12/14/2012 6:12 AM
First, there is a big difference between pigments and paints.
Pigments are short term colorants meant to be applied on green turf. Paints are for extended color and more for dormant turf.
This is our second year of not overseeding anything on one of our courses, and first year of not overseeding anything on another course. We have been utilizing a liquid overseed program consisting of bi-weekly applications of a pigment, liquid Nitrogen and micronutrients.
Although we have been dealing mainly with Foursome and Par, over the past two years I have performed trials with over ten different products including some of the more traditional paint products. In order for a product to work, I feel like it has to do three things:
1) Be cost effective
2) Good longevity
3) Provide a natural color
We stuck with Foursome again this year on our tees and fairways and have been using Par on our greens. All because of what we saw based on the three goals mentioned above from last years trials.
There are many products on the market that work just fine. In fact, everything I demoed last year worked great. But, price on some was more than others. Some were more natural looking than others. And some lasted longer, but price was so high that price per day of color was through the roof.
I have five new products I am doing trial work with this year. A few promising ones that are true green pigments and don't leave a blue hue a few days later.
As someone else mentioned, when using the pigments you need to start early while the turf is still green. Pigments won't turn dormant grass green nor will they turn dirt green. You actually need green tissues present for them to work. When using the paints, I have found dormant turf is better for the first application.
If painting just greens, using a handheld gun works best and prevents streaking from clogged nozzles, tire tracks, etc. Don't spray the edges from the inside. Stand on the collar and spray back toward the middle first, then fill in the rest of the green. This prevents overspray from hitting the collars. But, I have seen guys use the middle boom to outline the clean-up pass first, then boom spray the middle. Faster and requires only one person versus two to three dragging hose.
Since our collars are also getting treated, we use a boom sprayer and apply the pigments with our weekly foliar applications.
I can tell you one thing to be careful with, centrifugal pumps do not like the paint products. Be prepared to blow out a few seals during application. Diaphragm pumps are much better for these products. For pigments, either one works.
This year will spray over 700 acres worth of pigment products across two golf courses spending roughly 45% of what we normally would on overseed and saving roughly 35 million gallons of water.
There are numerous articles on both pigments and paints and their use on bermudagrass turf. A quick google search will provide you with a plethora of information.