Emerald Isle Turf Prodyuct Answers

Stress Management

Pre-Stress Management Program

Notebook.ppt

Defending against basal rot anthracnose

Problem: Incidents and intensity of Basal Rot Anthracnose on poa annua have increased in recent years in direct relation to lowered mowing heights and stressful cultural practices designed to increase putting speeds. Fungicides are less effective if the turf is stressed, and once the crown of the turf is infected, there is no cure.

Solution: The best defense against an opportunistic, secondary disease like Anthracnose is to “grow healthy turf”—that means increased plant physiological fitness without excessive shoot growth. For an effective strategy against Basal Rot Anthracnose on bent-poa greens and tees, start with a good preventive fungicide program (include 2 oz of PanaSea Plus with all apps), and follow a complete, balanced Emerald Isle True Foliar Nutrition Program:

Research has shown that Basal Rot Anthracnose is an opportunistic disease—it’s stress related and attacks weak or wounded turf. On healthy turf, it’s a weak pathogen, but on stressed turf, it’s virulent and difficult to control.

The best and primary preventive strategy is to “grow healthy turf.” Dr. Bruce Clarke of Rutgers University has said that he cannot inoculate healthy turf with anthracnose.

How do you promote healthy turf while meeting today’s demands for lower mowing heights and higher putting speeds?

• Increase root growth
• Increase the turf’s photosynthetic rate
• Increase the turf’s phytochemical efficiency
• Replace hormones the plant can’t produce under stress
• Replace depleted vitamins and amino acids
• Use small amounts of efficient fertility
• Don’t promote shoot growth in the summer
• Retain carbohydrate reserves in the root tissue
• Apply balanced fertility with micronutrients
• Follow a complete, balanced program consistently
• Don’t wound the turf when disease is active
• Suppress seed heads so the poa is as strong as possible going into the summer

Seaplant extract has been shown by independent research to achieve the first five objectives listed above. Combined with an efficient True Foliar nutrition program that doesn’t promote shoot growth, you have the foundation for keeping plant physiological fitness as high as possible.

Research trials at Penn State University in the summer of 2002 demonstrated the effectiveness of the Emerald Isle Pre-Stress and True Foliar Nutrition Program in combating basal rot anthracnose. Even though the Emerald Isle True Foliar Nutrition Program tested contained no fungicides, it provided 43% better disease control than the untreated check plot. In fact, the Program outperformed all individual fungicides except Signature and Spectro, on the basis of average ratings.

“To provide a true roll on my greens I have to groom, topdress, and roll often; but when you do that you need a quick recovery. It’s a lot easier to beat up a healthy plant than a sick one. By using CPR and the Emerald Isle True Foliars, I get great color, great recovery, and, best of all, disease suppression.”
Tony Grasso
Metropolis Country Club
White Plains, New York

“CPR and the Emerald Isle True Foliars are a cornerstone to my program, and I believe they significantly contribute to the fact that I haven't had to deal with anthracnose in the two years that I have been using the products.”
Steve Shadle
Berkleigh Country Club
Kutztown, Pennsylvania

CPR Summary

CPR for Increased Root Development and Summer Stress Tolerance

CPR (4-0-1 with 2% Chelated Iron)

CPR (Color, Performance, Roots) is a unique blend of PanaSea Plus, SeaQuential Micronutrient Complex, and a proprietary Aquatrols turf surfactant. When used regularly as a component of the Superintendent’s spray program, CPR can dramatically improve your turf in several ways—it enhances root growth, increases stress tolerance, and it produces a beautiful, natural, sustained greening of the turf.

The foundation of CPR is PanaSea Plus seaplant extract, the preeminent biostimulant available. PanaSea Plus provides higher levels of cytokinins than any competitive product, plus amino acids, seaplant sugars, vitamins, and all major and minor nutrients and trace elements. Scientific research has shown that “applying cytokinin to the root zone of turf exposed to high soil temperatures increased root zone quality to optimal levels.” (Golf Course Management, July 2001) Furthermore, research by Dr. Schmidt at Virginia Tech demonstrated that “applications of seaplant extract can increase antioxidant levels, thereby increasing cell life and maintaining turf growth.” (Superintendent News, June 8)

SeaQuential is an unparalleled iron and micronutrient formula with three unique forms of chelated iron integrated with a base of sea plants. SeaQuential’s iron, potash, and sulfur are both foliar and soil-available and are buffered for improved uptake and rapid translocation within the plant. SeaQuential’s micronutrients include zinc, sulfur, and magnesium, the elements commonly found to be most deficient in turf soils.

