Minimising sward diseases
With the loss of iprodione (the industry’s go-to cure for fungal sward infections), greenkeepers can no longer rely on remedial solutions to eradicate diseases.
Instead, they need to adopt a broad strategy of proactive cultural control measures to ensure the sward remains healthy and to prevent diseases from taking hold.
As well as using preventative fungicides, greenkeepers should also ensure the sward receives an effective supply of nutrients, trace elements and bio-stimulants to safeguard the sward’s natural defence mechanisms. And to enhance the sward’s ability to fight-off infection, naturally disease tolerant species should be used when over-seeding or repairing scarred and damaged areas.
High-performance bentgrasses such as UK-bred browntop cultivars, AberRegal and AberRoyal, and creeping bentgrass varieties like 007, exhibit exceptional resistance to diseases such as anthracnose and fusarium. They also offer the additional benefit of being able to outcompete undesirable species like annual meadow grass, whilst requiring minimal inputs and maintenance.
These three cultivars are available together in Germinal’s Forefront Greens seed mixture: a unique combination which maximises the disease tolerance of all soil and sand-based golf greens.