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<p begin="00:00:00.11" dur="00:00:03.45">Hello and welcome to the Sports Turf Scoop.</p>
<p begin="00:00:03.59" dur="00:00:02.11">My name is Tom Serensits and I manage the</p>
<p begin="00:00:05.73" dur="00:00:02.16">Center for Sports Surface Research at Penn State.</p>
<p begin="00:00:08.16" dur="00:00:02.37">Today we will be talking about plant growth regulators</p>
<p begin="00:00:10.54" dur="00:00:01.67">and how they can help your field.</p>
<p begin="00:00:14.04" dur="00:00:03.41">However, before we get into how a plant growth regulator can help your field,</p>
<p begin="00:00:17.60" dur="00:00:02.57">let’s talk a little bit about what a plant growth regulator is</p>
<p begin="00:00:20.18" dur="00:00:00.85">and how it works.</p>
<p begin="00:00:21.95" dur="00:00:01.97">So a plant growth regulator, or a PGR</p>
<p begin="00:00:23.93" dur="00:00:01.94">as you will often hear them referred to as,</p>
<p begin="00:00:25.91" dur="00:00:02.41">is a compound that regulates plant growth</p>
<p begin="00:00:28.32" dur="00:00:03.03">and it works by affecting plant hormone levels.</p>
<p begin="00:00:31.45" dur="00:00:02.57">So just as in humans, if we start playing around with</p>
<p begin="00:00:34.02" dur="00:00:01.75">different hormone levels in the body</p>
<p begin="00:00:35.84" dur="00:00:02.13">we can affect growth and development.</p>
<p begin="00:00:38.08" dur="00:00:01.37">The same thing happens in plants –</p>
<p begin="00:00:39.50" dur="00:00:01.67">when we apply a plant growth regulator,</p>
<p begin="00:00:41.19" dur="00:00:02.35">we can affect growth and development</p>
<p begin="00:00:43.54" dur="00:00:02.76">and either increase growth or stunt growth.</p>
<p begin="00:00:47.90" dur="00:00:02.06">Now when we think about a plant growth regulator in turf,</p>
<p begin="00:00:49.97" dur="00:00:02.37">we typically think about something that slows the growth</p>
<p begin="00:00:52.34" dur="00:00:03.29">of the plant down, and in most cases that is correct in turf.</p>
<p begin="00:00:56.41" dur="00:00:01.89">However, by definition, a plant growth regulator</p>
<p begin="00:00:58.30" dur="00:00:02.37">can either increase or decrease growth rate.</p>
<p begin="00:01:00.99" dur="00:00:02.63">So, for example in certain horticultural applications,</p>
<p begin="00:01:03.70" dur="00:00:02.20">PGRs are used to increase growth rate,</p>
<p begin="00:01:05.90" dur="00:00:02.67">but again in turf we typically use them to slow the growth rate</p>
<p begin="00:01:08.62" dur="00:00:02.93">of the turf down and we can see that in the picture here</p>
<p begin="00:01:11.58" dur="00:00:01.40">– this bermudagrass plant –</p>
<p begin="00:01:12.99" dur="00:00:02.05">the small plant has obviously been treated with a PGR,</p>
<p begin="00:01:15.05" dur="00:00:02.58">in essence creating a miniature plant.</p>
<p begin="00:01:18.67" dur="00:00:02.10">When we talk about the PGRs that we use in turf,</p>
<p begin="00:01:20.78" dur="00:00:03.78">one of the most common contains the active ingredient trinexapac-ethyl.</p>
<p begin="00:01:24.73" dur="00:00:02.92">This is the active ingredient in Primo Maxx</p>
<p begin="00:01:27.66" dur="00:00:03.70">and other post-patent PGRs that contain trinexapac-ethyl.</p>
<p begin="00:01:32.00" dur="00:00:03.03">The way trinexapac-ethyl works is that it inhibits gibberellic acid</p>
<p begin="00:01:35.03" dur="00:00:02.11">and gibberellic acid is a plant hormone.</p>
<p begin="00:01:38.03" dur="00:00:03.87">So gibberellic acid is responsible for cell elongation.</p>
<p begin="00:01:42.03" dur="00:00:03.98">So if we are inhibiting this plant hormone, or inhibiting cells elongating</p>
<p begin="00:01:46.02" dur="00:00:02.45">and in essence creating smaller cells inside the plant,</p>
<p begin="00:01:48.47" dur="00:00:02.40">this translates into a reduced growth rate.</p>
<p begin="00:01:51.42" dur="00:00:03.09">Now obviously a reduced growth rate is the number one target</p>
<p begin="00:01:54.51" dur="00:00:03.53">when we are applying a PGR in most cases,</p>
<p begin="00:01:58.14" dur="00:00:01.78">however there are some side effects,</p>
<p begin="00:02:00.12" dur="00:00:02.86">namely increased rooting and increased tiller density.</p>
<p begin="00:02:03.17" dur="00:00:01.03">Now we are starting to see some things</p>
<p begin="00:02:04.21" dur="00:00:02.35">that may help us on sports fields.</p>
<p begin="00:02:08.38" dur="00:00:02.75">So if we could take a look inside an individual turf plant,</p>
<p begin="00:02:11.13" dur="00:00:01.47">this is what we would see.</p>
<p begin="00:02:12.80" dur="00:00:02.22">The top picture here is what a cell would look like</p>