CPR is the Heart of Stress Management—it delivers the essential elements your turf needs to thrive, even under the summer stress of high soil temperatures and humidity.

How does CPR increase fungicide and PGR effectiveness?

Problem: Fungicide applications are important, and they are expensive—when you use them, you want to make sure that you get the most value and efficacy from them as possible.

Solution: In tank-mixes with fungicide and PGR applications (especially when suppressing poa annua seed heads), apply the following:

• 2 oz of PanaSea Plus per 1,000 sf (fungicides)
-or-
• 6 oz of CPR per 1,000 sf (PGRs)

Research conducted by Virginia Tech and Michigan State Universities demonstrated that fungicides, growth regulators, and some selective herbicides could function more effectively when combined with seaplant extract. For that reason, many Superintendents in New York have been adding 2 oz per 1,000 sf of PanaSea Plus to every tank-mix application for years.

In 1993, Dr. Joe Vargas of Michigan State University demonstrated, under conditions of disease pressure in midseason, that half rates of Bayleton and Banner mixed with 4 oz of PanaSea Plus provided nearly the same control of Summer Patch as full rates of the fungicides alone. In 2002, research conducted at Virginia Tech University demonstrated that the efficacy of a variety of growth regulators was increased when mixed with seaplant extract.

In spring 2002, Steve Shadle—Golf Course Superintendent at Berkleigh Country Club (host of the Betsy King LPGA Tournament)—applied CPR with Embark Lite for poa seed head suppression on the back nine. Not only did he observe better color on the back nine, he also observed better seed head suppression. Later that summer, the front nine suffered from an outbreak of Summer Patch while the back nine greens did not. The turf on the back nine was healthier going into the summer—and therefore more disease resistant—because less energy had been expended by the plant to produce seed heads. To keep poa strong in the summer, it’s important to have an effective seed head suppression program—CPR with Embark or Proxy can provide good turf color and can help increase suppression effectiveness

In the 1993 study conducted by Dr. Vargas, applications of PanaSea Plus without fungicides provided a statistically significant reduction in Summer Patch compared to the untreated plots and to the fungicide-only plots.

(Note: Always follow the fungicide manufacturer’s recommendations for dilution rates and for tank-mixing fungicides with other products.)

The importance of pre-stress conditioning

Problem: Environmental stress (heat, drought, excessive rain, etc.) can weaken turf and cause root dieback, resulting in drastically reduced quality and color.

Solution: Increase the turf’s physiological fitness, its cell strength, and its root development before stress occurs. For Pre-Stress Conditioning and Root Development, apply the following as soon as spraying starts:

• 6 oz of CPR per 1,000 sf every 14 days -or-
• 2 oz of PanaSea Plus per 1,000 sf every 14 days, plus
• 3 oz of True Foliar K 2-0-16 per 1,000 sf every 14 days, plus
• 3 oz of True Foliar Calcium 6-0-0 per 1,000 sf every 14 days

At the very same time that photosynthesis declines in turf, respiration increases considerably.

This is a “double bogey” for Golf Course Superintendents, and it means that cool season turf is under its greatest stress at the very same time that Superintendents are called on to produce the best conditions for the most golfers. The combination of decreasing photosynthesis with increasing respiration results in rapidly declining root production.

Because a shallow root system places turfgrass at greater risk both to moisture deficits and high soil temperatures, it’s very important to do everything you can to increase root mass and length going into the summer and throughout the season.

As Dr. Bingru Huang of Rutgers University says,

“Grasses that develop deep, viable roots systems are capable of taking up water from the deeper soil profile and maintaining a cooler canopy. Therefore, management practices that promote new root growth or slow root dieback, especially in the surface soil, during July and August would reduce the susceptibility of creeping bentgrass to summer stresses.”

