Been few years since I published anything on my blog. Here is a article I submitted to my local Chapter. It is my journey battling Nematodes. I hope it might help others that are having the same trouble I was having.
Living with Nematodes
I
have been a superintendent for 38 years, and in that time I have had my fair
share of ups and downs, but nothing was quite like my battle with nematodes.
What started as a minor annoyance ended up becoming a full-on tug of war
spanning six years, and filled to the brim with peaks of hope and valleys of
utter frustration. I went through many products, most of which had little to no
effect, sat through many hours of seminars and webinars, and showed dying turf
to anyone who wished to see it in hopes of collecting as much advice as I could
both personally and professionally. After discovering nematodes were at the
center of my problems, and not just any nematode but Lance, I searched out
anyone who had any information about them and more importantly how to get rid
of them, but as I would slowly begin to learn Lance is a tricky adversary, and
if I was going to succeed in this journey I would need to be well prepared. I
committed myself to endless amounts of research and trials until finally
arriving at a solution that I have been implementing now for three years with
tremendous success. It has been a long road through a grueling storm, but I can
confidently say that I am on the other side of it, and that the grass is much
greener over here.
In
2008 Nemacur was discontinued, and little did I know how much of an impact that
would have on me moving forward. Back in the day if you had a nematode problem
you could throw down some Nemacur and be good to go; so Nematodes as a pest
never concerned me much. In 2005 I arrived at Franklin County Country Club
excited and determined to make this the best course I possibly could. As the
years went by I began to notice a pattern developing in a few of my greens; I
was losing turf in the same small areas year after year. I thought it might be
isolated dry spots so in 2012 I purchased a moisture meter and to my surprise
the spots were not dry at all. I plugged the small affected areas and continued
to monitor, and it wasn’t until 2015 when things took a turn. A couple more of
my greens began showing these weakened patches of turf, this time much more
severe. This had to be disease I thought, and sent some samples to Dr. Miller
at the University of Missouri. They all came back negative for disease, but he
did find a Root Knot nematode in the roots. He sent the sample to the nematode
labs and those results came back with Root Knot and Lance right below threshold
levels. Dr. Miller thought having two species of nematode near threshold levels
was too much and advised I spray Avid. After the Avid application everything
went back to normal. Success! No, the battle was just beginning.
In
2016 I went on the Syngenta Avid and Heritage program. I purchased enough
products for three applications, May-July. At the end of my last application
things were not going well. I was confident this had to be disease; after all,
I was on a preventive nematode program. I sent some samples to Dr. Miller and
once again, no disease. At this point I had large areas of turf dying, so on a
whim Dr. Miller sent my samples to the nematode lab. My results came back with
over 1200 Lance per 100cc of soil. That’s ten times over the threshold! The
Avid wasn’t working, and I had to find a solution quickly. I began researching Nematicides
that could control Lance nematodes, but there was only one other, Nemacur. I
was able to find five bags locally and within two days of the application my
infected greens were improving. I was hoping this would be the end of my
troubles. I would plug the areas of dead turf and by next year it would all
grow in leaving a nice playable surface with not one single nematode in sight.
Wishful thinking I suppose, because by 2017 they all returned, and I was out of
Nemacur. I needed an alternative.
While
researching Lance nematode control I came across Nortica from Bayer. Dr. Crow
from the University of Florida had done testing with Nortica and it showed
outstanding results. I also reached out to other golf courses that were having
nematode issues and through them I discovered Rev by Dakota Peat and Worm
Power. Using a combination of these
products I had good success, but unfortunately it was short lived. In 2017
Bayer sold Nortica, and Worm Power became too expensive. I was back to square
one.
Syngenta
came out with Divanem in 2018. This was a more concentrated form of Avid, and
after using up my supply of Nortica, I needed something to fill those shoes. In
2020 I sat down with Syngenta at the golf show in Orlando and they confirmed
that Divanem would kill Lance nematodes. I took their advice and went on the
Divanem and Heritage program, but this time with a twist. What if I needle tine
greens before putting the product down? That way I could get the Divanem down
closer to the Lance, take the fight right to their doorstep. I filled up my
sprayer with confidence. This was going to be it, this was going to work, I
thought. The battle commenced, and once again Lance proved to be more resilient
than I originally anticipated. I was left with eight greens in bad shape, as I
limped through the remainder of the summer plugging, seeding, and topdressing,
tail tucked firmly between my legs. Not only were they infested with Lance, but
I also had Pythium Root Rot which is common in nematode infested root systems.
I was losing, and it was happening fast.