<p begin="00:02:15.03" dur="00:00:02.62">when there are normal levels of gibberellic acid.</p>
<p begin="00:02:17.89" dur="00:00:02.34">The bottom picture show what cells would look like</p>
<p begin="00:02:20.24" dur="00:00:03.08">after a product with trinexapac ethyl has been applied.</p>
<p begin="00:02:23.42" dur="00:00:03.81">So we can see the cells are much smaller and shrunken down.</p>
<p begin="00:02:27.24" dur="00:00:02.96">That translates into a slower growth rate.</p>
<p begin="00:02:32.07" dur="00:00:02.60">So how is a product like this going to help us on a sports field?</p>
<p begin="00:02:35.54" dur="00:00:01.26">Well, if we think about it quickly –</p>
<p begin="00:02:36.81" dur="00:00:02.10">why do we want to put something on our turf</p>
<p begin="00:02:38.91" dur="00:00:01.72">that is going to make it grow more slowly?</p>
<p begin="00:02:41.15" dur="00:00:02.61">If we are trying to recover from damage we want to increase growth,</p>
<p begin="00:02:43.76" dur="00:00:02.34">and certainly that is a concern on a heavily used field.</p>
<p begin="00:02:46.98" dur="00:00:02.68">And, of course, the main target when we apply PGRs</p>
<p begin="00:02:49.67" dur="00:00:02.40">in most cases is a reduced shoot growth rate.</p>
<p begin="00:02:52.50" dur="00:00:01.83">However, it is those side effects that we need to look at</p>
<p begin="00:02:54.34" dur="00:00:02.12">in terms of a sports field perspective.</p>
<p begin="00:02:56.59" dur="00:00:01.76">If we can increase tiller density</p>
<p begin="00:02:58.35" dur="00:00:00.76">in essence what we are doing</p>
<p begin="00:02:59.11" dur="00:00:03.35">is increasing the number of plants in an area.</p>
<p begin="00:03:02.75" dur="00:00:01.39">Also if we can increase rooting –</p>
<p begin="00:03:04.24" dur="00:00:01.40">now we are creating a stronger field</p>
<p begin="00:03:05.69" dur="00:00:03.23">that is better able to tolerate the stresses of play</p>
<p begin="00:03:08.92" dur="00:00:03.23">and provide a better playing surface for the athletes.</p>
<p begin="00:03:13.40" dur="00:00:02.33">So when we talk about a better surface for athletes,</p>
<p begin="00:03:15.73" dur="00:00:01.59">what are we really talking about?</p>
<p begin="00:03:17.84" dur="00:00:02.34">I think what we are talking about is a more stable surface.</p>
<p begin="00:03:20.82" dur="00:00:01.60">When we have low surface stability,</p>
<p begin="00:03:22.43" dur="00:00:01.62">we tend to have excessive divoting.</p>
<p begin="00:03:24.10" dur="00:00:01.85">We can think about divoting as the complete shearing</p>
<p begin="00:03:25.95" dur="00:00:02.83">or removal of the turf root system from the rootzone.</p>
<p begin="00:03:29.24" dur="00:00:02.95">Certainly any field can be prone to excessive divoting,</p>
<p begin="00:03:32.29" dur="00:00:03.43">and really a number of factors can make a field prone to divoting</p>
<p begin="00:03:35.73" dur="00:00:02.11">and one of those factors is the soil type.</p>
<p begin="00:03:38.49" dur="00:00:02.07">So looking at professional or collegiate stadiums</p>
<p begin="00:03:40.56" dur="00:00:02.36">we tend to make the rootzones of these fields</p>
<p begin="00:03:42.93" dur="00:00:01.69">out of a high percentage of sand.</p>
<p begin="00:03:44.81" dur="00:00:00.89">We do that for two reasons –</p>
<p begin="00:03:45.84" dur="00:00:01.56">one to increase drainage</p>
<p begin="00:03:47.40" dur="00:00:01.88">and two to minimize the effects of compaction.</p>
<p begin="00:03:49.83" dur="00:00:01.70">However a trade off with that is</p>
<p begin="00:03:51.53" dur="00:00:02.14">we lose the cohesion between soil particles.</p>
<p begin="00:03:53.88" dur="00:00:02.44">Now, we are relying heavily on the plants</p>
<p begin="00:03:56.33" dur="00:00:01.43">and the root system of the plants</p>
<p begin="00:03:57.78" dur="00:00:02.95">to provide the surface stability and divot resistance.</p>
<p begin="00:04:00.96" dur="00:00:03.63">The same thing can and does occur on native soils fields as well</p>
<p begin="00:04:04.60" dur="00:00:01.77">however we tend to see divoting</p>
<p begin="00:04:06.37" dur="00:00:02.45">as an even bigger problem on these high-sand fields.</p>
<p begin="00:04:09.19" dur="00:00:01.75">But, in any case, what we are trying to do</p>
<p begin="00:04:11.00" dur="00:00:04.22">with a plant growth regulator application is improve plant growth,</p>
<p begin="00:04:15.33" dur="00:00:02.79">again increase tiller density, increase rooting</p>
<p begin="00:04:18.16" dur="00:00:03.13">and that hopefully will transfer into increased surface stability</p>
<p begin="00:04:21.29" dur="00:00:01.36">and higher divot resistance.</p>
<p begin="00:04:24.12" dur="00:00:02.23">So that was the idea behind a research study</p>