How do you promote new growth in the summer? Many recommendations—such as “raise the mowing height” or “mow every other day”—make sense theoretically but are not practical in the real world where the demand for speed is relentless.

Low mowing heights at a period of increasing respiration and decreasing photosynthesis is analogous to “burning the candle at both ends.”

As Dr. Frank Rossi of Cornell University wrote in the October 4, 2002 issue of Superintendent News,

“The industry is being asked to accept lowered mowing heights and is searching for ways to compensate for the known stresses. A unique array of products emphasizes their benefits when plants are under stress. Biostimulants, hormone-containing products, and foliar fertilizers designed for uptake through the leaves might provide some benefit to plant health that has heretofore been difficult to quantify.”

One of Dr. Huang’s recommendations for increasing root mass is to increase the “photosynthetic rate or period.” Her research at Kansas State University in 2000 showed that CPR and True Foliar K were successful in doing just that, plus increasing the plant leaf chlorophyll content, turf color, and root mass, even in July and August, without affecting the leaf area index. Dr. Richard Schmidt has conducted years of research at Virginia Tech that has proved that seaplant extract increases the plant’s photosynthetic rate, and Dr. Ervin’s research at Virginia Tech in 2001 demonstrated that CPR increased photochemical activity. Increased photochemical activity correlates with increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity:

“SOD is an integral enzyme in all plants’ mechanisms of defense against environmental stress. During oxidative stress, SOD is first in the antioxidant line of defense. In chloroplasts, SOD turns superoxide radicals (O2.-) into hydrogen peroxide, which are then rendered harmless to PSII by a peroxidase antioxidant that turns hydrogen peroxide to water. In general, the higher the SOD activity in leaves, the greater a plant’s ability to protect its photosynthetic apparatus and tolerate and recover from stress.”

Many of us take a variety of antioxidant vitamins and nutritional supplements because free radicals are damaging to human cells. The research cited above demonstrated that free radicals are also damaging to plant cells and that seaplant extract can act as an antioxidant for turf. As in the KSU research trial, CPR increased root mass significantly in August.

The scientific evidence is overwhelming that the proprietary high-quality seaplant extract available in CPR, PanaSea Plus, SeaQuential, and Emerald Isle True Foliars can improve the turf’s photosynthetic rate and its physiological fitness while helping increase root development and mass. Foliar applications of CPR (or PanaSea Plus) should be applied as early as the first fungicide spray (in advance of summer heat stress) and should be continued with True Foliar Nutrition through September.

Calcium plays a major role in strengthening the plant’s cell walls and thereby helping it in its stress tolerance and disease resistance. As important as it is to manage and balance calcium in the soil, calcium is an immobile nutrient. True Foliar applications of calcium are optimal for providing calcium to the plant’s cell walls. For Pre-Stress Conditioning and Root Development, apply the following as soon as spraying begins:

• 6 oz of CPR per 1,000 sf every 14 days -or-
• 2 oz of PanaSea Plus per 1,000 sf every 14 days, plus
• 3 oz of True Foliar K 2-0-16 per 1,000 sf every 14 days, plus
• 3 oz of True Foliar Calcium 6-0-0 per 1,000 sf every 14 days

Continue the seaplant extract applications (CPR or PanaSea Plus) and True Foliar K throughout the summer in conjunction with a complete, balanced True Foliar Nutrition Program. Continue the True Foliar Calcium applications if soil tests show a deficiency in available calcium.

Why apply PanaSea Plus under high stress conditions?

PanaSeá Plus consistently outperforms competing products because it has 2 1/2 to 8 time higher hormone levels and an enormous range of micronutrients. That is why turf professionals who manage under high stress conditions apply this biostimulant to:

• Produce more and deeper roots -- 20-40% more than fertilizers alone
• Establish Better quality and density
• Develop superior stress tolerance
• Delay senescence and
• Accelerate seed germination and early establishment

And PanaSeá Plus is the only biostimulant that both increases root development and decreases thatch significantly (44.2 % compared to untreated controls in trials at Michigan State University).

