Business As Usual: Pesticides Market Report

How has the weather affected you this year? Some lawn maintenance companies in Texas considered building arks to make rounds after they received twice the normal rainfall, while southeastern operators had no spring at all, going directly from winter’s chill to the heat of the summer. Meanwhile, a blizzard hit the Northeast in early April with snow covering lawns that were slated for round one applications of herbicide.

“Fairly normal” may be the pest consensus of turf experts and lawn care operators throughout the country this year, but even “normal” is a lot of work and worry. While some regions got a late growth start because of cool, wet spring weather, pressure from weeds is close to normal except for specific outbreaks. Reports of moderate to high disease pressure are widespread, while it’s too soon to predict late summer insect outbreaks.

WEEDS. “If you fertilize in August, you’ll be feeding the oxalis and annual grasses,” warned Iowa State University weed specialist Nick Christians.

To help manage this year’s “fairly normal” pest season, Christians advised “delaying fertilization until weeds die out.

Remember, cool-season turf grasses continue to grow through early November.” He predicts weed problems with annual grasses will occur about two weeks later than usual this year because of the cooler weather.

The biggest weed problems reported this year have been with winter annuals. Fred Yelverton at North Carolina State University sees unusual weed pressure this year. “There are more winter annuals than usual because of the long, cool spring. January through March saw temperatures above normal and April through June were all below normal. These were good conditions for winter annuals.”

Unusually cool spring weather spelled trouble in extremes. The East was hard hit after an unusually heavy, late snow fall set everything back.

“We’ve got a lot of broadleaf weeds this year because of a big snow storm that hit us April 1 with more than a foot of snow,” said Margot Simmons, owner of Mockingbird Hill Tree and Lawn Care, Cape Cod, Mass.

“Not only was it wet this spring, but that storm put us back because we were so busy trimming fallen trees and trying to make applications of preemergence control that we couldn’t make timely applications,” she added.

Simmons said clover, henbit and dandelion were bad in mid-June. Her worst problem was chickweed, which was coming on really strong “even on lawns that we’ve had for 10 years.”

Clover is also a problem in Marlboro, Mass., where Cliff Drezek of Green Lawns Plus Inc., said clover and wild violets are particular problems in newer lawns.

Ron Miller of Super Lawns in Rockville, Md., said the cool spring weather was actually helpful by reducing crabgrass infestations this year in two ways. First, he said, the cool weather delayed crabgrass germination, resulting in a smaller crop. Second, the length of the cool spring allowed most operators enough time to get crabgrass control down before the weed germinated.

In the Midwest, abundant moisture has been the source of problems this year.

The problems seem obvious in flood ravaged areas of Kentucky, but even the damage from the initial downpours didn’t end the turf trouble.

Sam Farison, owner, Farison’s Lawn Care, Louisville, Ky., said, “The story this year is a lot of rainfall. The lawns all experienced excessive top growth and needed a lot of mowing. Lawns just didn’t look as good this spring as they have in the past.”

While the jury, he said, is still out on crabgrass, weather conditions are still contributing to his biggest weed problem — serious infestations of nutsedge. “The weather has been and is conducive to nutsedge growth.”

In Illinois, David Biddle, owner of Biddle Lawn Care in Savoy, Ill., is coping with different problems from the abundant rainfall this spring. Because it rained more often, although the amount of precipitation was at normal levels, consumers didn’t have to water at all through the first of June.

“They kept their sprinklers in the garage because they didn’t need to use them. Then the hot weather — in the 90s — hit. Brown patches began to appear in the lawn. The lack of water is the biggest problem now.”

With the cool weather this spring, Biddle reported slow crabgrass germination and good preemergence control.

Lawn care operators in some parts of the country, though, are not getting good herbicide control.

Don Haught, Master Scapes Inc., Plano, Texas, said his company hasn’t had “good results on preemergence with their control product.

“Weather has been the major problem for us. We’ve had almost twice our normal rainfall. It’s probably been the main reason for lack of control on weeds,” Haught continued. He said Trimec worked on broadleaf weeds that were up at the time of application, but the area is still experiencing heavy weed pressure.

Down the road in Plano, Jennifer Jackson, outside sales representative for Professional Turf Center, reported that her company’s main issue this year is with dandelions.

Dandelions are also a problem in Colorado Springs, Colo. Gary Gardner, customer service manager for Barefoot Grass Lawn Service, reported, “Dandelions are still the major problem. Overall, though, weed pressure is lower than last year.

“Preemergence applications of Team in dual applications at the half rate have given us good response. We didn’t have any grassy weed problems,” Gardner continued.

Again, in Colorado, the wet weather has suddenly turned dry, though, and new problems have arisen.