<p begin="00:04:26.35" dur="00:00:01.49">we conducted here at Penn State.</p>
<p begin="00:04:28.11" dur="00:00:02.12">We wanted to see if the application of a PGR</p>
<p begin="00:04:30.24" dur="00:00:02.17">can increase surface stability</p>
<p begin="00:04:32.42" dur="00:00:02.82">and more specifically increase divot resistance.</p>
<p begin="00:04:35.49" dur="00:00:04.70">We looked at can Primo increase divot resistance of Kentucky bluegrass.</p>
<p begin="00:04:42.12" dur="00:00:02.58">We had several different Primo application schedules.</p>
<p begin="00:04:44.71" dur="00:00:03.68">We applied Primo at a half ounce per 1000 square feet</p>
<p begin="00:04:48.39" dur="00:00:01.24">according to the label.</p>
<p begin="00:04:50.04" dur="00:00:01.80">We applied Primo from May through July –</p>
<p begin="00:04:51.85" dur="00:00:01.94">in essence this was a pre-conditioning treatment –</p>
<p begin="00:04:53.80" dur="00:00:02.11">we were trying to simulate a field situation</p>
<p begin="00:04:55.91" dur="00:00:02.51">where we have no activity during the spring and summer</p>
<p begin="00:04:58.42" dur="00:00:01.86">and then we have a fall football season.</p>
<p begin="00:05:00.29" dur="00:00:01.99">So here we are applying Primo –</p>
<p begin="00:05:02.29" dur="00:00:02.25">three applications from May through July</p>
<p begin="00:05:04.70" dur="00:00:04.06">and we are stopping those applications once the season starts.</p>
<p begin="00:05:10.55" dur="00:00:02.34">We found that on a sand-based rootzone,</p>
<p begin="00:05:13.25" dur="00:00:03.31">we found a 10 to 20% reduction in divot size</p>
<p begin="00:05:16.57" dur="00:00:02.62">when we used this pre-conditioning Primo treatment.</p>
<p begin="00:05:20.00" dur="00:00:02.04">We did our testing, we took divots,</p>
<p begin="00:05:22.15" dur="00:00:03.68">we reduced divot size indicating that we improved divot resistance</p>
<p begin="00:05:25.84" dur="00:00:03.73">10 to 20% when we pre-conditioned the turf with Primo.</p>
<p begin="00:05:30.28" dur="00:00:02.73">When we did the same study on a native soil field,</p>
<p begin="00:05:33.02" dur="00:00:02.41">we still saw a 10% reduction in divot size</p>
<p begin="00:05:35.43" dur="00:00:03.37">so again translating into increased divot resistance</p>
<p begin="00:05:38.81" dur="00:00:03.19">and more surface stability with the application of Primo</p>
<p begin="00:05:42.00" dur="00:00:01.21">from May through July.</p>
<p begin="00:05:44.06" dur="00:00:01.43">Now we also in another treatment</p>
<p begin="00:05:45.49" dur="00:00:01.88">applied Primo from May through October.</p>
<p begin="00:05:47.38" dur="00:00:02.35">So, we had those three applications May – July</p>
<p begin="00:05:49.74" dur="00:00:03.11">and we continued those applications all of the way through October.</p>
<p begin="00:05:53.57" dur="00:00:02.55">Now while this did not hurt us in terms of divot resistance,</p>
<p begin="00:05:56.31" dur="00:00:02.44">it also did not improve the divot resistance</p>
<p begin="00:05:58.75" dur="00:00:01.84">like we saw in that pre-conditioning treatment.</p>
<p begin="00:06:00.65" dur="00:00:03.89">The best thing that we found in terms of this study was to pre-condition,</p>
<p begin="00:06:04.55" dur="00:00:03.56">or get the field ready for the stresses of a football season</p>
<p begin="00:06:08.11" dur="00:00:02.61">by applying Primo and then stopping those applications</p>
<p begin="00:06:10.74" dur="00:00:02.04">once the season started.</p>
<p begin="00:06:14.91" dur="00:00:01.73">Why did we see those improvements?</p>
<p begin="00:06:16.64" dur="00:00:01.79">Well, for that, we can look at the tiller density</p>
<p begin="00:06:18.44" dur="00:00:01.80">and root mass measurements that we made.</p>
<p begin="00:06:20.74" dur="00:00:02.56">We found that the Primo treatments from May through July</p>
<p begin="00:06:23.31" dur="00:00:02.44">increased tiller density by up to 15%.</p>
<p begin="00:06:26.45" dur="00:00:02.54">In terms of root mass, that May through July treatment</p>
<p begin="00:06:28.99" dur="00:00:01.66">increased root mass by 10%.</p>
<p begin="00:06:30.66" dur="00:00:02.66">So now we have the combination of increased tiller density</p>
<p begin="00:06:33.32" dur="00:00:01.66">and increased root mass –</p>
<p begin="00:06:35.02" dur="00:00:02.24">now we are starting to see why we produced</p>
<p begin="00:06:37.27" dur="00:00:03.60">a more divot resistant turf with those applications of Primo.</p>
<p begin="00:06:42.84" dur="00:00:02.63">So the overall conclusion from our research was that</p>
<p begin="00:06:45.47" dur="00:00:02.27">when Primo was applied in the spring and summer,</p>