Developed specifically for intensively-maintained turf, our biostimulants contain high concentrations of cytokinins as their primary bioactive ingredients. They not only stimulate cell division and elongation in roots but also delay senescence in leaf tissue. Nothing out performs out biostimulants for producing bigger and deeper roots and better tolerance to high and low temperature stress.

The Results Are In -- and our biostimulants rank 1st for root growth and 1st for thatch control.

Effects of Root Enhancing Amendments on Kentucky Bluegrass Blend Sod

University of Illinois - Department of Horticulture and Agriculture Experiment Station

The research in 1991 at the University of Illinois was directed at exploring the impact of a number of compounds on the rooting of sod after transplanting. Numerous producers were offered an opportunity to have their products included in this study. All companies that expressed an interest were included.

The products were tested as recommended by each producer. The objective of the research was to determine if sod root strength was affected by the addition of these amendments. The amendments were applied directly to the sod or the sod bed soil.

Twelve of the materials did improve the rooting of the turfgrass. Of the top five, only SAND_AID and 10-10-10 are dry applied.

The best results came from PanaSea' Liquefied Sea Plant Extract which improve the rooting by 9.528 pounds per square foot. The table below ranks each treatment.

Summer Patch Control at Lower DMI Fungicide Rates Using PanaSeá Plus

Michigan State University - 1993

Highlights from Summer Patch Fungicide Study

Dr. J. M. Vargas and Associates investigated control of summer patch (Magnaporthepoae) by several fungicides alone and in combination with PanaSeá Plus. Tests were conducted at two sites: Twin Beach Golf Club in West Bloomfield, Michigan, and Dearborn Country Club in Dearborn. Similar results were obtained from both sites. The following conclusions are based on comparisons using both Bayleton and Banner.

• 1/2 rates of both Bayleton and Banner tank mixed with 4 oz of PanaSeá Plus provided nearly the same control of summer patch as full rates of the fungicide alone.
• 1/2 rates of Bayleton and Banner alone provided significantly less control than the mixtures which contained PanaSeá Plus.
• PanaSeá Plus alone provided a statistically significant reduction in Summer Patch compare to the untreated control plots at the Twin Beach site.

The untreated control plot had 25% disease

What are the benefits of Seaplant extract

The Benefits of Seaplant Extract

Seaplant Extract is a major component throughout our product line because no other natural material has been proven to provide as many plant benefits.

Seaplant Extract is the foundation of our biostimulant line—PanaSeá Plus® and CPR®—and it is a key ingredient in our NutriRational® True Foliar and SeaQuential® Micronutrient line of products as well. Granular seaplant meal is one of the key constituents of our root zone amendments Sand-Aid® and GroWin®.

Our proprietary Seaplant Extract contains naturally occurring hormones (cytokinins and auxins) plus 17 naturally occurring plant-based amino acids plus vitamins plus all the major and minor nutrients and trace elements known to be essential for turfgrass health and growth. Furthermore, our Seaplant Extract has been shown by independent research to provide all of the following benefits on turf:

• Increases plant physiological fitness
• Increases plant photosynthetic capacity
• Increases chlorophyll content
• Increases plant antioxidant levels
• Increases cell wall strength
• Increases stress tolerance
• Increases resistance to diseases
• Increases drought tolerance
• Increases root mass and length

“Emerald Isle products—such as PanaSea, PanaSea Plus, and CPR—have been an integral component of my spray program for 20 years. The products have significantly improved the health and stress tolerance of the turf at Ridgeway Country Club, allowing it to successfully withstand severe heat and drought conditions. Emerald Isle products have also helped me in reducing irrigation practices by at least 30 percent.”
Earl Millet
Ridgeway Country Club
White Plains, New York

In the July-August 2000 issue of the Virginia Turfgrass Journal, Drs. Richard Schmidt and Erik Ervin summarized their findings after years of research with seaplant extract. They also referenced research by others and summarized the various conclusions.

They noted that not all seaplant extracts are created equal—they vary by source and extracting process—and Virginia Tech's research was based on what they consider to be superior seaplant extract, i.e., material extracted from waters off Nova Scotia and prepared by alkaline hydrolysis. This description of superior quality seaplant extract fits our materials used in PanaSea Plus, CPR, and our NutriRational True Foliars.

