Cover Story >>>
INTRODUCTION of the COVER STORY SERIES:
“ LOOKING to the
FUTURE ”
PESTICIDES of the
This issue of Alabama Turf Times starts a four-part Cover Story Series that all members of the Alabama
FUTURE
Turfgrass Association should find very interesting and thought-provoking. The series is titled “Looking to the Future – Where Will the Turfgrass Industry Be in Ten Years?”
By Eric Reasor, Ph.D. Southeast Research Scientist, PBI-Gordon Corporation
We’ve all seen many changes in every aspect of managing turfgrass during our careers, but the history of turfgrass advancement is still relatively new in the scope of human evolution. Mankind benefits from the functional, recreational, and aesthetic of turfgrass, which enhances quality of life, while at the same time offering environmental protection if handled correctly. With that in mind, the challenges that turfgrass managers face are many and only seem to grow as do expectations and regulations.
This series of articles will cover some of the more important topics that we all face in our day-to-day operations: Pesticides; Equipment and Technology;
Al ab ama Tu rf Tim es > >> Spring 2022
Plant Breeding; and Labor. The Alabama Turf Times Editorial Staff wish to thank each contributor in advance for their expertise and prognostic abilities. We also hope that each of you reading these articles enjoy and gain insight into what the future may hold. And perhaps ten years from now, we’ll “Look Back to the Future” to see how the predictions fared.
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P
esticides have undergone significant changes in the past 50 years with an increased focus on environmental and applicator safety. Alabama Turfgrass Association members and the entire turfgrass industry will see pesticide technologies in the future look very different than the past. However, despite many future changes, pesticides will continue being a highly effective tool for turfgrass pest management.
IMPORTANCE of PESTICIDES in PEST MANAGEMENT Pesticides are any substance or mixture of substances used to kill pests or manage the damage they cause and are an important tool for managing turfgrass pests1. Turfgrasses have been used for functional, recreational, and aesthetic purposes to enhance human lives for hundreds of years,2 and many pests can significantly reduce these desired qualities. For example, disease and insect pests can infect or feed on turfgrass plants, leaving infected areas susceptible to wear damage, or environmental stresses such as drought. Furthermore, weed pests such as large crabgrass and white clover can compromise the safety of natural grass athletic fields by increasing the surface hardness ~ 50% compared to hybrid bermudagrass3. Integrated pest management (IPM) is an approach that combines multiple chemical and non-chemical methods for pest management. Most of these techniques involve maximizing turfgrass growth and plant health by species and variety