<p begin="00:06:47.77" dur="00:00:04.00">we saw an improvement in divot resistance for fields used in the fall.</p>
<p begin="00:06:51.77" dur="00:00:03.00">Now it is important to note that this is for fall-only field use.</p>
<p begin="00:06:55.01" dur="00:00:01.66">If you have year-round use of a field,</p>
<p begin="00:06:56.68" dur="00:00:01.64">this may not be what you want to do.</p>
<p begin="00:06:58.42" dur="00:00:04.06">So our project we had a field that was not used in the spring</p>
<p begin="00:07:02.49" dur="00:00:01.61">and summer but was used in the fall.</p>
<p begin="00:07:04.56" dur="00:00:02.78">Again the reason behind that increase in divot resistance</p>
<p begin="00:07:07.34" dur="00:00:02.94">was an increase in tiller number and an increase in root mass.</p>
<p begin="00:07:11.83" dur="00:00:01.21">If we are going to use a PGR</p>
<p begin="00:07:13.05" dur="00:00:02.73">with the active ingredient trinexapac-ethyl on our field,</p>
<p begin="00:07:15.78" dur="00:00:01.36">there are a few things you must think about.</p>
<p begin="00:07:17.75" dur="00:00:02.45">First of all, this is a foliar-absorbed PGR,</p>
<p begin="00:07:20.38" dur="00:00:01.46">meaning that it must dry on the leaf.</p>
<p begin="00:07:22.46" dur="00:00:01.57">According to the label, that must be</p>
<p begin="00:07:24.03" dur="00:00:01.54">a minimum of one hour on the leaf</p>
<p begin="00:07:25.63" dur="00:00:02.90">in order to make sure that that penetrates down into the plant.</p>
<p begin="00:07:29.86" dur="00:00:02.19">You can expect a 50% growth reduction.</p>
<p begin="00:07:32.78" dur="00:00:02.26">The effects usually occur three to five days</p>
<p begin="00:07:35.04" dur="00:00:01.93">after that initial application.</p>
<p begin="00:07:37.40" dur="00:00:01.79">Now when we are looking at application rates,</p>
<p begin="00:07:39.19" dur="00:00:01.50">we want to make sure we are reading the label</p>
<p begin="00:07:40.81" dur="00:00:02.27">and making sure we are following the right time schedule.</p>
<p begin="00:07:43.67" dur="00:00:03.48">In our study, we went out at 0.5 ounces per 1000 square feet</p>
<p begin="00:07:47.16" dur="00:00:01.46">on 28-day intervals.</p>
<p begin="00:07:49.13" dur="00:00:03.65">You certainly can cut that rate in half and go out at 14-day intervals</p>
<p begin="00:07:52.93" dur="00:00:01.83">just making sure that you are matching up you rate</p>
<p begin="00:07:54.76" dur="00:00:01.58">with your interval timing.</p>
<p begin="00:07:57.87" dur="00:00:02.41">One thing to note is that you may have some discoloration</p>
<p begin="00:08:00.29" dur="00:00:01.74">after the first application of the year,</p>
<p begin="00:08:02.03" dur="00:00:03.25">but then in general we start to see a darker green plant</p>
<p begin="00:08:05.29" dur="00:00:03.77">as a result of that trinexapac-ethyl application</p>
<p begin="00:08:09.07" dur="00:00:01.73">again because those cells are smaller,</p>
<p begin="00:08:10.80" dur="00:00:01.30">they are more tightly packed</p>
<p begin="00:08:12.10" dur="00:00:01.88">we have the same amount of chlorophyll in there –</p>
<p begin="00:08:14.08" dur="00:00:02.01">that creates a darker green plant.</p>
<p begin="00:08:16.10" dur="00:00:03.24">So, just an added benefit to trinexapac-ethyl use.</p>
<p begin="00:08:21.35" dur="00:00:01.99">Now of course there are also situations where</p>
<p begin="00:08:23.34" dur="00:00:02.07">we don’t want to apply a plant growth regulator.</p>
<p begin="00:08:25.77" dur="00:00:02.26">We just talked about earlier that if we have year-round use</p>
<p begin="00:08:28.03" dur="00:00:02.02">that may be something we don’t want to do</p>
<p begin="00:08:30.05" dur="00:00:01.63">in order to make sure that we can recover</p>
<p begin="00:08:31.69" dur="00:00:02.64">from damage that is occurring month after month.</p>
<p begin="00:08:34.86" dur="00:00:01.33">Another thing that we don’t want to do</p>
<p begin="00:08:36.19" dur="00:00:02.08">is apply a PGR to stressed turf.</p>
<p begin="00:08:38.28" dur="00:00:01.20">For example here in this picture</p>
<p begin="00:08:39.49" dur="00:00:02.34">we see severely drought-stricken turf.</p>
<p begin="00:08:42.12" dur="00:00:02.54">We don’t want to go out there with a PGR application</p>
<p begin="00:08:44.67" dur="00:00:02.39">or really any pesticide application for that matter</p>
<p begin="00:08:47.06" dur="00:00:01.93">because the turf is in a stressed condition.</p>
<p begin="00:08:48.99" dur="00:00:02.47">You want to make sure that we are not applying a PGR</p>
<p begin="00:08:51.47" dur="00:00:02.01">when the turf is already stressed,</p>
<p begin="00:08:53.48" dur="00:00:01.39">whether it be from drought</p>
<p begin="00:08:54.87" dur="00:00:02.56">or anything else that may cause stress on a field.</p>