Their basic conclusions were:

1. Under favorable, non-stressful conditions, molecular oxygen accepts electrons during metabolic processes, producing water as a by-product. Under unfavorable, stressful conditions, this oxygen-accepting electron process can be overwhelmed, resulting in the production of a number of toxic oxygen species (such as peroxide) known as free radicals. These free radicals lead to loss of photosynthetic efficiency, cell death, and eventually plant death.
2. Ordinarily, plants can product anti-oxidants to react with free radicals to produce nontoxic end products such as water; however, under high-stress, greater levels of "ethylene" are produced that signal leaf senescence to proceed and conserve energy in plant-growing points (turfgrass crowns). Photosynthesis halts, and higher levels of ethylene coincide with reductions in growth hormones ("cytokinins" and "auxins").
3. Researchers believe that pre-treatment with seaplant extract may change the hormonal balance to favor cytokinins and auxins over ethylene so that the antioxidant production can continue under stress. "In effect, the turf may be 'triggered' into continuing to grow and protect itself during periods of stress when it normally would begin to shut down." This beneficial effect has been quantified in research at Virginia Tech on turf under stress from drought, salinity, heat, dollar spot, high UV light intensity, and nematodes. (Research at KSU also confirmed and quantified the effect under stress caused by high soil temperature.)
4. Turfgrass plants treated with seaplant extract produce and retain more moisture, and they can even extract more from droughty soils than non-treated turf. Furthermore:
1. Biostimulants can increase translocation of pre-and post-emergent herbicides
2. Biostimulants and triazole fungicides work synergistically together
3. The addition of biostimulants with PrimoMAXX may encourage the development of roots under stress periods
4. Iron fertilization could be beneficial during stress conditions, so it makes sense to combine chelated iron with biostimulants
5. Biostimulants should be used in conjunction with proper mineral fertilization and “spoon feeding”

Meet Demands for putting speed without sacrificing quality

Problem: The rapidly escalating demands on the Superintendent to produce excellent turf quality and faster and faster putting speeds put tremendous stress on turf at the same time that Mother Nature is generally toughest on the turf as well.

Solution: Apply a consistent program of seaplant extract with regular, small amounts of efficient True Foliar nutrition to increase color, quality, and stress tolerance without stimulating shoot growth.

The following table shows Program application rates for four types of turf. Apply the rates of CPR plus the Emerald Isle True Foliar products shown, per 1,000 sf every 14 days:

To maintain turf physiological fitness, particularly in stressful conditions, you need the following:

• True Foliar nutrients for maximum efficiency of uptake and translocation
• Precise amounts of nutrients for consistency
• Small, efficient amounts of nutrients for controlled leaf tissue growth
• High quality, multiple sources of nutrients to avoid one-rate release
• Seaplant extract to increase stress tolerance
• Complete fertility, including chelated micronutrients and trace elements
• Balanced fertility

Historically, plant “vigor” was defined in terms of clipping yield. However, Superintendents aren’t growing an “Ag” crop like corn where yield numbers matter. Superintendents are rewarded for quality putting surfaces, and it’s important to define success in terms of aesthetics over clipping yield. Success in maintaining turf at low mowing heights under stressful conditions requires limiting turf top growth. First of all, excessive top growth means slow and/or inconsistent putting speeds—that’s simply unacceptable in today’s demanding society.

Secondly, excessive growth is also very stressful to the plant—it begins a dangerous cycle of early senescence and death. When top growth is mowed off, the plant responds by trying to grow more in order to replace the lost photosynthetic leaf area. In the summer on cool season grasses (or whenever turf roots are under stress) the plant is not capable of producing additional carbohydrate reserves. Therefore, growth must come at the expense of existing reserves. When the plant’s stored energy is continually depleted, the turf cannot survive or fight off opportunistic diseases like anthracnose, and it cannot survive extremely stressful conditions.

As Dr. Rossi wrote in Turfnet August 2002:
“The act of mowing, especially multiple cuts in the same day, results in significant depletion of energy reserves and weaker more disease susceptible plants.”

