By John (“JT”) Turner |Our own John “JT” Turner has worked with hundreds of superintendents over his long career. What’s his go-to program for effective water management? “Keep it simple.” For him, that starts with Dispatch Sprayable®.
Dispatch Sprayable is the superintendent’s ‘workhorse’ for water efficiency. It can be a great tool on any turf variety; bent, blue, rye, fescue, and warm-season turf too. So how does it fit?
When I’m talking with a golf course superintendent about moisture management, the same three needs tend to come up:
- The need to use a product that is a penetrant and economical.
- The need for a penetrant to help deliver my inputs from fertility to PGR’s to pre-and post-emergence herbicides and insecticides.
- The need for a penetrant to reduce irrigation, especially if city water is the main supply.
During many of those conversations, the simplest solution is using Dispatch Sprayable as a year-round tool that provides great tank-mix capabilities. Let’s face it: there is a lot of “stuff” that goes into a spray tank for the sake of maximizing time and labor.
So why not improve your odds by adding Dispatch Sprayable in that tank?
Here’s the world’s simplest recipe for success in tank-mixing and water management:
Dispatch Sprayable at 24 oz/A per application
That works out to about $17 per acre to get way more value from your expensive inputs. It also comes in versatile packaging (5-gallon containers or 30-gallons drums) and offers formulations specifically for spraying or injection.
Right Now! Remember to add Dispatch Sprayable to any fall app (snow mold, late-season disease control, etc.) to get improved efficacy and longer control.
Every year most golf course superintendents finish their year using nutritional inputs along with surfactants on their turf to improve moisture in the root zone before winter dormancy.
As varying climatic conditions produce freeze/thaw cycles, dry periods, and/or ice cover on turfgrasses, soil rootzones pre-treated with Dispatch Sprayable will move water more uniformly. Which will, in turn, reduce the potential for water repellency the following spring! Secondly, this application will help protect the plants and/crowns from potential winter desiccation on any open surfaces from prolonged cold temperatures.
So what’s the recipe?
Simply, apply 24 oz/A of Dispatch Sprayable to turf before winter dormancy. Post irrigation is recommended after initial applications. If your irrigation system has been winterized no worries – rainfall and/or snowfall will help drive the penetrant down into the root zone, so it’s a “win-win” situation for any turf manager!
Again, late fall surfactant applications with Dispatch Sprayable can be your final input for improving infiltration and distribution for early spring green-up ensuring better playability. Use it alone or include it with a tank mix of combined nutritional’s or snow mold applications. It’s proven, effective, and economical.
So, when you’re cooking up a super simple program to improve your water management and get more ROI from your chemical inputs, remember that Dispatch Sprayable is a versatile tool that’s more than just a penetrant. And keep it simple!
Learn more about Dispatch Sprayable and how you can use it on your course here.
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