Annual bluegrass weevil, paclobutrazol, and overseeding for annual bluegrass control in cool‐season turfgrass

Abstract

AbstractThe annual bluegrass weevil (ABW; Listronotus maculicollis Kirby) host preference for annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) is well documented, but ABW efficacy for annual bluegrass control in mixed turfgrass stands has not been researched. This study evaluated threshold‐based insecticide ABW control for annual bluegrass control in mixed‐species golf course fairway turfgrass. To investigate integrated pest management programs for annual bluegrass control in fairways, the effects of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) overseeding, three insecticide programs (preventative, threshold‐based, and no insecticide), and the plant growth regulator paclobutrazol (280 g ha–1, applied monthly) were evaluated for annual bluegrass control in field experiments conducted over 2 yr on golf fairways in North Brunswick and Bloomfield, NJ. Treatments were replicated four times and arranged in a split‐split‐plot randomized block design. Overseeding (whole‐plot factor) did not affect annual bluegrass cover at either location. Paclobutrazol (split‐plot factor) reduced annual bluegrass cover each year at both locations. At the North Brunswick site, paclobutrazol resulted in 0% annual bluegrass cover, compared with 37% in the nontreated control at the conclusion of the 2‐yr experiment. Insecticide program (split‐split‐plot factor) only affected annual bluegrass cover at the North Brunswick site. In the absence of paclobutrazol, the no insecticide program had lower annual bluegrass cover (23%) than the threshold (37%) and preventative (44%) programs at the conclusion of the experiment. These findings show that monthly paclobutrazol applications during the growing season can reduce or eliminate annual bluegrass after 2 yr. This is the first study to show that omitting ABW insecticidal control can also reduce annual bluegrass, although efficacy was site specific.