Month: December 2021

This summer is a bit different from what we’ve had in the past. La Niña has caused cooler day time temperatures, increased rainfall, and warmer temperatures at night, but what effect does this have on your lawn?

Sunlight

With the increased rain, we are getting less sun and more overcast cloudy days – this can cause issues as your grass is not getting the light it needs. Turfgrass needs sunlight to produce sugar. This energy is then used to convert water and carbon dioxide into glucose. After glucose is created it is used throughout the turf for growth. Grass also uses sunlight to produce a pigment called Chlorophyll which in turn makes your lawn green.

Rainfall

If there is an increased amount of moisture in your lawns soil and conditions don’t allow for the area to dry, this can cause diseases to develop in your lawn. Diseases can develop in your lawn when there are damp and humid conditions, common with La Niña.

Tips for your lawn during La Niña;

Aeration

Aeration will help fracture up your soils profile to improve your soils drainage. This will help excess moisture in your soil drain away to help avoid fungal diseases from occurring. To aerate your lawn, you can either use a garden fork or tyne aerator to punch holes into your soil, allowing water to move through the soil profile. This will help stop the pooling of water on your lawn. You can find out more information on aeration here.

Soil health

During periods of extended rainfall, nutrients in your soil can leach and drain away. To help replace these nutrients you can apply a soil conditioner like Lawn Kelper to help replace these nutrients. Lawn Kelper is a natural bio stimulant that enhances nutrient efficiency and encourages beneficial micro-organisms within the soil. Along with the main ingredient Kelp, Lawn Kelper includes a balanced ratio of macronutrients including Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium, with trace elements including iron, manganese, and fulvic acid.

Gypsum and dolomite are also advantageous to be applied to improve soil health.

Mowing

During extended periods of rainfall and overcast skies, your lawn will continue to grow but may become long and straggly (mainly upright leaf growth looking for sunlight).

If the lawn has grown a bit longer than you like between mows it is best to raise your mowing height slightly to avoid scalping the lawn once the rain has finished.

Fertilising

During extended periods of rainfall where you are unable to mow, it is best to stop encouraging extra growth by fertilising your lawn. This will help your lawn grow at a slower rate when it might not be able to get frequent mows.

Plant Growth Regulator (PGR)

Plant growth regulators like Primo Maxx can be used to help slow the growth of your lawn down while you are unable to mow frequently. Please have a look at our blog on PGR’s here for more information.

Irrigation

During La Niña, in most cases you won’t need any additional irrigation to your lawn. While it is raining frequently it is best to turn off your irrigation and stop watering.

Insect and disease pressures

La Niña is also a time where insect and disease pressures are extremely high. For insects, preventative control is your best option. We recommend using a preventative insecticide like Acelepryn GR or Acelepryn Liquid every 6 months.

The most common diseases that occur from rain, overcast conditions, and extended leaf wetness are – dollar spot, grey leaf spot, brown patch, and fusarium. These can be treated with contact and preventive fungicides. Please have a look here for more information.

For more free lawn care tips direct to your inbox, click here.

When using specialised lawn care products on your lawn, calibrating your sprayer is important to ensure the correct amount of product is applied to your lawn size. In this blog, we look at how to calibrate your sprayer and how to apply a few different commercial grade lawn care products.

Important Note Before Reading:

When applying each of these products, please ensure you are wearing the correct PPE for each product, as stated on the product label.

When using these types of products, always read the label before application.

Different types of sprayers

There is a wide range of different types of sprayers that are on the market. Backpack sprayers are better suited for larger areas as they usually hold a larger amount of water and can be easier to use when spraying for longer. Other handheld sprayers vary in size and design are better suited for medium to small lawn sizes.

As every different type of sprayer and brand of sprayer will disperse water at different rates calibrating your sprayer is important especially when applying commercial grade products.

Why is calibrating your chemical sprayer important?

When applying products to your lawn it is important to ensure you are applying the correct amount of product for your lawn size. This will help avoid either not spraying enough or too much product to your lawn.

How to calibrate your sprayer

To calibrate your sprayer, you will need to find out how much water your sprayer takes to spray 100 m2 and add the label rate of the product to that quantity of water.

To find out how much water your sprayer takes to spray 100m2, best to spray a 10m2 hard surface like concrete and multiply it by 10. From this you can determine that if it’s going to take say 5L of water for you to cover 100sqm, then that’s the required amount of water you need to mix the product with.

