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USGA Green Section Florida Regional Update
By John H. Foy, Florida Green Section Director |
The Florida Turfgrass Association’s 56th Annual Conference and
Show was recently held at the PGA National Resort and Spa, and
by all accounts this was a successful event. There were numerous
educational workshops on a broad range of subjects for the golf,
sports turf, sod production, and lawn care industries. Pest
Management in the Absence of Effective Tools was the overall
theme for one of Thursday afternoon’s sessions, and Dr. J.Bryan
Unruh’s presentation on Fumigation Strategies Without Methyl
Bromide was one of four informative, although disheartening,
talks about the continued loss of effective tools in the pest
management arena.
Soil fumigation with methyl bromide is considered a necessity in
the production of top quality and true-to-type bermudagrass
planting stock. Methyl bromide also is the preferred soil
fumigant utilized in golf course renovation projects, especially
in warm season regions, because it offers the highest control of
existing turfgrasses prior to replanting, as well as other soil
borne pest organisms such as weed seeds, nematodes, and fungal
disease spores. Yet, because methyl bromide was previously
identified as a Class 4 ozone depleter, discontinuation of its
use was mandated by international treaty agreements. For the
past several years, Dr. Unruh has been heavily involved in the
methyl bromide issue, trying to maintain a critical use
exemption for turfgrass, as well as identifying effective and
economically viable alternatives. In spite of the efforts and
hard work of Dr. Unruh and several others, the EPA has dismissed
the application for a critical use exemption for turfgrass,
despite that no viable alternatives are available. Based on the
most current information, methyl bromide will no longer be
available for use in the turf industry after 2009, and at the
very latest, 2010. At a number of courses around Florida, needed
or desired renovation project work has been put on hold due to
the economic downturn that plagues the country. Given the most
current forecast for methyl bromide availability, it is
advisable to quickly move forward and reschedule needed
renovation projects while methyl bromide is available.
While the information about the methyl bromide status is
disheartening, it is also not unexpected. However, it was more
troubling to find out about the EPA’s recently proposed
Fumigation Re-registration Decisions, and their potential impact
on the turf industry. Even though it has been noted that the
potential risks are quite low for turfgrass fumigation
operations, additional regulations are being proposed that will
make it impractical to utilize other fumigants such as metam
sodium, basamid or methyl iodide for soil fumigation on golf
courses, sod production, or even turfgrass research. This would
have far reaching and major impacts on the industry. As soon as
more information is available, we will pass it along.
Source: John Foy, jfoy@usga.org or 772-546-2620.
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