Giving ryegrass oversow a great start
Solutions to ensure your turf rejuvenates with impact this year
Preparing for winter turf cover on playing surfaces needs careful consideration and planning. Getting your ryegrass oversow off to a great start is half the battle won. Why not give your efforts the best chance for success by considering the below concepts.
Root health and growth regulation
Root health plays a key role in the establishment, recovery and ongoing maintenance of turf. The root system forms the foundation from which the playing surface is built and sustained. Preparing and protecting this foundation during renovations and over-sowing can be maximised by building strength before and reducing risk after these activities.
Growth regulation in the lead up to surface rejuvenation delivers increased root density, improved drought resistance, enhanced wear tolerance, increased carbohydrate reserves and a cleaner cut with less clipping yield – all things that directly and indirectly influence surface quality, player experience, disease prevalence and the bottom line cost of management.
PRIMO MAXX is very useful when applied just prior to overseeding (4 to 5 days). It will reduce competition from the existing couch or kikuyu and allow the ryegrass seed to germinate and establish without excessive competition. Seedlings are unaffected as PRIMO MAXX is not root absorbed.
Preventing disease
When turf plants are vulnerable, whether that be from the physical damage of renovation or the newly germinating seedling of your over-sow effort, preventing disease and nematode damage will ensure success.
Giving ryegrass seedlings the best chance to establish without adverse impacts from aggressive turf pathogens is always the goal, however diseases are always ready and a wet summer or autumn – as we have experienced this year – tends to favour both Pythium spp. and Rhizoctonia spp. These two in particular are capable of causing damping-off of ryegrass soon after emergence. It is therefore prudent to protect seedlings against these diseases as a seeding is very much a once-off success or failure exercise.
In all cases, prevention is better than cure when Pythium is the disease to deal with. SUBDUE MAXX is one of the best preventative and early curative systemic fungicides for effective control of Pythium. It is a low impact and economical option for the protection of young seedlings in turf. The uptake and movement dynamics of metalaxyl-M in plant tissue makes SUBDUE MAXX the go-to choice in any pythium control programme around seeding time.
A programmed approach
The key to obtaining the most from your turf is to think in terms of programs rather than single products or individual diseases.
PRIMO MAXX Turf Growth Regulator prepares turf to cope with renovations by steadily increasing the retention of carbohydrate reserves while also tightening up the sward (above and below ground). PRIMO MAXX also prepares the existing turf stand to accept the over-sow and thus allows the seedlings to establish with less competition delivering a solid winter surface.
Damaging pathogens such as Pythium, Rhizoctonia and nematodes can strike when turf defences are down. SUBDUE MAXX Turf Fungicide, HERITAGE MAXX Turf Fungicide, and AGADOR Turf Miticide and Nematicide protect turf plants during this time – ensuring carefully planned surface rejuvenations pay off, every time.
Possible approaches:
- Pythium
PRIMO MAXX @ 0.8 to 1 L/ha (Common Couch) or 1.6 to 2 L/ha (Kikuyu), 4 to 5 days prior to oversowing followed by SUBDUE MAXX @ 3.5 L/ha around 1-2 days prior to over-sowing. Give a light wash in 1 hour after spraying (2-3 mm).
- Pythium and Rhizoctonia
PRIMO MAXX @ 0.8 to 1 L/ha (Couch) or 1.6 to 2 L/ha (Kikuyu), 4 to 5 days prior to oversowing followed by SUBDUE MAXX @ 3 L/ha + HERITAGE MAXX @ 6 L/ha around 1 to 2 days prior to oversowing. Give a light wash-in 1 hour after spraying (2-3 mm).
- Pythium, Rhizoctonia and nematodes
PRIMO MAXX @ 0.8 to 1 L/ha (Couch) or 1.6 to 2 L/ha (Kikuyu), 4 to 5 days prior to oversowing followed by SUBDUE MAXX @ 3 L/ha + HERITAGE MAXX @ 6 L/ha + AGADOR Turf Miticide and Nematicide @ 2 L/ha around 1 to 2 days prior to oversowing. Give a light wash in 1 hour after spraying (2-3 mm).
Always read and follow label directions prior to using all products
It is important to consider the environmental conditions as continued humid and wet weather would necessitate a follow up of your fungicides 7 to 14 days after emergence.
For more information on turfgrass root health and growth regulation, and/or preventing disease in ryegrass seeds, contact your local Syngenta representative.
