When Mike Greene, GCS first came to the Downriver Golf Course in Spokane WA in early 2016, it was the year that the golf course turned 100 years old. (See a video of Mike describing his experience with Bac-Pack, or just keep reading to learn more.)
“This is a really old poa golf course," he says. "Lots of trees, lots of shade, and we came into really constant Fusarium pressure almost 12 months a year. We threw all the tools we had at it the first year and when we got all done and when I looked back and reflecting on how the first year went, I looked back and we’d had 18 fungicide applications to finish the season and I just wasn’t happy. I just thought, 'What are we doing here? What are we doing wrong that was making that many necessary? What are we not doing to the soil that’s not allowing it to be healthy?'
"I started weighing some comparisons here and one of the things was that I just didn’t think we were doing much to support the biology of the soil. So we started initially going from your classic inorganic nutrients, the ammonium sulfates and urea’s and things like that, then going to some more vegetable-based and manure-based organic fertilizers to feed the microbes. Then we started making some compost tea initially and then we started with the Soil Tech product Bac-Pack to see if we could get some disease-suppression on this golf course. What we started seeing, was after we started using those 2 products in combination, we went from 7.8 pH to 7.2. So we definitely saw that there were things going on, again….soil!
"And we also started seeing when we used Bac-Pack, those windows when you could actually visually watch the fungicides in the past, wear off anywhere from 10-17 days, and see that disease pressure coming, it became 3, 4, or 5 weeks that you’d get between fungicide applications and then it would be, “Well, I don’t have disease on every green, I only have it on the corner of #17 and the right side of #2, not a global, down to the dirt disease epidemic like we were getting in the past. So, it was lengthening our spray windows, and then we started using it as a drench for Rhizoctonia for Waitea Patch and we actually saw, just all by itself, not just suppression but disease control. It would just visually disappear.
"So then we really incorporated it into our Waitea Patch program. It’s worked as well as any fungicide I’ve used, it’s less money per application than any fungicide I’ve used for Rhizoctonia and I’m just really optimistic and happy about the fact that we’ve probably saved….I think we’ve cut our greens fungicides about 65%, right about 2/3 for this year compared to last. Even though this year, weather-wise, should have been a higher disease-pressure year.
"So, those are the changes that I think I’ve attributed to seeing that reduction in disease pressure, and I’m really hoping that it’s going to continue, and we’re really making it a cornerstone of our agronomic program to really see what we can do first, plant health and soil heath-wise, before we get into that pesticide thing. Because I don’t…., I’m not anti-pesticide, I’ll use them if I have to in the right circumstances, but I feel a lot better about doing the things that we can control first. And, lo and behold, we saved $5,000-$6,000 by June this year, on fungicides that we were able to invest in other things on the course."
Mulching is a farming or gardening technique that involves covering the ground and planting into that soil cover or “mulch.” In a mulched garden or farm, you will rarely see any bare soil, and weeding and cultivating are kept to a minimum. Mulching serves many purposes. It is especially good at suppressing weeds. Without access to sunlight, a weed may sprout, but it will not grow. It needs light to fuel its photosynthesis processes. Another important advantage of mulching is the reduction of moisture loss due to evaporation at the soil surface. When the soil is covered, it is more difficult for sun and wind to dry it out. This preserves moisture and prevents crust formation. Mulch methods also tend to support a soil environment which is friendly to the biological life in the soil. With no soil disturbance and with constant access to moisture, the soil environment becomes much more friendly toward soil biological life. Soils that are regularly disturbed by weeding and cultivating generally have much less beneficial biology. It is now known that the biological life of the soil contributes substantially to the health and vigor of the plants.
What Materials Can You Use to Mulch?
There are many materials which can be used for mulch. While bags of colored bark chips may be favored in a landscape situation, there are many other possibilities in a farm or garden. These include:
• Plastic sheeting or other manmade mulch
• Straw or hay.
• Deep compost on the soil surface.
• Rolled down standing grass or legume crop. (Desired crops are planted into the crop that has been laid down.)
Potential Mulching Pitfalls
Mulched soil is slower to warm up in the spring. For that reason, some gardeners rake off the mulch to let the soil warm up before planting. Raking the soil bare, at least in planting areas, also allows for better seed-soil contact. Some mulch farmers find it easier to use plant starts, rather than seeds. After plants are well established, the mulch can be moved back.
Mulch provides habitat for small creatures such as slugs and mice. If such pests move into your garden or farm, you may need to trap them or invite their predators in for a treat!
In spite of these challenges, many gardeners swear that mulching allows them to enjoy greater productivity with less effort.
Why You Should Mulch Your Garden or Farm
Utilizing deep mulching with hay and straw and never disturbing the soil over seasons and years is an excellent method to preserve moisture, control weeds, and allow the soil biology under the mulch to regenerate itself. This preserved and renewed soil will support your crops and allow the full genetic potential of the plants to be realized.
Mike Kitchen, CGCS is “living his dream.” After graduating with a turfgrass degree from Michigan State, he pursued his goal of managing a golf facility near a world-class ski area. After a few stints as an assistant super in the western USA, he landed his current position as superintendent at Teton Pines Golf & CC in Jackson Hole Wyoming. Now,16 years later, he counts his lucky stars. “I really do love my job and the management team here at Teton Pines.”
A few years back, Mike was approached by a local environmental group called Friends of Fish Creek (FOFC). Fish Creek is a major tributary of the Snake River and runs through the Teton Pines Golf property. The FOFC mission is to enlist local stakeholders to adopt Best Management Practices (BMP) to help protect the Upper Snake River watershed by improving and restoring water quality in Fish Creek. In recent years, there had been several instances of algae blooms and other indicators of excessive nutrient loads in the creek.
“I began to think about things we could do differently here. As part of our initiative to try and reduce our fertilizer applications, I was contacted by Soil Tech’s rep Xavier Dupoux. As a rule, I’m not a snake oil guy, but what I heard from Xavier about Soil Tech’s experience over the past 30+ years, that got my attention,” says Mike. After discussing Soil Tech’s bio-fertilizers, Bio-Min and Bio-Mega, with his assistant, they decided to do a trial in 2014.
“We did a test where we used Bio-Min on selected fairway areas with 30% less fertilizer, and compared it to areas that we fertilized as usual. We followed the recommended Bio-Min program during the season and at the end of the year. We couldn’t determine any difference in turf quality in the test plots.”
As a result, Mike decided to use the Bio-Min program on all his fairway areas in 2015, 2016, and 2017. “We’ve been very impressed with the results. We’re maintaining a quality stand of grass, and we’re using 30% less fertilizer (21-0-24). In addition, we’ve noticed that areas where we had regular disease breakouts at the end of the summer just aren’t as bad as they had been. In 2016 it didn’t seem nearly as prevalent as previous years,” he observed.
“From a budgetary perspective, the savings in fertilizer is just about a break-even with the cost off the Bio-Min program,” Mike says. “But, when you add in the environmental benefits and the suppression of diseases, then the Bio-Min program is a no-brainer for us here at Teton Pines. Being in the shadow of Teton National Park and near the Yellowstone Valley, we are under lots of environmental scrutiny. We are definitely benefitting from the use of Soil Tech’s bio-fertilizers, and we will continue using the programs in the future. It’s the right thing to do.”
Wes Ory is owner and founder of Heritage Lawns & Irrigation in Kansas City, in business since 1995. Heritage Lawns prides themselves on being an earth-friendly lawn and irrigation company. Their focus is trying to do the right thing, whether it’s saving water with their irrigation services, or using organic fertilization practices.
According to Wes, Kansas City has a real heavy clay soil that bakes down into brick every summer. Heritage Lawns had been doing core aerations as part of their lawncare program for 20+ years. It worked, but there were some problems associated with it.
Problems with Core Aeration
Originally it wasn’t a big deal for them to do mechanical aerations with only a few lawns, but as business grew, core aeration became an issue and a burden in terms of labor, equipment, and coordination. And then there were the damages--most damages occurred during core aeration, e.g., bumping into a fence, running over valve boxes, or hitting sprinkler lines.
During the summer of 2015, Wes went to visit Alec McClennan with Good Nature Lawns in Cleveland, Ohio. Alec had been using Soil Tech’s Oasys Ultra and Thatch Relief with good results. Together these products form Soil Tech's Liquid Aeration Spray Program and they offer an eco-friendly alternative to running the aerating machine around the customer lawns. But would it work in Kansas City?
Promising Early Tests with Liquid Aeration
Wes tested Oasys Ultra and Thatch Relief on about a dozen lawns. The lawns bounced back after the long hard summer and continued to look good that fall.
The following spring, he picked a couple more lawns that were not greening up and had thicker thatch layers. After applying Oasys Ultra and Thatch Relief these lawns bounced back and looked good for the rest of the season.
After seeing those results, Wes decided to roll out Soil Tech’s products into their full lawncare program. Fortunately, the applicators did not have to learn any new techniques or any new skill sets. It was just like what they were going to do if they were treating a lawn with a regular fertilizer/weed control.
Liquid Aeration Benefits
The wetting agent in the formula helped loosen the soil up and open it up in the fall. The lawn quality came back fast after the treatment. The customers were very happy with the way the lawns looked, both in terms of color and the quality. Since switching to Soil Tech’s Liquid Aeration Spray Program, Wes has found that these products cut costs in both labor and damages.
“It has been a huge labor savings for us,” Wes said.
Heritage now offers liquid aeration at the same price as they did for a typical core aeration and Wes says that works out well.
“You have your offset of your labor vs. your product. Whatever you’re charging for your normal core aeration, I think you’re going to find it works,” he tells other LCO’s (lawn care operators).
Heritage Lawns & Irrigation now uses Soil Techs’ Oasys Ultra and Thatch Relief as part of their standard offerings to their customers. They still offer core aeration as an additional service, if somebody wants it.
Direct Access to Soil Tech Experts
And although moving from core aeration to liquid aeration has been pretty easy, Wes says he appreciates knowing that he can always reach Soil Tech directly.
“Soil Tech has been really great to work with. If I’ve got some questions about the products, they get right back to me right away and, if I need something, they’ve been there to help me out, so I really appreciate that.”
And now that he’s been using Liquid Aeration for several seasons, Wes has some tips of his own for other lawn care operators.
Liquid Aeration Tips for LCO’s from Heritage Lawns
Mixing: Because it is an organic product, you want to keep the mixing to smaller batches. Mix it individually with each truck as it comes through.
Being an organic product, if you leave it sit in the tank over a Labor Day weekend, for example, it’s going to get a little “whiffy” on you after 3 days. So, you’ll want to make sure that you’re using it each night as you go.
Mixing it in small batches it is not difficult at all. A couple hundred gallons at a time and it works very well.
Application: As far as application, it’s just a typical hose-end sprayer, 2-4 gallons a minute or 2-4 gallons per 1000 sq ft works nicely.
Wes sums things up by saying, “We’re seeing some real solid results and know you will too.”
If you're familiar with the Rodale Institute, then you know about their deep commitment to soil health. At Soil Tech, we share this commitment and consider organizations like the Rodale Institute to be incredible resources. We invite you to view one of their recent white papers here--it'a all about how regenerative agriculture offers a win-win-win solution to the climate crisis.
Weeds can be one of the most trourblesome problems, especially for organic farmers. But now there's a solution that looks like something out of the pages of science fiction--robotic weeders!
This recent article in The Guardian provides a quick overview of various robotic farming methods being used in field and greenhouse, as well as the reasons robots may be a solution for farmers dealing with high costs, labor shortages, and the need to decrease chemical inputs.
