Poa worse this year? Cancel The title field is required!

1. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   4/2/2015 3:04 PM

   Hi all,
   
   Are you all especially in the upper transition zone seeing more poa this year then in the past? It just seems to have exploded this year on us. (Of course right when I get back to work). We didn't seem to have it this bad last year.
   
   I am wondering, (although I haven't compared yet) did this spring just get warmer faster and that might be the main cause? We didn't really do anything differnt then we did in the fall of 2013/spring 2014.
   
   Any suggestions for this fall? We did put down a pre-emergent on our tees last fall and still saw a break through. (I need to look at timing compared to 2013 and maybe other factors)
   
   Just fustrated as we are getting hammered from the pro shop, of course they played a private course in the area that was just clean as all get out.
   
   Thanks!
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
   
   
2. Steven Scott

   

   0 posts
   
   4/4/2015 7:04 AM

   I'm more middle transition zone but I'll throw in the first reply(technically if you drew a straight line east from Springfield we'd be about 50 miles south latitudinal).
   
   I think it has more to do with the amount of moisture we got this winter compared to last. Last winter was bitter cold with all the polar vortexes and whatnot but really dry, which was the biggest cause of panic among bermudagrass guys. We put down simazine on fairways/tees/surrounds in November and I looked out in January thinking "well, that was a waste" as we didn't have weeds anywhere including the rough. As the snow was melting in March I could see poa and broad leaves both emerging under it.
   Our pre-E held in the places we applied it but boy the poa came out with a vengeance in the roughs. I'm no professor but I do know that plants need moisture to germinate and we got plenty of it late February -mid March.

   
   
   
   
3. Andy Jorgensen

   

   1 posts
   
   4/4/2015 8:04 AM

   Don't knock yourself too bad, Mel. We applied Barricade at 1.5#/ac in August, .75#/ac in October, Specticle at 4.5oz/ac in December and Oxidiazon at 2#ai/ac in February. We have Poa and broadleafs as well. Sometimes you just can't win....
   
   Not sure what you used last fall, but rotating products will help if you are seeing your pressure get worse each year. Maybe trying Specticle in the fall would work for you. Worth looking into anyways...

   
   
   
   
4. Melvin Waldron

   

   43 posts
   
   4/4/2015 8:04 AM

   Thanks Steve! I will have to check that product out. I was catching up on my weather logs yesterday, had to do them from the NWS since our on course weather station is very simple, and since I was out sick for a month, but you are right we didn't have the bitter cold temps this year. I saw one low below zero.
   
   Thanks Andy for that info too, it does make me feel somewhat better, it's just here I'm arlready thinking about fall and I still got to get through Spring. Fairways we didn't use anything mostly a budget thing and we had put out our Barricade allotment in spring, tees we applied Barricade in the fall, might try switching it up.
   
   Mel

   
   Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO