticides are available for any given pest. It is important to choose different active ingredients with different modes of action (MOA), rather than just a product with a different name. Different products may contain the same active ingredient, and several active ingredients may have a similar mode of action. Recent changes in product labeling using the MOA Group numbering system make an effective pesticide rotation program easier than it has ever been before.
Read the label! Virtually every presentation or publication on pesticide use prominently offers the advice “read the label.” After all, following the label directives is both federal and state law, and it’s required to maintain