<p begin="00:08:59.15" dur="00:00:03.73">Another situation that may not be the best time for a PGR application</p>
<p begin="00:09:02.88" dur="00:00:02.83">is immediately before or after cultural practices</p>
<p begin="00:09:05.72" dur="00:00:02.95">such as core aerification or vertical mowing –</p>
<p begin="00:09:08.83" dur="00:00:02.11">this will delay the recovery process.</p>
<p begin="00:09:10.94" dur="00:00:02.17">So, if this is something that you are going to do,</p>
<p begin="00:09:13.12" dur="00:00:01.54">it is best to wait until that turf recovers</p>
<p begin="00:09:14.66" dur="00:00:02.06">from those cultural practices</p>
<p begin="00:09:16.73" dur="00:00:02.09">and then get on a PGR treatment regime.</p>
<p begin="00:09:21.20" dur="00:00:01.60">Another thing that you need to think about</p>
<p begin="00:09:22.81" dur="00:00:03.72">when your turf comes out of that trinexapac-ethyl growth inhibition –</p>
<p begin="00:09:26.66" dur="00:00:02.27">there is going to be a growth surge or rebound effect</p>
<p begin="00:09:28.93" dur="00:00:01.69">and this is documented in the research</p>
<p begin="00:09:30.63" dur="00:00:03.83">where we talk about a minimum of 160% growth rate</p>
<p begin="00:09:34.46" dur="00:00:03.57">in the days following that turf getting out of that growth inhibition.</p>
<p begin="00:09:38.50" dur="00:00:02.24">Now this is something you can use to your advantage as well.</p>
<p begin="00:09:40.95" dur="00:00:02.23">We talked about timing that last application</p>
<p begin="00:09:43.18" dur="00:00:02.74">so it stops before the football season starts.</p>
<p begin="00:09:46.25" dur="00:00:03.14">We can time that perhaps to come out of that growth regulation</p>
<p begin="00:09:49.39" dur="00:00:01.53">after the first weekend of games –</p>
<p begin="00:09:50.92" dur="00:00:01.62">now you are going to get a flush of growth,</p>
<p begin="00:09:52.54" dur="00:00:02.13">now you are going to see some increased recovery</p>
<p begin="00:09:54.67" dur="00:00:02.57">early in the season because you are getting that rebound effect</p>
<p begin="00:09:57.25" dur="00:00:03.39">that we commonly see with a trinexapac-ethyl application.</p>
<p begin="00:10:02.09" dur="00:00:02.25">Where else can a plant growth regulator</p>
<p begin="00:10:04.34" dur="00:00:01.75">fit into your sports turf management?</p>
<p begin="00:10:06.70" dur="00:00:02.22">Well, we can put trinexapac-ethyl in paint.</p>
<p begin="00:10:09.27" dur="00:00:02.27">Specifically, the label for Primo Maxx says</p>
<p begin="00:10:11.54" dur="00:00:02.80">1 ounce of Primo per gallon of paint.</p>
<p begin="00:10:14.75" dur="00:00:01.93">This is a great idea if you are painting logos,</p>
<p begin="00:10:16.69" dur="00:00:02.40">especially off the field and anywhere that is not going to be</p>
<p begin="00:10:19.09" dur="00:00:03.02">heavily used and the paint is going to get worn off by players.</p>
<p begin="00:10:22.49" dur="00:00:04.59">So again, if you have lines on a field that is not heavily used or any logos or</p>
<p begin="00:10:27.09" dur="00:00:02.59">anything that you want to make that paint last for a longer period of time</p>
<p begin="00:10:29.68" dur="00:00:02.89">and not mow it off, a little bit of plant growth regulator</p>
<p begin="00:10:32.58" dur="00:00:03.81">in that paint will help make that paint last for a longer period of time.</p>
<p begin="00:10:37.82" dur="00:00:01.56">At the same time we want to make sure</p>
<p begin="00:10:39.38" dur="00:00:02.65">we are not adding a plant growth regulator like Primo</p>
<p begin="00:10:42.04" dur="00:00:01.93">to our paint where it is not going to really be a benefit.</p>
<p begin="00:10:44.59" dur="00:00:02.09">Here’s a perfect situation – a heavily used field –</p>
<p begin="00:10:47.25" dur="00:00:02.36">it is not the best idea to put Primo in that paint</p>
<p begin="00:10:49.61" dur="00:00:02.09">where we are going to paint lines on a field</p>
<p begin="00:10:51.70" dur="00:00:02.90">where that paint is just going to get worn away just by general play.</p>
<p begin="00:10:54.74" dur="00:00:03.25">So we want to be careful and keep that plant growth regulator paint</p>
<p begin="00:10:57.99" dur="00:00:02.33">more to the outside that is not going to be worn away</p>
<p begin="00:11:00.32" dur="00:00:02.92">very quickly on an intensely used field.</p>
<p begin="00:11:03.25" dur="00:00:01.99">So again, endzone logos or out of the way areas -</p>
<p begin="00:11:05.25" dur="00:00:02.07">a great way to help you paint last longer.</p>
<p begin="00:11:07.32" dur="00:00:01.85">It is not going to really be much of an advantage</p>