According to two recent articles by Genevieve Croft, International Affairs Fellow, Office of the Chief Scientist in Research and Science, and Adam Russell, Texas A&M AgriLife Communications, the Fall Armyworm is on the rise and according to Croft “posing a threat to global food security.”
In Crofts recent article, she says that the “Fall Armyworm (Spdoptera frugiperda) is a destructive pest that can feed on 80 different crop species, including corn.” Read the full article here.
In Russell’s article on July 20, 2021, he says that “Left unchecked, armyworms can destroy forage crops in a matter of hours.” Read full article here.
Russell sites Vanessa Corriher-Olson, AgriLife Extension forage specialist, who says “it is critical that producers have pesticides ready for applications as soon as armyworm numbers near the recommended threshold. Armyworms in those numbers should be treated immediately because they consume 85% of their diet in the last two or three days of their larval stage. It’s important to act immediately because if armyworms are left unchecked, they can devastate a forage crop in a matter of hours.” Corriher-Olson goes on to say “pesticides are the only way to prevent armyworms from consuming existing stands or new growth post-harvest.”
Armyworms are a problem until the first killing frost. Regarding pesticides, Corriher-Olson says “armyworms are not a ‘spray once and they won’t be a problem’ kind of thing. This could be a two-, three- or four-spray situation ...” She suggests that producers should have products on hand and be prepared for immediate action when armyworms near threshold.
Typically, armyworms move north from Mexico and South Texas as temperatures warm in the spring. Corriher-Olson said that “generations will push further north into Midwestern states, ....” Because armyworms are primarily night feeds, she recommends that producers should check each morning for armyworms. Drier, hotter conditions slow the life cycles, but rainfall and cooler temperatures can trigger major infestations when local populations, new hatches and migrating moths descend on areas with quality food sources.
“They are there the whole time, we just may not see them due to their size, numbers or both,” she said. “It just takes the right weather conditions, and you can see an explosion in a matter of days.” According to a 2019 report by Allen Knutson, retired AgriLife Extension entomologist, armyworm moths can lay up to 2,000 eggs that hatch in two to three days.
Corriher-Olson recommends insecticides labeled for armyworm control in pastures and hayfields, including pyrethroids, which are affective in killing the caterpillars. But a combination of pyrethroid and growth inhibitor is recommended. “The pyrethroid only takes care of the ones that are in the field while the growth inhibitor provides a residual affect that will kill new hatches and any caterpillars that migrate into the field,” she said.
The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, conducted a study that evaluated three insecticides for controlling the Yellow-striped armyworm (Spodoptera ornithogalli), the Diamondback moth, and the Cabbage Looper. Of the three insecticides tested, only Armorex is OMRI-Listed, and for use in in organic agriculture. The results of this study with regards to the Yellow-striped armyworm show that Armorex had the second lowest mean. Click here to read the full research report.
Soil Technologies Corp. is committed to providing the highest quality, environmentally sound products, to offer a viable contribution to the emerging global market for safe, sustainable, regenerative solutions in agriculture and turf management. Soil Tech offers multiple natural alternatives for many agronomic markets, including large field agriculture. With its diverse array of technologies, Soil Tech offers effective alternatives for disease and pest controls, fertilizers, soil conditioners, biostimulants, aquatic and soil bioremediation products. Our products have been developed through original research and development, along with licensed technologies from other companies and universities. The technical composition of our products utilizes live microbial agents, natural plant extracts, unprocessed mineral plant nutrients, raw plant oils, and all natural carrier materials. Many of the products are OMRI-Listed and approved for use in certified organic agriculture production.
Could farm subsidies actually harm people and the planet? In an article written this month by Damian Carrington, environment editor for The Guardian, he cites a report published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), that says “almost 90% of the $540bn in global subsidies given to farmers every year are “harmful.”” Read full article here.
Rick Hynson has been the golf course superintendent at Boone Valley Golf Club in Augusta Missouri for almost 30 years. He arrived 28 years ago as a construction superintendent for Dye Designs and never left. Rick oversaw the earth moving and shaping of the golf course and knows every hole.