Finally, Superintendents who maintain the new generation of bentgrasses and the new ultra-dwarf bermudagrasses must be especially careful to limit top growth while maintaining plant health. Not only do these species have shallow root systems, they are prone to producing thatch. Thatch accumulation is directly proportional to top growth, so limiting top growth should be an integral part of the Superintendent’s thatch-management program.

The Emerald Isle CPR-True Foliar Programs detailed above all meet the needs of the turf by providing precisely what the Superintendent needs--complete, controlled, consistent nutrition that delivers increased plant physiological fitness with controlled growth.

Top 10 Reasons to Use the CPR-True Foliar Nutrition Program

• Increase turf quality and density
• Increase root mass and depth
• Increase stress tolerance
• Increase resistance to disease, especially anthracnose
• Reduce thatch accumulation
• Increase nutrient absorption
• Reduce clipping removal and loss of applied fertilizer
• Reduce nutrient leaching
• Increase photosynthesis and phytochemical efficiency
• Reduce potential for diseases associated with excess N

“We used the Emerald Isle True Foliar Nutrition and seaplant extract products all summer and were very happy with what they gave us—consistency, great color, and controlled growth.”
Phil Landry
Belgrade Lakes Golf Club
Belgrade Lakes, Maine

“Even though 2002 was such a stressful year, my greens have never looked better.”
Frank Tichenor
Glenwood Country Club
Old Bridge, New Jersey

Scientific Stress Management starts with understanding Root Growth Decline

Root Growth

Successful superintendents understand the completely unique nature of root growth in frequently mowed cool season turfgrasses and manage accordingly

• In Hardiness Zone 5 for example, root growth peaks in April and then "free falls" through August. It rebounds slightly in September and October before winding down into dormancy. All of this happens a little sooner in Zone 6 and a little later in Zone 4.
• Root growth starts to decline in early-to-mid spring due to drastic drops in cytokinins triggered by mowing and exacerbated by rising temperatures. New root production falls off rapidly after peaking in late April or early May.

Root Growth Decline

• The decline in root growth in cool season turfgrasses grown on golf course appears to be triggered by regular, frequent mowing - not summer heat stress. To be sure, high temperatures make matters worse, but the vast majority of the reduction in root growth has occurred by the time the "dog days" really begin. In fact, nearly 90% of the decline in root growth occurs before the 4th of July.
• The drastic decline in root growth has both nutritional and non-nutritional causes. In any well-thought-out stress management program, both have to be addressed.

Normal Stops When Mowing StartsM

Some researchers say that under normal conditions a plant can produce adequate levels of hormones to ensure normal root growth. That may be true for grasses that are not mowed regularly. However, there is no such thing as "normal" for frequently-mowed cool season turfgrasses.

When soil temperatures start to rise in late winter and early spring, robust root and shoot growth rapidly deplete stored carbohydrate reserves. Cool season turfgrasses are programmed to replace lost leaf tissue rather than build root tissue when carbohydrates are limited. So when regular mowing begins, more and more carbohydrates are allocated to replace lost leaf tissue, and root development starts to decline. So does the turfgrass plant's ability to produce cytokinins... the hormone geroup primarily responsible for cell division in root systems.

Scientific Stress Management Starts With Foliar Biostimulant Treatments.

It is not appropriate to wait until the damage is done to start doing something about the problems of stress. The causes of the problem start long before the symptoms are visible to the golf course superintendent.

For the non-nutritional causes of stress, that is the decline in hormone production, an aggressive program application of cytokinins is recommended. This application should begin as soon after regulary mowing begins as possible. The timing of the initation of the program is critical in maximizing the creation of healthier, denser, deeper root systems.

Programmed applications of naturally occuring cytokinins and other beneficial constituents contained in properly manufactured seaplant extracts (see Panasea Plus, CPR) can significantly improve the survival potential of turf during the "dog days."

Cytokinins extracted from seaplants outperform synthetic cytokinins (see Panasea Plus University data), indicating the value of the other ingredients in Seaplant extract. Data also suggests that seaplant extracts outperform other biostimulants, such as humic acids, etc.

