419 encroaching onto Champion Bermuda greens Cancel The title field is required!

1. Patrick Warnock

   

   0 posts
   
   11/22/2014 10:11 AM

   Heading into this winter season here in south Georgia, I'm looking for advice or suggestions to attempt to overcome a problem that plagued my greens all spring and summer. I have Champion ultradwarf greens with 419 tees, roughs, fairways, and green surrounds. The 419 encroachment onto my greens is not very severe as of now, but I feel it could become a very serious problem. This past spring and summer I had guys running a stick edger around the greens on a bi weekly basis following up with a backpack blower. Combined with mowing/rolling the edged line was rarely very visible. However, the 419 continued to encroach despite these practices. Does anyone have any suggestions as far as a different way to help prevent this problem and/or a way to spray out the 419 that has already grown into the green without harming the green? I know it's not something that will ever be 100% solved or something that will never become a problem again, but I just do not want it getting to the point where I have to re sod the edges of some of my greens. Thanks!

   
   
   
   
2. William Jeffrey

   

   0 posts
   
   11/23/2014 6:11 AM

   Well, at least you do not have Celebration Bermuda grass collars because it is even more aggressive.
   I have 2 courses with champion greens and I do the edging and blowing practice weekly year round. Also, I have to had pull out any encroachment that is in the greens perimeter. It usually take my crew of two men per green 18 total man hours to complete this task per golf course. You are on the right track. It is a maintenance nightmare to keep the greens surfaces clean especially in South Fla. with year round growing conditions. I thought about using a heavy rate of Primo to slow down the encroachment and will experiment with spraying one nozzle wide circle around a few greens to see how it will works in the future. On my new greens planted in June of 2014 I almost wish I had planted a champion grass collar and keep it at say .250 so the stick edging practice could be eliminated------very labor intensive. A nice wide tight collar might be good then a strategy would probably be need to deal with the interface area between the outer edge of the Champion collar and beyond.
   I don't know this is a difficult problem for a good solution. Like you I am open to other suggestions.

   
   
   
   
3. David Stout

   

   0 posts
   
   11/23/2014 2:11 PM

   We're located in Tucson, AZ and had experienced unbelievable encroachment of 419 into bentgrass. There was very little we could do to stop it, so during overseed we would have to sod out the worst areas with bentgrass from our nursery. When we switched to Mini-Verde, we sodded the collars in tifdwarf on one of the courses. The 419 has encroached into the tifdwarf a little here and there but after nearly 7 years its not an issue. On the other two courses, the funds were not there to go the tifdwarf route, so we have 419 right up to the green. With overseed, its not as bad as we'll prep those areas very aggressively. We have tried Tupersan in the past with no real success. Stick edging keeps the runners at bay, but doesn't help in every scenario. So far after nearly 5 years on those courses there is only one or two areas to sod out. Do you overseed at all?

   
   
   
   
4. Anthony Nysse

   

   1 posts
   
   11/23/2014 3:11 PM

   William Jeffrey said: Well, at least you do not have Celebration Bermuda grass collars because it is even more aggressive.
   I have 2 courses with champion greens and I do the edging and blowing practice weekly year round. Also, I have to had pull out any encroachment that is in the greens perimeter. It usually take my crew of two men per green 18 total man hours to complete this task per golf course. You are on the right track. It is a maintenance nightmare to keep the greens surfaces clean especially in South Fla. with year round growing conditions. I thought about using a heavy rate of Primo to slow down the encroachment and will experiment with spraying one nozzle wide circle around a few greens to see how it will works in the future. On my new greens planted in June of 2014 I almost wish I had planted a champion grass collar and keep it at say .250 so the stick edging practice could be eliminated------very labor intensive. A nice wide tight collar might be good then a strategy would probably be need to deal with the interface area between the outer edge of the Champion collar and beyond.
   I don't know this is a difficult problem for a good solution. Like you I am open to other suggestions.

   
   
   Must be more of an issue because of Champion's growth habit. (less aggressive). We have had Celebration collars for 2 years and have little encroachment. Some spot spraying with Roundup/Fusilade before aerification with plug work too follow has kept it in check. We had more contamination from the tifeagle apps/collars we had previously. Somehow, the 419 go in even though Meth Bromide was used.
   Weekly edging, deep and wide in the summer has kept most of it in cheack.