Boone Valley uses creeping bentgrass, a cool-season grass, on its greens, tees and fairways, which requires careful upkeep in the transition zone. Other courses in the St. Louis area typically use zoysia grass in the fairways for less intensive summer maintenance practices.
“Keeping cool-season grass alive during this season is very challenging when you have 4½ acres of putting greens, plus another 25 acres of fairways and tee surfaces,” said Rick. “It takes a very site-specific management adjustment with water and other cultural practices to get it all to match up so we have a consistent playing surface.”
He recalls, “I have been using Soil Technologies products for almost 20 years. I became aware of their product line-up through another superintendent who shared the same interest as me, in a more biological approach to maintaining turfgrass. He suggested that I contact the Soil Tech technical rep for my area, Barbara Agee.”
“My history with Soil Technologies started with one product, Thatch Relief,” Rick says. “I needed some help reducing the amount of thatch accumulation on my bentgrass tees between aerifications. So, skeptically I applied Thatch Relief and to my surprise, it worked. Actually, it worked really well. I can count on a thatch reduction of up to ½” per application of Thatch Relief.” And he adds, “It has made a real difference in the quality and playability of my tees.”
Continuing, he states, “Barbara Agee’s knowledge of her product lineup has helped me integrate Soil Tech products into my yearly maintenance program. That has improved soil conditions, which has improved turfgrass health and most importantly, playing conditions. Over time I have added other Soil Tech products that have helped solve various maintenance issues. To date, I have added TurfTech Bio-Min, Bio-Mega, KCS 2-0-14, Soil Success, Micro-Gro Plus, as well as Pond Kleen.”
“Their newest product, Bio-Mega may be the best of the bunch. The effect that it has on the overall health of my bentgrass has allowed me to extend some of my chemical controls and eliminate up to two applications per year. Healthier turfgrass for less money, that’s a win/win!” Rick states with authority.
And for emphasis, Rick ends by saying, “Every one of these products work exactly as the product label states, which unfortunately, is not the case with some of the other products out there in the market. It is nice to have a product lineup that you can trust to work as expected every time you apply them. It’s also why Soil Technologies has been around since 1983. They aren’t selling Snake Oil. The products they sell work.”
And concluding, Rick states, “I can truly say that the Soil Tech product lineup and the sound professional advice provided by Barbara Agee has made my life easier and my golf course better.”
TurfTech Bio-Min has been providing golf course superintendents with a unique problem-solving tool for over three decades. This multi-action bio-fertilizer: cuts fertilizer needs, replaces minerals that may have been depleted due to clipping removal, reduces soil compaction, and suppresses turfgrass pathogens.
TurfTech Bio-Min’s easy-to-use formulation consists of: 1) nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria that restore the soil’s biological fertility; 2) beneficial bacteria to inhibit fungal development; 3) volcanic minerals that supply over 60 major and minor elements; 4) polysaccharides that improve crumb structure of the soil.
TurfTech Bio-Min is a powerful tool that has helped hundreds of superintendents to keep their courses in top condition, even in the worst of circumstances. As a result, TurfTech Bio-Min was featured in the cover story of Golfdom magazine’s November 2011 issue.
The article was titled, Just Add Germs: How microbes could dramatically change the way you fertilize your golf course.
The article begins with, “For years, superintendents have shrugged off microbial biofertilizers as just another batch of snake oil. But recently, biofertilizers infused with beneficial microbes that can help release nutrients bound in the soil are starting to make an impact for superintendents around the country. The latest information suggests that biofertilizers can reduce the quantity of necessary N applications, combat diseases and increase turf health. How about that? Germs can be your friends.”
Rick Hynson, superintendent at the Boone Valley Golf Club describes his experience with TurfTech Bio-Min. “I have been a golf course superintendent for 30 years in the Saint Louis, MO. area. Saint Louis is known for having very brutal summers. Couple that with the fact that I have 40 acres of bentgrass on my golf course and it’s safe to say that I have my hands full.”
