Golfdom, January 2012

FIGURE 1 EFFECT OF TREATMENTS ON MOSS SEVERITY IN 2009 analysis was conducted on moss severity data to give a cumulative season long indication of moss severity Effect of treatments on silvery thread moss severity No treatment completely eliminated silverythread moss in either 2009 or 2010 According to AUC analysis in 2009 spot application with baking soda 6 oz per gallon Armicarb 6 oz per gallon or Moss Buster as well as broadcast applications of Quicksilver reduced moss severity 39 to 55 compared to untreated plots and were not statistically different from each other Fig 1 Applying Quicksilver to moss temporarily turned it black moss treated with baking soda Armicarb or Moss Buster changed from green to reddish brown Figs 2 4 With the exception of those treated with Armicarb Moss Buster treated plots had significantly lower moss severity than all other treatments on the final rating date in 2009 October 20 and reduced moss severity to 84 from the starting point of 100 Fig 1 Baking soda had significantly higher moss severity on this date than Moss Buster and with a moss severity rating of 253 was still significantly lower than untreated Conversely baking soda and Armicarb spot sprayed at 3 oz per gallon and broadcast applications of baking soda 18 and 36 oz per 1000 square feet Armicarb 18 44 and 36 oz per 1000 square feet and Quicksilver were not significantly different from untreated plots which had a moss severity value of 827 relative to the starting point of 100 In 2010 no treatment reduced silverythread moss compared to untreated plots according to AUC analysis data not shown Influence on bentgrass color Of the treatments effective in suppressing moss in 2009 Quicksilver was the only one that caused no visible phytotoxicity to creeping bentgrass in either 2009 or 2010 Fig 2 Spot treatments of Moss Buster were most phytotoxic resulting in color ratings below 4 within one day after application and requirwww Continued on page 38 Treatments that reduced moss severity compared to untreated are displayed and arrows signify application dates Moss severity is a visual estimate of the percent of research plots infested with moss Moss levels were significantly different on the first rating date For this reason estimates for each plot were set to equal 100 on the first rating date Means followed by the same letter are not significantly different P 005 according to Fishers Protected LSD turfgrasstrends com January 2012 TURFGRASS TRENDS 37