Turf Production Without Pesticides

1. Turf Production Without Pesticides Glen Sampson

2. A Change in Attitude • Prevention is the key • Treating the cause rather than the symptoms • pesticides are no longer the only way to go • We cannot only be concerned about the specific site we are dealing with but adjacent areas as well • Total site management not just pest management • We must be more knowledgeable about what is going on in a turf

3. Growing Turf Without “Pesticides” • The philosophy of growing turf (or anything else) without pesticides is simply that a healthy soil grows healthy plants • When you feed the beneficial life in the soil, those growing populations of microorganisms begin to accomplish many jobs that now consume great amounts of your time, money, and energy.

4. Key Definitions • Plant Health Care (PHC) – A comprehensive system for managing the appearance, structure, and vitality of ornamental landscapes and sports turf within client expectations • Site evaluation and preparation • Plant selection, establishment, and cultivation • Pest management • Plant removal and utilization • Integrated Pest Mgt. (IPM) – A method for managing pests that combines cultural, biological, and chemical control tactics into a single management strategy • IPM is an essential component of the PHC management system!

5. Key Definitions • Pest – any organism that • threatens the health, structure, appearance, or value of desirable plants • Competes with desirable plants for resources • Diminishes personal enjoyment, comfort, or safety in the landscape • Most organisms in the landscape are not pests • Many organisms make positive contributions to the landscape • A “pest” is not always a pest • Not all pests require control

6. Categorizing the site • Class A • High level of service: fine ornamental lawns, golf and lawn bowling greens, irrigated sports fields. • Class B • Moderate level of service: general park areas, residential and commercial lawns, boulevards, recreational fields, golf fairways. • Class C • Low level of service: meadows, picnic areas, rough grass, undeveloped and naturalized areas.

7. IPM is: • A pest management philosophy that utilizes all suitable pest management techniques and methods to keep pest populations below economically injurious levels or below what causes damage that is aesthetically unacceptable. • Prevention is the key • Each pest management technique must be environmentally sound and compatible with turf/landscape manager’s objectives.

8. A changing perspective on IPM and its implementation • an increasingly competitive market • higher expectations • continued societal concerns over pesticides • increasing regulations in many areas • newer, less-toxic products • Treating problems rather than symptoms

9. Societal and industry concerns • Environmental concerns • Pesticide contamination of urban creeks, estuaries, and other waterways is an increasing concern • Health concerns • Chronic health concerns, environmental sensitivities • Pesticide resistance • Pest resurgence • Pest replacement

10. Glyphosate Resistant Buckthorn Plantain Rates: L/ha 0 2 4 6 8 10 Glyphosate resistant Susceptible

11. Sustainable Landscape Practices • Best Management Practices • Emphasize plant health and longevity • creating outdoor spaces that utilize fewer inputs • are environmentally friendly • are self-perpetuating over a period of time. • Improve the environment by conserving resources, reducing chemical inputs and reduce labour inputs

12. Manage pests • Most problems in lawns are not caused by pests, such as weeds, insects or disease-causing pathogens. • Damage is more likely the result of poor turfgrass selection or improper maintenance practices. • Providing proper care and using an appropriate turfgrass species can prevent the majority of lawn problems.

13. Does IPM work? • “If our team invested time monitoring the turf conditions and paid attention to what were the stressors on a specific area such as a sports field, we knew we could keep the area very healthy with good plant cultural practices,” -Karen Richter, Organizational Leader of Parks Maintenance at the City of Waterloo. • With the consistent application of sound horticultural practices, Waterloo decreased its use of pesticides at a steady pace throughout the 1980s. By the mid-1980s, the city had eliminated blanket spraying. By 1990, Waterloo spot sprayed less than 10 per cent of its green space.

14. Basic Principles of IPM • A dense, vigorously growing, healthy plant population will resist invasion by pests • Pests must be kept below levels that are incompatible with the purpose of the desirable species

15. A Good Pest Management Strategy • A good pest management strategy incorporates some or all methods available to manage a given pest. • The goal • to reduce pest populations and damage to economically and aesthetically tolerable levels. Complete eradication may not be possible, practical, or desirable.