<p begin="00:11:09.17" dur="00:00:02.80">in a situation like this down the middle of a field.</p>
<p begin="00:11:13.47" dur="00:00:02.12">Some other instances where a plant growth regulator</p>
<p begin="00:11:15.59" dur="00:00:01.88">would be a good idea on a sports field</p>
<p begin="00:11:17.47" dur="00:00:02.14">is during non-sporting events when the field</p>
<p begin="00:11:19.62" dur="00:00:02.55">is going to be covered for an extended period of time.</p>
<p begin="00:11:22.35" dur="00:00:02.14">So things like concerts or graduations –</p>
<p begin="00:11:24.55" dur="00:00:02.30">we want to make sure that we minimize the amount of stress</p>
<p begin="00:11:26.85" dur="00:00:02.37">on that turf during the time that it is covered.</p>
<p begin="00:11:29.33" dur="00:00:02.68">The best way to do that is to slow the growth rate</p>
<p begin="00:11:32.01" dur="00:00:02.55">of that plant down with the use of a PGR.</p>
<p begin="00:11:36.87" dur="00:00:03.34">Some recommendations for preparing the turf for a non-sporting event</p>
<p begin="00:11:40.22" dur="00:00:03.09">when the field is going to be covered are given by Steve LeGros.</p>
<p begin="00:11:43.36" dur="00:00:02.64">Steve is involved a lot in professional stadiums</p>
<p begin="00:11:46.01" dur="00:00:02.40">when these large concerts come to professional stadiums.</p>
<p begin="00:11:48.41" dur="00:00:01.97">He is often brought in by the turf manager</p>
<p begin="00:11:50.39" dur="00:00:03.83">to help them keep the turf as healthy as possible</p>
<p begin="00:11:54.22" dur="00:00:01.74">during the time that field is covered.</p>
<p begin="00:11:55.97" dur="00:00:02.06">What Steve recommends is that Primo applications</p>
<p begin="00:11:58.04" dur="00:00:02.06">start at least two months before the event,</p>
<p begin="00:12:00.10" dur="00:00:03.07">making sure that we are keeping up with our application intervals,</p>
<p begin="00:12:03.18" dur="00:00:01.60">whether we are looking at 14 day</p>
<p begin="00:12:04.79" dur="00:00:02.32">or 28 day intervals in the case of Primo.</p>
<p begin="00:12:08.49" dur="00:00:04.15">We want a Primo application 21 days before the field is to be covered –</p>
<p begin="00:12:12.64" dur="00:00:03.38">that builds in a little bit of safety with that 28 day interval –</p>
<p begin="00:12:16.02" dur="00:00:02.35">making sure that if there is a case when that field</p>
<p begin="00:12:18.37" dur="00:00:02.78">is unexpectedly covered for a few extra days,</p>
<p begin="00:12:21.16" dur="00:00:03.20">we are still going to not get to that growth surge stage.</p>
<p begin="00:12:26.03" dur="00:00:02.12">Finally, we are going to use that growth surge</p>
<p begin="00:12:28.16" dur="00:00:01.23">to help us grow out of damage.</p>
<p begin="00:12:29.39" dur="00:00:02.86">So imagine we are peeling off whatever floor covering is used,</p>
<p begin="00:12:32.25" dur="00:00:02.81">n a few more days we are going to get a growth surge</p>
<p begin="00:12:35.07" dur="00:00:02.60">when that turf comes out of that growth inhibition from the Primo –</p>
<p begin="00:12:37.68" dur="00:00:03.75">now we are going to start to accelerate that recovery process.</p>
<p begin="00:12:43.78" dur="00:00:01.55">What about Poa annua control?</p>
<p begin="00:12:45.79" dur="00:00:02.00">Certainly depending on your part of the country</p>
<p begin="00:12:47.80" dur="00:00:02.76">Poa annua may be a big issue on your field.</p>
<p begin="00:12:51.18" dur="00:00:01.83">You may have heard that plant growth regulators</p>
<p begin="00:12:53.02" dur="00:00:02.04">can be used to help control Poa annua</p>
<p begin="00:12:55.06" dur="00:00:03.29">but we want to make sure that we are using the proper plant growth regulator</p>
<p begin="00:12:58.36" dur="00:00:01.86">if this is something that we want to look at doing.</p>
<p begin="00:13:01.89" dur="00:00:02.27">This is a case that we are not going to want to use</p>
<p begin="00:13:04.17" dur="00:00:03.08">a product with the active ingredient trinexapac-ethyl</p>
<p begin="00:13:07.25" dur="00:00:01.20">like a Primo Maxx.</p>
<p begin="00:13:08.50" dur="00:00:01.59">We are going to want to use a product</p>
<p begin="00:13:10.10" dur="00:00:02.63">that contains the active ingredient paclobutrazol,</p>
<p begin="00:13:12.73" dur="00:00:01.79">which is the active ingredient in Trimmit.</p>
<p begin="00:13:15.49" dur="00:00:01.09">So it is a little bit different –</p>
<p begin="00:13:16.59" dur="00:00:03.44">we talked about trinexapac-ethyl being foliar absorbed,</p>
<p begin="00:13:20.03" dur="00:00:01.25">now we are talking about a PGR</p>
<p begin="00:13:21.29" dur="00:00:02.25">that is root absorbed so this must be watered in.</p>
<p begin="00:13:24.90" dur="00:00:02.65">We talk about this in terms of Poa annua suppression,</p>