In
August of 2020 I sat in on a webinar with Dr. Crow. I needed to learn
everything I could about Lance and why it was so hard to get rid of. I asked
Dr. Crow about applying Divanem after a needle tine and he informed me that the
control of Lance cannot be achieved with Divanem because Divanem binds to
organic matter. So while you may kill the nematode close to the tine hole, the
nematodes between the holes can still party on. On top of that bombshell he
also said that regular use of Divanem will give you higher levels of Lance,
because while the other species of nematodes are affected by the product, the
Lance is not, resulting in an environment with very little competition, which
is an open invitation for infestation. I was shocked. This whole time, I was
making my problems worse.
With
the news from Dr. Crow I had to rethink my approach to nematode control. I
started looking for natural products that could manage nematodes while also
building a healthy root system. My thinking was if I could build the best roots
possible maybe that would help curb some of the nematode damage, because as far
as I was concerned I was going to have to learn to live with these worms.
During my research I came across a promising option; chitin. Chitin is found in
the shells of crustaceans and insects, and it is shown to have outstanding soil
building properties. Digging a little deeper I found other chemicals that toot the
same horn. Chitosan, Quillaja, Yucca, and Harpin Protein. Chitosan is a liquid version of Chitin and
encourages various bacteria and fungi, some of which feed off of nematodes and
their eggs. Quillaja acts as a wetting agent, but it is also antagonistic
towards nematodes affecting their nervous system. Yucca is a wetting agent and
feeds soil microbes, while Harpin protein acts as an elicitor, sharpening the
natural defenses of the plant. Harpin Proteins have also been shown to suppress
nematode egg production. Using all of these ingredients together creates an
environment that is not only hostile to nematodes, but also promotes and
encourages a healthy soil biology.
As
for the products, there are many out there that contain these natural
ingredients. Early in my search I came across a green grade fertilizer by Ocean
Organics called Sea Blend that contains kelp, fish, and crab, but that was the
only product at the time that was available for the turf market. I had to shift
my focus to the agriculture and landscaping markets to fill out the rest of my
arsenal. Terra Biotics was one of the first companies I found that makes
micronized sprayable products that contain fish, crab shell, and other natural
and biological ingredients. This provides beneficial microorganisms and the
necessary carbon and nutrients to allow this biology to thrive. A company out
of Georgia, Organisan Corporation, makes a natural nematicide called Nemasan.
It contains Chitosan and Quillaja. They also make a natural wetting agent, OIIYS;
a combination of Chitosan and Yucca. These products were marketed towards the
agriculture market, but for the past two years Organisan has had a booth at the
annual Golf show. For my Harpin Protein I found the company Plant Healthcare
who distribute ProAct. I went this route because they offer a larger twenty
ounce package. After receiving all of my products, and building a game plan, I
looked towards the 2021 season with a slight hesitation. This had to work, I
was running out of options and if I had a repeat of the 2020 season, I would
more than likely be looking at early retirement. My back was against the wall,
and I was down to my last strike.
2021
was the first year I put my new program to work. My goal was to control 25-40%
of the nematode population while also focusing on establishing the best root
system possible. No conventional Nematicides were going to be used. To say I
hit a home run might be a little dramatic, but I definitely didn’t strike out.
I cruised through the 2021 season with zero nematode damage and greens that
were improving by the day. I continued taking nematode assays the entirety of
the year and to my surprise I still had some greens with nematode counts above
threshold levels, but no symptoms were present. Dr. Crow informed me that when
they do a nematode assay they not only count living nematodes, but also dead
ones. Regardless if what I was doing was killing them outright, or simply
making their lives a living nightmare, it was working, and after three years on
this program my greens have never been better. They are firmer, denser, and
more drought tolerant, but above all else, I have had zero nematode damage. I
spent a lot of time battling these nematodes, devising many different plans of
attack and using many different chemical products that had no affect on the
nematodes themselves, and later I discovered actually did more harm to my soil
biology than good. It wasn’t until I shifted my focus away from the nematodes
and more towards my soil as a whole that I started to see results. Instead of
trying to bomb these pests out of existence and while doing so disrupting the
natural micro organisms in my soil, I began to promote and stimulate these
organisms. Some of them are good at harassing nematodes, while others simply
take up space not giving the nematodes enough room to infest and take over. A
balanced ecosystem thrives, naturally setting its own checks and balances.
Without this balance in the soil things can become chaotic very quickly, which
is not a pretty sight on greens, trust me. I had to learn how to live with
nematodes, because they too have their place. A diverse soil biology that is
encouraged and maintained may be the biggest advantage over the control of
nematodes.