“I started using TurfTech Bio-Min in 2004 after I was introduced to the product by Barbara Agee, my Soil Tech Consultant. I was looking for a product that would help me to cut down on the need for synthetic fertilizer applications during the summer months, so I gave it a try. It is one of the best decisions I have ever made. Not only do I get a nice sustained growth response when it is applied, but there is a noticeable decrease in the amount of thatch in my bentgrass. My clay soil has become restructured and is now something I can work with. I have indeed reduced the need for granular fertilizers which saves my golf course money. Bio-Min helps me to actually grow grass in the summer instead of always just fighting to keep it alive. In conclusion I would like to thank the Soil Technologies Team for producing products that really work. You have made my job easier, and in Saint Louis every little bit counts. Thanks again.”
Mr. Hynson’s comments, made in November of 2011, provide a very clear and concise summary of how and why golf course superintendents have adopted this remarkable bio-fertilizer technology.
In 1989, Soil Technologies Corp. (Soil Tech), a leading research firm in the area of biological inputs for agriculture, submitted a project funding proposal to the Iowa Product Development Corporation Fund (IPDCF). In 1990, Soil Tech was awarded with a PROPEL grant of nearly $300,000 to accelerate market development of a “non-toxic, biological fungicide for the turfgrass pathogens commonly known as Leaf Spot and Dollar Spot.”
Even though there had been earlier research on the concept of biological control of plant pathogens in agriculture, this grant marked the first documented attempt by a commercial company to bring a bio-fungicide to the T&O marketplace. The grant application stated that, “The need for a safer technology to control fungal infection on turfgrasses is in demand. Federal government agencies, activist groups, and some scientists object to the use of chemical fungicides in recreational settings. The removal or restriction of the currently used chemicals will automatically create a vacuum in the turfgrass fungicide market.”
Once the project funding had been secured, Soil Tech moved forward to determine if isolates of Pseudomonas and Streptomyces were capable of preventing Sclerotina homeocarpa (dollar spot) and Bipolalris sorokiniana (leaf spot) from infecting Poa pratensis (Kentucky bluegrass) under controlled laboratory conditions. In early 1991, a project was begun in the Horticulture Dept. at Iowa State University (I.S.U.) in Ames, Iowa. The goal was to evaluate whether the selected bacterial strains had potential as biological control agents on foliar pathogens of turf.
The co-principal investigators, were I.S.U. professors, Clinton F. Hodges and Nick E. Christians. In the July 1991 Iowa Turfgraearch Report (pg. 155), the observations of the researchers were reported. “Preliminary laboratory studies have established biocontrol activity against dollar spot in three isolates each of Pseudomonas and Streptomyces. The isolates of both organisms substantially decrease the development of dollar spot infection. The average decrease in disease (measured as loss of chlorophyll and yellowing) by the six isolates is 97.5%. Field studies are planned for the summer of 1991 to determine the potential use of these microbes for controlling dollar spot and leaf spot in the field.”
In November of 1991, in a letter to Soil Tech management, Dr. Hodges stated, “There are numerous unknowns associated with this type of developmental endeavor, and it is unlikely that all of the unknowns will be solved rapidly. Some of the microorganisms examined by us certainly have the ability to inhibit or compete with the pathogens examined. In the process of analyzing the field study data, we have seen that the challenge will be to get this activity to function consistently in the field.”