<p begin="00:13:27.56" dur="00:00:02.60">this isn’t really Poa annua control because it takes a long time</p>
<p begin="00:13:30.17" dur="00:00:02.30">and it is not necessarily a pretty process</p>
<p begin="00:13:32.47" dur="00:00:02.00">as we get this Poa out of our field</p>
<p begin="00:13:34.47" dur="00:00:01.66">because there is some discoloration</p>
<p begin="00:13:36.14" dur="00:00:01.80">and you can mask this discoloration</p>
<p begin="00:13:37.95" dur="00:00:03.78">with a little bit of nitrogen added to that paclobutrazol</p>
<p begin="00:13:41.73" dur="00:00:01.27">when you go out and spray it.</p>
<p begin="00:13:43.22" dur="00:00:02.37">It is a little bit more of an aggressive PGR –</p>
<p begin="00:13:45.59" dur="00:00:01.39">it will slow the growth rate down</p>
<p begin="00:13:46.98" dur="00:00:01.25">for a little bit longer period of time</p>
<p begin="00:13:48.24" dur="00:00:01.89">than we talked about with trinexapac-ethyl –</p>
<p begin="00:13:50.14" dur="00:00:02.75">so generally about 6 to 8 weeks of slow growth.</p>
<p begin="00:13:53.70" dur="00:00:04.50">But, again, over time we can start reducing the Poa annua population;</p>
<p begin="00:13:58.20" dur="00:00:01.85">however this isn’t a magic bullet,</p>
<p begin="00:14:00.06" dur="00:00:02.22">you are not going to be able to go out with a few applications</p>
<p begin="00:14:02.28" dur="00:00:01.99">and remove all of your Poa –</p>
<p begin="00:14:04.27" dur="00:00:02.31">it is part of a process, and a multiyear process,</p>
<p begin="00:14:06.58" dur="00:00:04.21">to slowly widdle down your Poa annua population on your field.</p>
<p begin="00:14:11.95" dur="00:00:02.11">So if this is something that you are interested in doing,</p>
<p begin="00:14:14.61" dur="00:00:01.89">we want to make sure we know what to expect –</p>
<p begin="00:14:16.51" dur="00:00:01.13">we want to be careful,</p>
<p begin="00:14:17.64" dur="00:00:01.67">we want to know how much Poa we have to begin with.</p>
<p begin="00:14:19.72" dur="00:00:01.17">A lot of times you will say –</p>
<p begin="00:14:20.89" dur="00:00:01.82">well I have 15 or 20% Poa –</p>
<p begin="00:14:22.75" dur="00:00:01.53">maybe it is 30-40% –</p>
<p begin="00:14:24.33" dur="00:00:03.12">do you really want to make 30-40% of your field weak</p>
<p begin="00:14:27.45" dur="00:00:02.97">with these paclobutrazol applications?</p>
<p begin="00:14:30.43" dur="00:00:01.62">It certainly depends upon the time of the year</p>
<p begin="00:14:32.06" dur="00:00:01.46">that we are going to do that.</p>
<p begin="00:14:33.87" dur="00:00:03.40">Can the discoloration be tolerated? Is this a high-profile field?</p>
<p begin="00:14:37.37" dur="00:00:02.16">Do we need to worry about the yellowing of the Poa annua? –</p>
<p begin="00:14:39.73" dur="00:00:01.21">something else to think about.</p>
<p begin="00:14:41.66" dur="00:00:01.56">Can you establish turf in its place?</p>
<p begin="00:14:43.25" dur="00:00:02.78">We want to make sure that we get our desirable turf species</p>
<p begin="00:14:46.03" dur="00:00:02.05">in there to take the place of that Poa</p>
<p begin="00:14:48.09" dur="00:00:03.40">because we know that Poa annua produces a large number of seeds.</p>
<p begin="00:14:51.65" dur="00:00:02.52">So, certainly the seedbank is there in the soil.</p>
<p begin="00:14:54.21" dur="00:00:01.13">We want to make sure that we can beat</p>
<p begin="00:14:55.34" dur="00:00:01.76">that seedbank to the punch</p>
<p begin="00:14:57.10" dur="00:00:02.85">and in most cases have some perennial ryegrass there</p>
<p begin="00:14:59.96" dur="00:00:02.49">to take the place of those dying Poa annua plants.</p>
<p begin="00:15:04.66" dur="00:00:02.80">Also something to think about is during play, during a season,</p>
<p begin="00:15:07.46" dur="00:00:01.79">actively growing Poa is really better than injured Poa –</p>
<p begin="00:15:09.27" dur="00:00:02.96">that is going to be an even weaker plant.</p>
<p begin="00:15:12.23" dur="00:00:01.29">We want Poa out of there because it is weak,</p>
<p begin="00:15:13.53" dur="00:00:02.40">it tears up easily, it is not a good surface.</p>
<p begin="00:15:15.94" dur="00:00:02.32">If we go in and injure that during play</p>
<p begin="00:15:18.26" dur="00:00:02.06">we are going to have an even weaker surface.</p>
<p begin="00:15:21.69" dur="00:00:02.87">Again, be ready to seed your desirable species –</p>
<p begin="00:15:24.57" dur="00:00:02.69">in most cases that is going to be coming in with perennial ryegrass,</p>
<p begin="00:15:27.26" dur="00:00:01.21">get a quick germination –</p>
<p begin="00:15:28.51" dur="00:00:03.22">a quick cover to help crowd out that Poa</p>
