Springtime Control of Adult Mole Crickets on Golf Course Fairways, 1996

Abstract

Abstract The efficacy of five insecticide formulations applied at various rates were evaluated for adult mole cricket control on an infested fairway at the Fox Squirrel Country Club in Brunswick County. Plots 25 ft X 25 ft were established in areas showing moderate adult surface tunneling activity. Each treatment was replicated four times and randomly assigned to the plots. The fairway was irrigated prior to application and all insecticides were applied on 22 Apr using a CO2-powered backpack sprayer delivering 30 gpa. Soil temperature (4 inch) was 75°F and air temperature was 74°F. Soil at the test site was classified as a Manderin fine sand with a pH of 6.3 with 0.6% humic matter. Post application irrigation (0.25 inch) was applied to the entire test area prior to the application of the Orthene 75S treatment. The Orthene 75S treatment was applied late in the day and was not irrigated after application. Examination of the plots the next day revealed that adults were active at the test site the night following application. The second application of the split application Talstar Flowable treatment was applied after irrigation on 21 May and was followed by a 0.25 inch of fairway irrigation and a moderate rain. Control was evaluated using the damage grid evaluation method (Mack and Cobb 1989) with five damage grid ratings per plot on each sampling date. Plots were evaluated for fresh damage on 6 and 21 May, 4 and 20 Jun (14, 29, 43 and 59 DAT respectively). The actual damage means for each sampling date are reported in the table. All data were transformed X + 0.5 prior to ANOVA and Tukey’s Studentized Range Test.