Our bentgrass removal project on approaches and tees is going very well so far. Our last application to rid these areas went out this week. Patches of bentgrass are scattered through tees and approaches, most likely from an original seeding back when the course was built. In order to provide more consistent conditions for playability, we are using a selective herbicide to phase out the bent and introduce more ryegrass. These areas will remain off color for a couple of more weeks. The bentgrass is more noticeable as it has turned white and is beginning to die off now. This fall we can expect to see thin patches as shown in the photo. The green inside is either new ryegrass plants or older plants that had been competing against the bent. By next season the tees and approaches will be consistent.
Did we overseed bentgrass on the greens this year? Are we still hoping to have bent replace the poa long term?
ReplyDeleteYes! We overseed greens each year with bentgrass and our goal is to phase out as much poa as possible. There is a lot of competition out there. There is also no silver bullet. This past season with the cool temperatures and plenty of moisture favors poa over bentgrass. Our complete management process includes numerous tactics to favor bentgrass over poa. This year we are seeing some slow down on increased populations of bentgrass, but the last two years we noticed some nice improvements.
ReplyDeleteSince the majority of the greens are filled with poa, conversion is going to be a marathon.