<p begin="00:15:31.73" dur="00:00:02.04">and keep it from returning as best we can.</p>
<p begin="00:15:35.78" dur="00:00:02.77">What is the timing that we want to do this?</p>
<p begin="00:15:38.75" dur="00:00:02.53">For football fields, we want to do it in the off season</p>
<p begin="00:15:41.28" dur="00:00:02.21">so that means starting these applications in the spring.</p>
<p begin="00:15:44.10" dur="00:00:01.74">Baseball fields – it is the opposite,</p>
<p begin="00:15:45.85" dur="00:00:01.70">we want to do these applications in the fall.</p>
<p begin="00:15:48.26" dur="00:00:02.17">We want to make sure we are not applying in hot weather.</p>
<p begin="00:15:50.43" dur="00:00:02.95">Again, any time a turf is stressed and we apply a PGR,</p>
<p begin="00:15:53.38" dur="00:00:02.48">that is just going to make that stress that much worse.</p>
<p begin="00:15:56.65" dur="00:00:02.41">Another thing to think about, is on the label –</p>
<p begin="00:15:59.06" dur="00:00:02.55">if you are doing a widespread application –</p>
<p begin="00:16:01.62" dur="00:00:02.59">you can’t seed 6 weeks prior to</p>
<p begin="00:16:04.22" dur="00:00:04.26">or 2 weeks after the application of paclobutrazol.</p>
<p begin="00:16:08.49" dur="00:00:02.38">We just talked about making sure that we have ryegrass seed there,</p>
<p begin="00:16:10.87" dur="00:00:02.28">but we really need to wait for these windows</p>
<p begin="00:16:13.16" dur="00:00:03.28">or we are going to start to see the PGR start to affect that seed.</p>
<p begin="00:16:16.82" dur="00:00:01.86">So it is not an easy process –</p>
<p begin="00:16:18.69" dur="00:00:01.14">there are a lot of things that go into it.</p>
<p begin="00:16:19.83" dur="00:00:02.77">Again, it takes time to get the Poa out,</p>
<p begin="00:16:22.61" dur="00:00:02.43">but it is just something to think about if you have a Poa annua problem,</p>
<p begin="00:16:25.04" dur="00:00:02.45">you can get on this paclobutrazol program</p>
<p begin="00:16:27.50" dur="00:00:03.23">and over time start to reduce your Poa annua population</p>
<p begin="00:16:30.73" dur="00:00:01.58">and build up your desirable turf.</p>
<p begin="00:16:33.70" dur="00:00:01.57">So at first glance you may wonder</p>
<p begin="00:16:35.28" dur="00:00:02.28">why would I use a plant growth regulator on a sports field? –</p>
<p begin="00:16:37.56" dur="00:00:02.34">I need as much growth as I can get to recover from damage.</p>
<p begin="00:16:39.90" dur="00:00:02.90">And, certainly that is the case in some situations.</p>
<p begin="00:16:42.81" dur="00:00:02.60">However, we showed that in certain circumstances</p>
<p begin="00:16:45.42" dur="00:00:03.43">a PGR can be beneficial to you as a sports turf manager.</p>
<p begin="00:16:49.59" dur="00:00:02.09">The first thing we talked about was pre-conditioning the turf</p>
<p begin="00:16:51.69" dur="00:00:02.67">prior to the season to increase divot resistance</p>
<p begin="00:16:54.36" dur="00:00:01.85">and increase surface stability.</p>
<p begin="00:16:57.70" dur="00:00:01.46">We talked about other uses –</p>
<p begin="00:16:59.16" dur="00:00:02.46">putting Primo or any other PGR in paint</p>
<p begin="00:17:01.62" dur="00:00:02.00">to help those paint lines last longer.</p>
<p begin="00:17:03.63" dur="00:00:01.57">Non-sporting events –</p>
<p begin="00:17:05.21" dur="00:00:02.00">helping the turf deal with the stresses</p>
<p begin="00:17:07.22" dur="00:00:01.70">of being covered for a long period of time,</p>
<p begin="00:17:08.92" dur="00:00:03.58">even Poa annua suppression with paclobutrazol.</p>
<p begin="00:17:12.50" dur="00:00:02.51">So certainly don’t discount PGRs</p>
<p begin="00:17:15.01" dur="00:00:01.97">just because you don’t want your turf growing slowly</p>
<p begin="00:17:16.99" dur="00:00:01.42">on your sports field.</p>
<p begin="00:17:18.41" dur="00:00:01.54">There are ways and there are techniques</p>
<p begin="00:17:19.96" dur="00:00:02.14">to use where a PGR can be beneficial</p>
<p begin="00:17:22.10" dur="00:00:02.07">and make your sports turf that much better.</p>
<p begin="00:17:25.95" dur="00:00:02.00">So I ask you to give PGRs a second look.</p>
<p begin="00:17:27.96" dur="00:00:01.91">See if they fit into your management program.</p>
<p begin="00:17:30.76" dur="00:00:02.15">For any information related to PGR research</p>
<p begin="00:17:32.92" dur="00:00:01.94">or anything else that we do here at Penn State,</p>
<p begin="00:17:34.87" dur="00:00:04.37">please visit our web site at ssrc.psu.edu,</p>
<p begin="00:17:39.25" dur="00:00:02.08">you can “like” us on Facebook</p>
<p begin="00:17:41.33" dur="00:00:02.95">and you can also follow us on Twitter @PSUsportsturf.</p>
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