16. A Good Pest Management Strategy • Prevention • Prevention the introduction and/or spread of a pest • Into or away from a site • Exclusion One of the safest and most effective ways to manage pests in the home environment is to deny them access - pest-proofing • Exclusion by Regulation • Mechanical Exclusion

17. What does a Turf IPM program look like Tom Voigt and Tom Fermanian - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

18. Establishing new turf • Rapid establishment of turf is desirable • Reduces erosion • Suppresses weed seed germination and weed growth • Optimum seeding rates (1.5-2.5 kg 100m2) • Healthy turf to enter winter

19. Pre-plant weed control • Cultivation • Irrigate to allow germination of weeds in planting bed. • Follow up with a shallow (less than 1 inch) cultivation after weeds have emerged but before they get too big (usually before they have 4 leaves). • Repeat the irrigation and cultivation cycle two or three times for best results. • Summer cultivation for perennials • For perennial weeds, it is ideal to repeatedly cultivate soil in summer, keeping it completely dry for extended periods to dehydrate propagules (stems, rhizomes, or tubers). • Herbicide application • Irrigate to allow germination of weed seeds in planting bed. • Apply non-selective herbicide, such as glyphosate. • Repeat the irrigation and herbicide cycle if necessary. • Solarization • Solarization is very effective during the hottest part of the year. Six weeks are required for best results

20. Role of soil microorganisms • Fertilize by fixing nitrogen from the air, mineralizing soil organic nutrient, generating carbon dioxide, and dissolving mineral nutrient from rock • De-thatch by composing thatch and other organic matter into valuable nutrients and humus, which in turn increase the water and nutrient holding capacity of the soil • Aerate the soil • Control many insect and disease problems by competition and predation

21. Soil amendments and fertilizers • Fertilizers vs. soil amendments • Fertilizers improve the supply of nutrients in the soil, directly affecting plant growth. Soil amendments improve a soil's physical condition (e.g. soil structure, water infiltration), indirectly affecting plant growth. • Topsoil • Topsoil may be added to raise the soil level to a minimum depth of 6 to 8 inches. • The topsoil should be mixed into the existing soil. • Soil pH • The ideal soil pH ranges from 6.0 - 7.0. • Grass loses it comprtitive ability at lower pH

22. Soil amendments • Organic (material) amendments • Organic material improves soil structure. • Organic material can be added to sandy soils to increase nutrient and moisture retention. • Clay soils can also be amended with organic material to help loosen the soil and provide better aeration and drainage. • Compost is the easiest organic material to use. • A rotary tiller works best to incorporate the organic material to your soil. • A layer of 1 - 2 inches spread over your site should be tilled to a depth of 3 - 6 inches.

23. Choose and identify your turf species • Successful selection of a turf grass requires knowing how the turf will be used, where it will be grown and what level of quality is desired • Failure to properly identify a turf grass species can lead to mistakes in maintenance. • not all turf grass species tolerate the same mowing height or frequency. • Irrigation frequency and the amount of water needed vary among species as do the frequency and amount of fertilizer. • Turf grasses also differ in how they adapt to sun, shade, and temperature. • Most lawns are mixtures of various turf grass species.

24. Endophytic grasses • Endophyte is a naturally occurring fungus that grows symbiotically in the grass plant. • It produces compounds that prevent insects from feeding on the leaves and stems of the plant. • Improved performance under low maintenance situations makes some of the endophytic forms good candidates for low maintenance uses such as on roadside right of ways and in parks. • The presence of the fungus improves plant vigour and helps with resistance to some environmental stresses. • Avanex™ - endophyte tall fescue for airports – research has shown that it reduces bird populations by 87%

25. Concerns with endophytic grasses • Animal toxicity – alkaloids -Ergovaline • Reduced biodiversity • Invasive species • Storage issues that affect the viability of the endophytes – therefore, variety may not perform as expected

26. Lawn care for established lawns • No two lawns are exactly alike. Lawns may differ by turf species, soil type, climate, location, how they are used, and how they are maintained. Tailor a program with the specifics of your situation in mind. • A good maintenance program includes • Mowing • Irrigating • Fertilizing • Dethatching • Aerating • A well-planned and executed maintenance program will produce good-looking, green turf grass that will quickly recover from wear, pest damage, or mechanical injury

27. Lawn renovation • Some causes of lawns deterioration • from poor maintenance, • inadequate drainage • heavy traffic • pest problems, • weed invasions, • simply because the wrong grass species was planted.