Over the next several years, Soil Tech worked with a research team of The Scotts Co. (Scotts) in Marysville Ohio to pursue the goal of bringing a bio-fungicide product to the professional turfgrass market. Seeing the potential of non-toxic products in the golf course market, Scotts and Soil Tech had entered into a cooperative agreement that would give Scotts the exclusive marketing rights to the technology, assuming that field trials were successful and that a product registration could be attained from the U.S.E.P.A. Together with the management of Scotts chemical product R&D, two years of field trials were undertaken in 1992 & 1993 on golf course turfgrass at the Scotts research facility in Ohio. The results of these trials led to several conclusions about the potential for these technologies. First, true biocontrol of turfgrass disease was challenging for a single species of microbe. With the wide range of variables and outdoor growing conditions, it was observed that no single strain of microorganism could produce the type of biocontrol results that had been demonstrated earlier in the I.S.U. labs. Second, any potential bio-fungicide for turf would need to employ multiple microorganisms working in tandem to have enough of a broad-spectrum result to justify product acceptance in the market. And third, the pesticide registration process with the E.P.A. would be considerably more complicated and costly for a mixture of microbes than for the registration of a single biocontrol microbial agent.
Shortly after the completion of these field trials, and after their IPO in 1993, Scotts decided to discontinue their ProTurf division and exited the golf course product supply business. This ended the collaborative bio-fungicide research work between Soil Tech and Scotts.
Soil Tech then took charge of the additional work that was required to complete the product development process. The company brought the development project in-house in 1994. Then, after multiple seasons of efficacy trials, in 1996, Soil Tech introduced their new product, Bac-Pack, into the golf course turf market. Bac-Pack consisted of multiple strains of beneficial bacteria that, in addition to improved recovery from various turf diseases, had demonstrated improved turfgrass health, improved rooting and had also exhibited improved (faster) recovery from pathogenic nematodes.
In 1998, in field trials conducted by Dr. Eric Nelson and Cheryl M. Craft at the R.T. Jones Golf Course at Cornell University in New York state, Bac-Pack was measured for its ability to suppress disease symptoms from various turf pathogens. This project was designed to examine the impact of pesticide applications on the efficacy of commercial microbial inoculants used to improve plant health and recovery from turfgrass diseases.
However, as the report concluded, “our results showed that some commercially available microbial inoculants were suppressive to Brown Patch and Anthracnose diseases.” 
On multiple dates during these trials the suppression by Bac-Pack of the diseases in this study was equivalent to or better than the conventional treatments available for use on turfgrass.
Today, after 20 years of commercial application, Bac-Pack continues to be employed by golf course superintendents to improve soil health and provide a non-toxic tool to reduce the use of chemical products in the management of turfgrasses in golf and sports turf. Soil Tech continues to explore the ways in which Bac-Pack can be utilized by turf managers and Soil Tech has recently sponsored new research studies to expand the scope of what the product can be utilized for and to further understand the product's efficacy.
In a recent interview of Ben Nelson, Supt. at Downriver Golf Course at the City of Spokane WA Parks Dept., he made the following comments and observations about his usage of Bac-Pack on the golf course:
“Bac-Pack was first introduced at the City of Spokane WA golf courses back in 2017. I was skeptical about Bac-Pack at first. I am skeptical at first for many of the new products that get introduced to the market, but that doesn’t stop me from trying them. It took multiple applications here at Downriver to start to see results. Once the microbial populations started to grow in the soil is when you could see the best results. I have noticed too, that when soil temps are warmer you can see results better.
"Being in the Pacific Northwest we see a lot of different weather extremes. Bac-Pack has been an awesome product to work alongside with our regular chemical program. At Downriver we use it on a 3-week application rotation. Since the implementation of Bac-Pack, Downriver GC went from using on average 20 chemical applications a year to an average of 12 chemical applications a year.
"At first you see what it’s going to take out of your budget. Here at Downriver I use 5 gallons of Bac-Pack a year which is about the cost of one fungicide application. As I said previously, it has saved us on average about 6 fungicide applications a year, so there are no real budgetary considerations. It has ended up saving us money in the long run.
"This product has saved money in chemical applications and some labor. It was easy to incorporate into my existing spray program. I started spraying it by itself at first, but now it’s just part of the program.
"It has been a great addition to our spray program in difficult conditions. A healthier plant survives in harsher environments and Bac-Pack helps make the grass plant healthier.”