Improve fairway quality and drought resistance

Problem: Expectations for fairway quality are higher than ever, matching what used to be the standards for greens. PGRs can help with density, but they can also affect color adversely. Lower mowing heights can also affect color and subject the fairway turf to environmental stress.

Solution: SeaQuential or SeaQuential with Micronutrients applied once a month in the summer will improve the turf color, its drought and heat tolerance, and its overall appearance and quality.

• Apply SeaQuential or SeaQuential with Micronutrients at a rate of 2-3 oz per 1,000 sf every four weeks
-or-
• Apply CPR at a rate of 6 oz per 1,000 sf every four weeks

Golfers today are more demanding than they were years ago, and Superintendents have had to respond by maintaining fairways at the same level of quality that used to be expected of greens. Today’s players expect great color and consistent density of tee and fairway turf, regardless of how bad summer stress is.

As a result of these increased expectations, many Superintendents have been forced to lower the height of cut and increase their fungicide sprays. Even with intensive management programs, the turf can still be vulnerable to stress. The seaplant extract in SeaQuential and CPR can increase drought and stress tolerance and can make the turf more disease-resistant. An independent research project at Virginia Tech University in the summer of 2001 demonstrated that plots treated with CPR and CPR + PrimoMAXX had excellent color throughout the trial. The appearance was noticeably better than plots that didn’t receive CPR, and there was less incidence of dollar spot with CPR.

Fairways are being maintained at lower mowing heights, and many Superintendents are using growth regulators as a management tool to limit top growth and increase density. These management practices can sometimes affect turf color adversely, and SeaQuential can help create—and hold—excellent turf color for up to four weeks.

To maximize turf color and quality, apply 2-3 oz of SeaQuential or SeaQuential with Micronutrients per 1,000 sf every four weeks. The cytokinins and amino acids in the seaplant extract in SeaQuential will make the turf more drought tolerant and stress resistant, and the uniquely chelated minor nutrients will improve the turf color.

“When we ran out of water in August 2002, we sprayed SeaQuential instead—
after that, our fairways looked the best they had all year, and they were much more drought tolerant.”
Jim Rusnic
Bear Brook Golf Club
Fredon, New Jersey

How to survive rainy season stress

Problem: Excessive rain causes root dieback, and excessive cloudiness limits photosynthesis, resulting in severe stress for turf.

Solution: CPR increases photosynthetic efficiency, and the high concentration of cytokinins, amino acids, and vitamins in CPR promote cell division and root development and make the turf stronger and more stress tolerant.

• Apply 3 oz CPR per 1,000 sf weekly or 6 oz per 1,000 sf (2 gallons per acre) every 14 days

Relentless rain will always cause root dieback because waterlogged soils deprive roots of the oxygen they need. Even when it’s not raining, cloudy days deprive turf of the sunlight it needs for photosynthesis. These stressful conditions result in weak turf that is prone to early senescence. Even if the plant survives, it won’t be healthy and strong, and turf that’s not strong won’t survive other environmental stresses like excessive heat. Stressed turf won’t exhibit the quality demanded by today’s players, and it cannot tolerate the low mowing heights necessary to meet the constant demands for putting speed.

Researchers agree that turfgrass cells under stress will age and die because of damaging free radical molecules (much like cancer-causing free radicals in humans). Recent studies at Virginia Tech, plus Dr. Huang's research at Kansas State, have shown that applications of CPR can increase antioxidant levels, thereby increasing cell life and maintaining turf strength. At both universities, the independent studies also confirmed that applying CPR to turf produced statistically significant increases in the following:

• Photosynthetic Rate and Efficiency
• Root Growth
• Turf Quality
• Turf Chlorophyll Content and Color

The high concentration of cytokinins in CPR promotes cell division, and its unique plant-derived amino acids help the plant synthesize proteins. CPR’s vitamins, plant sugars, and chelated micronutrients provide the necessary supplemental nutrition to complete and balance your fertility program.

Weekly applications of CPR at one gal/acre or biweekly applications of two gals/acre will help promote root development and enhance plant physiological fitness—even in the rain.

“Since I started using CPR, I have seen a lot of improvement in our root structure and development, even through the rainy season. We get very good results with CPR.”
Jack Hester
The Yacht and Country Club
Stuart, Florida