Turf managers are facing a high risk of Take-all Patch and an increasing level of Fusarium Patch whenever wet weather hits, according to the latest on-line disease forecasts from www.greencast.co.uk . As turf managers begin to think about autumn renovation projects, they would be well advised to look at the web site daily and assess risk of local disease outbreaks, advises Simon Barnaby of Syngenta.

Fusarium patches may develop salmon-pink to orange-brown rings of conidia around the outside (left), with white, pink or grey mycelia growth in conducive conditions. As patches coalesce significant damage can occur, unless controlled with Heritage or Banner MAXX

“Fusarium can flare up at any time during the autumn, especially after top dressing during renovation work, for example. It will give a long period of persistent protection during this period,” reports Simon. “Using the disease prediction on GreenCast it may be possible to time turf management operations when the risk is at its lowest. Combined with Heritage this should make it possible to minimise any disease damage this autumn.”

Read how Bearwood Lakes course manager, Daniel Lightfoot (above), uses Heritage and GreenCast to manage Fusarium during autumn renovation.

The outstanding and well proven Syngenta fungicide, Heritage, now has the broadest-spectrum label approval of all fungicides. Turf managers have the opportunity to tackle more diseases in one application than any other single product.

Extensive trials and independent testing have verified the effects of Heritage on problem turf diseases including:

Simon highlights the power of Heritage lies in its origins from naturally occurring forest mushrooms. “These have the ability to suppress competition from virtually all other fungi growing in the vicinity, which we recognised would include most turf diseases.

“It gives Heritage the strong potential to provide highly effective disease control, yet it is incredibly gentle on turf and has an excellent environmental profile, which makes it the perfect fit for the most effective Integrated Turf Management programmes,” he adds.

Simon highlights the Heritage label extension covers most of the major diseases affecting turf through the late summer and autumn growing periods, including Fusarium and the increasing problem of Anthracnose.

“The added advantage of using GreenCast is that turf mangers will know when disease risk has been high and be ready to tackle any outbreak more effectively,” he says. “In this situation the fast acting Banner MAXX includes curative and eradicant properties that can help mitigate any visible effects of diseases, including Fusarium and Dollar Spot.

“We now have the full suite of fungicide products to enable turf managers to adopt a robust fungicide strategy and to control disease more effectively throughout the year,” he says.