Golf Fairways Control of Weeds, Pests and Diseases

Any encroachment of mole runs onto fairways or rabbit scrapings should be dealt with as a matter of urgency as these can severely affect not just playability, but also present a minor and sometimes significant hazard to players and greenkeepers. Physical control might be needed, but even if damage is minor then adequate attention would need to be given to repairing and making safe any affected areas.

Earthworm casting can be a problem on some fairways during cool, moist conditions. These can lead to an unsightly and muddy appearance in areas and will need additional attention to help alleviate the situation where this is unacceptably excessive.

Fungicide use for disease control is not normally required on fairways, unless some are intensively used and mown very short. If an area is infected with a disease then it would typically be allowed to recover naturally, with maybe cultural and physical interventions only. The cost of fungicide applications to one fairway, or many fairways, can be significant and rarely justified in the majority of cases. If any fairway was prone to disease, then a thorough investigation and review of working practices should be undertaken to identify the likely cause/s of this and necessary adjustments made to produce a more resilient and disease resistant sward.

Leatherjackets and chafer grubs can affect selected areas, rather than entire fairways, especially south facing slopes and areas more exposed to light as against shaded areas which would be colder over the autumn months as the young pests are growing. The density of grubs might be less than what would be considered an unacceptable and damaging threshold, so the use of biological or chemical control would not be needed. Where damage is severe and at or above the threshold for additional control measures, then the use of biological or chemical (where available) methods might be considered, however, the cost of these can be prohibitive for large areas.

The focus should always be on creating a deep-rooted and dense sward which is able to ‘weather and recover’ from damage to roots and basal shoots caused by grubs. It is often forgotten that there is a limit to the amount of food consumed by grubs, so if adequate insurance is provided in the way of improved rooting and sward density, then, in many cases, an infestation will be able to be tolerated and play maintained, albeit with a reduced, yet still satisfactory and safe, surface quality until good growing conditions return.

Weed control might range from localised spot treatment to complete coverage of all fairways. The extent of selective herbicide application will depend on how much weed content there is, as well as whether it is scattered throughout a fairway, or more clumped together in localised areas. May is often a good month to spray because growth is usually strong, and a more rapid uptake of the active ingredient can take place. In addition, the grass is also able to more rapidly colonise thin are bare areas created from dying weeds.