Golfdom • June 2022 • A word from our sponsor

In 2022, there is no excuse to have spring dead spot on your golf course if your budget allows you to spray a fungicide. We’ll get to the specifics shortly, but first a little background.

Spring dead spot is a chronic and problematic disease that affects bermudagrass (and zoysiagrass) where winter dormancy occurs. And spring dead spot may be just as severe for those who cover bermudagrass greens.

There are two species of Ophiosphaerella that cause spring dead spot: O. korrae and O. herpotricha. Recent work from Virginia Tech University explained many etiological factors surrounding spring dead spot. For instance, drier weather in the fall resulting in drier soil/thatch equates to more severe spring dead spot the following spring. Those of you in the southeast likely validated this finding when you noticed a lack of spring dead spot in the spring of 2021 after a very wet fall in 2020, contrasted with severe spring dead spot this spring after a rather dry fall of 2021.

The Virginia Tech study also demonstrates the active ingredient in Kabuto^® Fungicide SC, isofetamid, is extremely effective in controlling both of the aforementioned Ophiosphaerella species. While not always significantly different from the other active ingredients (speaking in statistical terms), take a look at the numerical data. There’s a striking difference in the minimal amount of disease observed when Kabuto is used (see figure on page FS2 from Virginia Tech, originally published in Golfdom’s 2021 Focus on Fungicides). With that level of control against both species, why would one not consider using Kabuto?

Now to the part that likely piqued your attention: industry-leading control of spring dead spot with one application.

By now, many of you have been well-trained to make an initial application for spring dead spot when soil temperatures at two inches drop below 70-75 degrees F in the fall for five consecutive days, with a sequential application three to five weeks later. Sure, the sequential application methodology is sound, especially when turfgrass managers were relinquished to using less than reliable fungicides for a number of years, and optimal timing of fungicides based on pathogen growth was not entirely clear. With advancements in our understanding of pathogen biology and fungicide application timings, there is an easier way to control spring dead spot; a method that results in less labor, less fuel to run the sprayer, less post-application irrigation events, and less monitoring of environmental conditions. The solution: make a single application of Kabuto and be done with it.

PBI-Gordon has conducted research trials with private industry cooperators and our academic partners at North Carolina State, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Clemson and others, and the results have proven (for more than six years) that a single application of Kabuto at 3.2 fl. oz./1,000 sq. ft. consistently provides outstanding disease control with >90 percent control observed in many trials. That’s all but guaranteed control in the world of spring dead spot prevention. Think about the savings from only making one application as opposed to two. With the various inflationary factors that will influence capabilities at golf courses this year, don’t allow rising costs affect your ability to control spring dead spot; choose the one (or two) application solution from PBI-Gordon to keep spring dead spot away. Contact your distributor about Kabuto today!

Brian Aynardi, Ph.D., is the Northeast research scientist for PBI-Gordon. Aynardi is a turfgrass pathologist and has conducted numerous research projects on the management and control of anthracnose, along with many other diseases. You may reach him at baynardi@pbigordon.com for more information.