Having worked at the University of New Mexico’s Championship (South) Course for 28 years, Lucy Castaneda was very familiar with Albuquerque’s soil and environment. But when she took over as superintendent of the university’s 9-hole North Course nearly four years ago, she faced a tough case of fairy ring.
“It was pretty much all over,” she says. “My concern, because of the budget, was on all the greens.”
Castaneda says myriad possibilities abound as to how fairy ring appeared at the course - from it being too wet, to the right pathogens existing, to deficiencies in nutrients. The “triangle” needs to be present for any disease to emerge: 1. Pathogen; 2. The right environmental conditions and 3. An organism, according to Castaneda.
“Everyone’s going to be different,” she says, pointing out that a lot depends on the region, specific course and weather conditions.
Now employed by Mountain West GolfScapes, which owns the North Course, it didn’t take long for Castaneda to find the right solution.
“I was first using Bayleton fungicide, then my sales rep turned me onto Tourney,” she says. “It had a broader spectrum to take care of 10-15 diseases. Price always has something to do with it. I used Bayleton because it wasn’t as expensive, but I can treat more acreage with Tourney.”
She also used a wetting agent in the past, with moderate success.
“We could control [fairy ring], but you could still see it,” she says.
Last year Castaneda started using Tourney in a preventative maintenance program - every 14-21 days - and she did that throughout the summer.
Success? Yes, but she’s keeping a close eye on the greens.
“What I’ve learned in the past and by talking with other superintendents, if you use the same chemical over and over, the soil can become immune to it,” she says. “For now, I want to use Tourney again [in 2012].”
Castaneda’s staff will be aerifying the greens the second week of April and will apply the first round of Tourney later in the month. She says she would learn more about its continued effectiveness by the end of the year and would consider using it again in 2013 if it succeeds.
As for fellow superintendents facing fairy ring, Castaneda offers some advice.
“Try the Tourney and apply it as the label says,” she says. “Start on the program and be very adamant about it."
An uphill battle
Taking over University of New Mexico’s North Course from another superintendent, Lucy Castaneda also inherited an established base of fairy ring on all greens.