“We had very heavy rains and some flooding,” said Gardner. “We probably had twice the normal amount of rainfall. Now, we’re beginning to get dry. The number one lawn problem this summer is drought.”

Likewise in the South, lawn care operators relate weed pressure to the weather.

“The weather is really unusual,” agreed Greg Key, owner of Key Lawn Care in Norman Park, Ga. “It’s the coolest it’s been in 25 to 30 years. Call backs are more frequent this year, and it’s got to be weather related. Lespedeza is our problem.”

Herbicide use is up this year, Key reported, but use is up due to his company’s increased sales, not increased weed pressure.

DISEASES. Trying to convince homeowners and property managers of the advisability of treating lawn diseases can take a lot of work.

One case in point is the disease red thread (laetisaria fuciformis). Some lawn care operators just leave it alone, hoping the turf will grow through it. Others point out that turf must have an application of fertilizer to help the plant recover and grow out of the disease. Recommendations about the use of nitrogen, potash, or iron/sulfur/nitrogen have all met with varying levels of success, but fungicides still seem to provide the best strategy.

Most experts agree that disease problems are very prevalent this year, especially in areas grown at low fertility levels. Depending on the severity of the outbreak, fertilization may be the most economical treatment if the problem is not severe. If areas have been killed off, then a combination of fertilizer and fungicide is the best approach.

“We’re recommending using a 30 percent to 50 percent slow-release nitrogen treatment on red thread,” said LESCO sales representative Chris Messina. “Fertility and fungicides will do the trick.”

Disease has hit heavy in several areas of the United States. In Colorado, ascochyta leaf blight has been the major problem. Gardner recommended no treatment other than a higher mowing height. Yelverton said brown patch was bad in South Carolina, especially on fescues in early summer.

In Massachusetts, desiccation and snow mold have wiped out 50 percent of the perennial ryegrass, according to Drezek at Green Lawns Plus. In addition, he said, “First, conditions were ideal for leaf spot. Then drought hit and people were slow to get sprinklers out of their garages, creating more problems. We are also fighting red thread.”

Red thread has been a growing problem over the last five years, according to Simmons in Lakeville, Mass. She said this year’s long, cool spring going into a wet, hot, humid summer are perfect red thread conditions. In addition to the higher mowing height, she recommended high nitrogen applications and less watering.

Wetness in Kentucky also means additional disease problems this year. Farison said disease control is definitely up from last year with not only red thread, but leaf spot and brown patch are also wrecking lawns there.

Fred Kapp at Bessemer State in Alabama, said lawns there have been very slow to come out of dormancy and bermudagrass sports turf areas overseeded to ryegrass were only beginning to transition in mid-July. “We’ve had ideal growing conditions for rye and the bermuda just can’t compete.

“We’ve had a lot of powdery mildew and rusts on fescue and zoysia lawns as a result of the damp, cool weather. We’ve had 27 out of 30 days of rain in June,” Kapp reported.

“We’ve had a little leaf spot,” said Terry Smith, sales manager for Pro Lawn Plus in Jacksonville, Fla. “Since we had a mild winter and spring followed by 100s and rain every day, we’re keeping our fingers crossed.

“Our St. Augustinegrass is growing like crazy. We’re mowing every four days and it’s looking great right now. Time will tell, however, on whether disease or insects will give us problems later,” he noted.

INSECTS. Overall, it’s too soon to tell about insect problems. Opinion is divided about how severe problems will be.

In Maryland, Ron Miller said it will be mid-August before he’s able to say anything about beetles or chinch bugs. His company uses integrated pest management and treats only as problems appear.

Simmons expects a serious grub problem this year for two reasons. First, she notes, grub infestations seem to come in waves like the one that started last year. Second, she said, all of the moisture provides perfect conditions for grubs, although the drought which hit New England in early July may spell a later appearance than normal.

Insect problems in Texas include increased infestations of mosquitoes, termites and aphids, said Don Haught in Abilene. In Plano, Allen expects “real problems” with insects due to wet weather there.

If rainfall is lacking in Illinois, Biddle warns that the insect damage he expects this year will hit well-watered lawns the hardest. He said there wasn’t a serious grub problem last year, though, and he doesn’t expect one this year.

Wet or dry, Donald Grantham in Foley, Ala., expects a heavy infestation of insects. Because of the wet weather so far, spittlebugs are a problem. Already in early July, his insecticide use was up over all of last year. In dry weather, he said, mole crickets and chinch bugs are major problems. “It looks like there will be heavy pressure this year.” Grantham noted that insect specialist Pat Cobb suggested there could be twice the hatch period this year.

As if all of these pests weren’t enough for lawn maintenance companies, there’s always something else. In Kulispell, Mont., Neil Deering of Total Lawn Care said he’s got another weather-related problem.