This week we are making a Chipco Choice application for the treatment of mole crickets. Mole crickets are an extreme nuisance to golf courses in our region due their continuous burrowing through out the soil. If left untreated this pest can cause extreme economic losses to golf facilities by having an extremely negative impact on playing conditions.
Damaged turf in 7 fairway with the dead cricket after treatment.
Close up of dead mole cricket on 7 fairway this morning.
The active ingredient in Chipco Choice is fipronil. Fipronil is an insecticide (or medicine) that has a very low use rate. The rate being applied is 25 pounds of product per acre. Chipco Choice contains only .1% of fipronil. This is the equivalent of putting out .4 ounces of fipronil over an acre or 43,560 ft2! To put that in perspective imagine trying to spread a tablespoon of sugar evenly over a 1 acre home lawn.
Application of Chipco Choice is made through a process called slit injection. The machine cuts small grooves in the turf and then drops the material into the furrow. This minimizes exposure to the sun and wind and improves product effectiveness dramatically. You may notice small lines on the course for the next few days but this should have no impact on the playability of the course and the slicing is actually an added beneficial cultivation practice for our course.
Slit injection equipment being used at The Preserve Golf Club.
Fipronil is very stable in the soil and has activity on mole crickets for several months. The combination of ultra low use rates and the extended activity of fipronil allows for excellent mole cricket control while significantly reducing the amount of insecticides (medicine) applied to the course. In fact fipronil is so safe that pet owners commonly apply this medicine to the skin of their pets for flea and tick control (Frontline) and it is poured directly into the soil around our homes for termite control (Termadore)
Below is a video of the Chipco Choice treatment process being applied by a certified applicator.
In early March we performed a prescribed burn to the south of hole 14. The following photos show the regrowth of plant material since this treatment. I have also included some photos of the beautiful wild flowers that have been visible since our burn.
View from 14 green looking across to 15 during burn application on March 3, 2011.
Same view on May 20, 2011
View from 15 tee looking towards 14 green on March 3, 2011.
Same view on May 20, 2011
The following photos are from the wetland areas around 14 green and the bridge crossing at hole 15. These photos were taken in May of 2011 after our burn in early March.
This article is a follow up from my blog in early March which can be seen by clicking here.
This week we treated all of our putting surfaces using a state of the art machine known as a DryJect. This machine blasts a high pressure stream of water directly into the green while incorporating our selected ammendement (zeolite, gypsum and green sand) into the green at the same time. Below is a video of 16 green being treated this past Monday.
This machine effectively penetrates the greens to a 5-6 inch depth and incorporates approximately 50% of the material into the green that we are able to achieve with a normal core aerification. This gives us with the ability to remain effective with our cultivation practices while still providing excellent putting conditions the following day after treatment.
Pictured is a profile sample of 16 green after treatment. The light green area is the ammendment that was injected into the sub surface.
This photos shows how the water and ammendment follows the path of least resistance. You can see the light green is in a zig zag pattern from the water fracturing the soil profile.
Another Dyject application is scheduled for June 13th and this will be followed up with our regular aerification practice during August.