28. Lawn Renovation • Neglected lawns • Take better care of your lawn and bring it back to life with regular maintenance. • Localized problems - Partially renovate your lawn by patching. • Problem areas spread throughout the lawn • Overseed your lawn. • Severe problems encompassing more than 40% of the lawn • Completely renovate your lawn by killing it and starting over from scratch. • Don't repeat mistakes! Find the cause of your problems before you renovate

29. Weeds as stress indicators in turf Species Condition Annual bluegrass low fertility, compact soil, mowing too short, excessive moisture Buttercup Excessive moisture Chickweed thin grass, excessive moisture Clover low nitrogen, drought, compaction Crabgrass thin grass, low fertility, compaction Dandelion thin grass, low fertility, mowing too short Hawkweed low pH

30. Weeds as stress indicators in turf Species Condition Sheep sorrel low pH Moss heavy shade, low fertility, low pH Plantain low fertility, mowing too short Dock excessive moisture Creeping charlie excessive shade

31. Overseeding a lawn • When should you overseed? • Your lawn appears to be in good condition, but just a little thin • Thinning lawn following winter • High traffic areas • Always determine and solve the cause of your current problem before beginning repairs, and plan to seed at a time of year appropriate to the planted turf species. • What should you overseed with? • If your lawn is in relatively good condition in most areas, choose the seed mix you used in the past or turf recommended for overseeding

32. Overseeding your lawn • Closely mow the turf and rake up the debris • Dethatch and aerate • Seed, fertilize, and irrigate • Maintenance • Patching the lawn with seed, sod, sprigs, plugs, stolons • Dig out the affected area • Work the soil • Replant with seed, sod, stolons, sprigs, plugs • Complete renovation • Kill the existing turf and weeds • Remove the remaining turf • Rethink your irrigation system • Prepare the soil

33. Thinning lawn

34. What are the abiotic stress factors • Compaction

35. Examples of poor design that can lead to problems

36. Abiotic factors • Dog Urine

37. Abiotic factors • Fertilizer burn

38. Abiotic factors • Nitrogen deficiency

39. Abiotic factors • Uneven fertilizer application

40. Abiotic factors • Overwatering

41. Abiotic factors • Glyphosate (Roundup damage)

42. Abiotic factors • Items left on lawn

43. Abiotic factors • Scalping

44. Abiotic factors • Shade

45. Abiotic factors • Dull mower blades

46. Fertility management Mowing practices Water management Traffic management Weed management Disease and insect management Components of a Sustainable Urban Landscape/Golf Course Program Integrated pest (turf) management =

47. “A pest management philosophy” • Recognizes there is no “cure-all” in pest control. • Dependence on any one pest management method will have undesirable effects. • Determine and correct the cause of the pest problem. • Understanding Pest biology and ecology is essential. • Manipulate the environment to the crop’s advantage and to the detriment of the pest. • Recognizes that eradication of a pest is seldom necessary or even desirable, and generally not possible. • Some damage is unavoidable and acceptable

48. Effective pest management plans • are comprehensive in scope • integrate agronomic and biological principles • integrates cultural, biological and chemical pest control practices. • They provide proven, science-driven and reliable methods for resolving the sometimes conflicting goals that golf course superintendents face • producing consistently high quality, high playability turf • at the same time reducing environmental impacts and keeping within budget constraints.

49. Toolbox of management tactics: Biological Controls Cultural Controls Mechanical Controls Chemical Controls Decision-making aids: Proper Pest Identification Pest Monitoring Methods Environmental Monitoring Use of Degree Days Models economic injury Action thresholds Knowledge of pest/host/ecosystem biology: Life Cycle Behaviour Seasonal Cycle Population dynamics Interaction Schematic of IPM Concept

50. Approaches for Turf Protection using IPM • Regulation using certified seed, sod, sprigs • Genetic selection of the best adapted species/cultivars for the location • Cultural – a healthy grass means fewer problems • Physical – isolating areas where pests are a problem • Biological – favouring natural competition • Chemical