GenNext Complete A & B Observations

Here are some pictures of what we have seen so far with the GenNext Complete A & B application. It has only been 48 hours since the application but we have seen some green up which is expected.

2 green in a moss infested area 24 hours after application.

2 green again in the same area 48 hours after application.

9 green 48 hours after application.

GenNext Complete A and B

Today we made our first application of GenNext Complete A & B fertilizer to the front nine greens. We have high hopes for this new fertilizer and we will be making three more applications over the next 6 weeks. Since aerifying greens 3 weeks ago, we have been slow to heal up. Not only have soil temperatures been too cold still for optimum growth, 40 degrees two weeks ago, we have also had to make a poa annua seed head suppression application to help ensure a smooth putting surface for the weeks and month to come. The seed head suppression spray actually slows the growth of the turf and its ability to allow the aerification holes to heal. It's a double edge sword, but will help us give the best possible playing conditions that we can offer in the weeks and months to come.

We have marked areas on the greens that we have applied the GenNext Complete A & B to where the putting surface was covered with a 2 foot X 2 foot piece of plywood so we can better monitor turf quality. At the time of application soil temperatures at a 2" depth were 48 degrees, air temperature was approximately 45 drgrees and the greens were mowed the day before at .135". GenNext Complete A & Complete B was applied at 16 oz./m each and applied at 75 GPA with Turbo TeeJet Duo nozzles. .3# N/m of 12-3-12 granular ammonium sulfate was applied to all greens and Embark was applied at 35 oz./A for poa annua seed head suppression two weeks prior to the GenNext application. Check back to follow our results as we will be posting pictures of what we are seeing for results.

9 Green before application

9 Green before application

7 Green right after application

7 Green after application with 6 Green in the background

6 Green after application looking at a thin area of poa annua that had anthracnose last season

Greens Aerification

With having the access to rent two Toro Procore 648 aerifiers we have had the ability to just about aerify all of our putting greens. We had the ability to aerify 1 acre of the putting green surfaces in about 2.5 hours. With these new aerifiers we have used, we are able to choose what our hole spacing was going to be. To ensure that we have a healthy putting green surface, the goal is to affect 20% of the putting green surface per year. We used the tightest spacing possible, 1.5" X 2" with a 5/8" diameter tine. We were able to effectively affect 15.34% of the surface area today. There are a lot of holes that need a lot of sand!! The clean up process will continue on tomorrow so we can beat the impending weather that we have coming at us. We fully expect about two weeks to be completely recovered from aerification and having better putting green surfaces then we did this past season.

GenNext Complete A & B rates and expectations

We have been given our rates to be used in our GenNext Complete A & B fertilizer. The date of our first application will be dependent on the weather. Here are the rates that we will be using on 2 acres of greens which will equate to approximately 11 greens (practice green, 1-9, 10, 17).

March 29 ~ 16 oz./m application of A & B (11 gallons of each)
April 12 ~ 16 oz./m application of A & B (11 gallons of each)
April 24 ~ 8 oz./m application of A & B (5.5 gallons of each)
May 8 ~ 8 oz./m application of A & B (5.5 gallons of each)

After our initial application we are told that we should see any turf voids or thin turf fill in quickly. After the second application we should see the poa annua stop out competing the bentgrass, creating a very smooth putting surface the entire day. After the third application we will use our soil moisture meter to start monitoring moisture levels as the product has some features that allow molecules of water to adhere to the roots meaning we could start to reduce irrigation needs. We will be marking a spot on each green that will not receive Complete A & B to monitor and compare for poa annua reduction as the process is very gradual and hard to detect day to day. We will be taking pictures of the spots and we will be told how to treat the photo electronically to identify the poa annua. We do have a moss problem on some of our greens and hope that we can see a reduction in the moss with the Complete A & B products along with other cultural and chemical controls.

We are told the 8 oz. per 1000 sq. ft. rate is the rate that moves poa annua out at about a 15 to 20% rate on a yearly basis. If we reduce the rate you get the effects of the even putting turf and enhanced coloration but your poa reduction is minimized.

We are excited to try this product out and hope to see the results that are being advertised by GenNext.

GenNext BioTech fertilizer trials with Fisher & Son

In cooperation with GenNext Biotech and Fisher & Son Company, we are going to "trial" a new fertilizer product called Complete A & B on the greens. The Complete product is a two part formula mixed together in equal amounts to provide complete plant nutrition. We are hoping with the results we have seen from our greens fertilizer program this past season, we will be able to add to it and use this product as our "PED" to keep pushing the quality of the putting green surface.

GenNext Complete “A” - A combination of special purpose enzymes, hormones, plant, microbial and biological organics reacted with and combined with nutrient elements. This combination provides the primary basic requirements to build the first phases of plant immunity and defense, improves health, vitality, color, plant density, and assists in supplying keep ingredients to encourage the grass to efficiently use all absorbed materials and water to develop the essential end products. This is designed to be used with GenNext Complete “B”.

GenNext Complete “B” – Contains Nitrogen and Potash primarily in the protein, enzymatic forms to provide sufficient nitrogen to support just enough nitrogen to insure slow leaf growth and to provide the plant the necessary balances of N and K required. GenNext Complete B contains key ingredients to supply certain soil microorganism’s energy sources to encourage multiplication and to adjust to turf grass requirements. A natural organic nutrient enzyme hormone complex derived from processed highly reactive specialized natural plant manure’s, plant extracts and plant composts combined (balanced) with minerals. These critically essential enzymes and nutrients are readily absorbed and available immediately for use by the plants. This is designed to be used with GenNext Complete “A”.

Course Condition Update February 6th

Just about all the snow has disappeared on the golf course with just a few spots left in some bunkers and in shaded areas in the rough.  Just about all tees, fairways and greens are completely clear.