When calibrating your sprayer, it is also important to walk at the same speed as this will also affect your calibration.

Best to check your sprayers nozzle regularly for any blockages and wear and tear as this can also affect your sprayer.

Applying Primo Maxx (Plant Growth Regulator)

When applying Primo Maxx, firstly calibrate your sprayer.

For Buffalo, Common Couch and Hybrid Couch add 10 to 40mL of Primo Maxx per 100m2. For Kikuyu add 20 to 80mL of Primo Maxx per 100m2.

Please have a look at the Primo Maxx Label for further information.

Applying Monument Liquid Herbicide

When applying Monument Liquid Herbicide, firstly calibrate your sprayer.

The application rates do change for Monument depending on what weed you are wanting to target. Please have a look at the label for the correct application rates for the weed you are targeting. The below details how you can convert mL/ha to mL/100m2.

150 mL/ha (for Nutgrass and Mullumbimby Couch only)

Therefore, 150 mL per 10 000 m2

Therefore, 1.5 mL per 100 m2

Then add 1.5mL of Monument (for Nutgrass and Mullumbimby Couch only) to your calibrated sprayer to treat 100m2.

Please have a look at the Monument Liquid Herbicide Label for further information.

Applying Heritage Maxx Systemic Fungicide

When applying Heritage Maxx, firstly calibrate your sprayer.

For Heritage Maxx, the label rate is:

6L/ha

Therefore, 6L per 10 000 m2

Therefore, 60 mL per 100 m2

Then add 60mL of Heritage Maxx to your calibrated sprayer to treat 100m2.

Please have a look at the Heritage Maxx Label for further information.

Applying Proforce Duke 100WG Herbicide

When applying Proforce Duke 100WG Herbicide, firstly calibrate your sprayer.

The application rates do change for Duke depending on what weed you are wanting to target. Please have a look at the label for the correct application rates for the weed you are targeting. The below details how you can convert g/ha to g/100 m2.

150g/ha (for Winter Grass and Ryegrass only)

Therefore, 150g per 10 000 m2

Therefore, 1.5g per 100 m2

It is best to mix the herbicide with a small amount of water first to ensure the product is properly dissolved and then add to your sprayer.

Then add 1.5g of Proforce Duke 100WG Herbicide to your calibrated sprayer to treat 100 m2.

Please have a look at the Proforce Duke 100WG Herbicide Label for further information.

Applying Lawn Solutions Sedge Control

When applying Lawn Solutions Sedge Control, firstly calibrate your sprayer.

For Sedge Control, the label rate is 1.3g/100m2.

It is best to mix the herbicide with a small amount of water first to ensure the product is properly dissolved and then add to your sprayer.

Add the 1.3g of Lawn Solutions Sedge Control to your calibrated sprayer to treat 100m2.

Please have a look at the Sedge Control information guide for further information.

Applying Agador Insecticide

When applying Agador Insecticide, firstly calibrate your sprayer.

The application rate for Agador does change for the pest which you were wanting to target.

For Couch Mites use 10 to 20 mL per 100m2. For Ring Nematode and Sting Nematode use 20mL per 100m2.

Please have a look at the Agador Label for further information.

Applying Battle Insecticide

When applying Battle Insecticide, firstly calibrate your sprayer.

The application rates do change for Battle depending on what pest you are wanting to target. Please have a look at the label for the correct application rate for the pest you are wanting to treat.

12ml/100m2 (for Lawn Armyworm).

Add 12ml of Battle to your calibrated sprayer to treat 100m2.

Please have a look at the Battle Insecticide Label for further information.

Applying Barricade Pre-emergent

When applying Barricade Pre-emergent, firstly calibrate your sprayer.

The application rates for Barricade do change depending on what weed you are wanting to prevent. Please have a look at the label for the correct application rate for the weed you are wanting to prevent.

1 to 2 L/ha (for Winter Grass)

Therefore 1 to 2L per 10,000 m2

Therefore 10ml to 20ml per 100 m2

Then add 10 – 20ml of Barricade to your calibrated sprayer to treat 100m2.

Please have a look at the Barricade label for further information.

Have a ColourGuard RTU and want to use it in a knapsack?

If you have a ColourGuard hose on bottle and are wanting to apply it through a sprayer, use half the 2L bottle of ColourGuard and apply with 3.5L of water. This will then be able to cover up to 100m2.

When applying each of these products, please ensure you are wearing the correct PPE for each product, as stated on the product label.

When using these types of products, always read the label before application.