Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Changing Direction at Boiler Springs Golf Club

What difference a year makes! Jeff Wagner took over as Superintendent of Boiler Springs Golf Club this spring. He faced numerous problems, the management of a struggling municipal operation with bentgrass greens in the transition zone, an effluent water source, sandy soils, and a very high indigenous population of sting nematodes. The golf course was closed in late 2012 due to a history of chronic mismanagement and ongoing struggles maintaining the putting surfaces. 
In early 2013, the city of Woodward took control of the property and renovated the golf course. Boiling Springs Golf Club reopened in the fall of that year. Despite the completion of an entire fumigation process, by fall of 2014, the greens were lost once again due to a combination of various and extremely complex set of agronomic issues. Below is the conditions of the Fourth green in 2014 before Jeff"s arrival at Boiler Springs.
Under guidance from Michael Chaplinski of Turf Feeding System, Inc, GenNext Biotech and Global Environmental Management we designed a fertigation and spray program for Jeff"s greens and fairways. Within two weeks after the fertigation was installed and the GenNext and GEM products were applied the golf course began to change dramatically and each week it continued to get better. Below is the 2015 photo of that same 4th green taken in the same time-frame as 2014.
Why the dramatic turn around? Whats the GenNext Difference?
What is it?
 GenNext formulas A & B are extracellular enzyme (exoenzyme) complexes, stabilized with soil minerals (Copper, Zinc, Iron, & Manganese) and combined with plant hormones. The formulations use humic and fulvic acids to provide the complexes with a soluble carbon / energy source, and use immediate and gradual release nitrogen blend to provide their food source.  The enzyme complex is derived from composted corn and prairie grasses from America’s Heartland.
What does it do?
Continual use of GenNext A & B improves both soil and plant health by triggering the vital reactions necessary to sustain them in terms of root development, soil respiration and ultimately plant immunity.
 How does it work?
Applications of GenNext A & B bypass microbial diffusion of exoenzymes in the soil, and provide an instant enzymatic catalyst to promote existing beneficial soil bacteria as well as trigger plant defense mechanisms in the form of plant activators. There are no living processes to inoculate the enzyme complex…they activate immediately upon application.
 How does one incorporate GenNext in their program?
The use of GenNext A & B utilizes enzyme stimulation with the benefit of a high quality carbon and nitrogen blend that serves as a more efficient nitrogen substitute for your current fertilizer program. Based on your nutritional needs it will mix with any liquid or soluble nutrient source and help form a comprehensive nutritional strategy for the demands of your growing season.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Plant Talk: Frank Zamazal

I am very excited to be a partner with the GenNext team. One of the most innovative segments of the formulations GenNext produces are the plant activators and extenders. Plant activators are an integral part of plant health.  They are short-lived compounds that activate a plant’s immune system to respond to pathogen activity and play a critical role in plant survival. Unfortunately, plant activators naturally trigger at the point of stress to a plant…but what if plant activators could be introduced with an extended life span, beforehand, while a plant is thriving? The GenNext formulas do just that and have bio-technology to extend plant activator activity to go beyond the role of defense mechanism and become a partner with fertility and plant development.  

The GenNext proprietary formula of plant activators and extenders (hormones and enzymes combined with micro-biological extracts and soluble carbon) or simply put, composted materials, have been formulated to prolong the effects of plant activators, so they can be continually introduced with regular applications promoting beneficial microbial activity and developing plant defenses through the buildup of root mass and mycorrhizae, thus, promoting plant density and disease immunity.

When evaluating your foliar program, I believe there needs to be an overall change in mind set. Fertility protocols need to embrace the use of plant activators to prime the plant’s development process. Although the effects of plant activators have been proven to be short-lived, the GenNext proprietary formulations incorporate natural extenders to prolong the efficacy of the plant activators from days to weeks. Having this characteristic in your foliar program will not only optimize plant health, but lead to enhanced conditioning impervious to abrupt seasonal changes detrimental to plant health.  

I intend on writing a number of blogs over the coming months on plant health, drought tolerance, mycorrhizal colonization and other plant related topic. Please feel free to contact me with questions about plant health or the GenNext products.


Tuesday, December 16, 2014

What’s happening in the GenNext Turfgrass Hybrid Application (A&B or C&D)




1.    A&B Foliar Application delivers, at the leaf, immediate nitrogen (N) that Improves coloration within 2 - 24 Hours. C&D requires applicator to add nitrogen (N),
2.    Soil Application delivers water soluble readily available carbon (WSRAC), micro nutrients, simple and complex carbohydrates,and the Key Complex of microbial exudates that include enzymes and plant hormones.A&B provides additional nitrogen (N).
3.    WSRAC activates the microbe population, simple and complex carbohydrates stimulate the microbes.
4.    Microbes energized start producing gummy substances (polysaccharides) to hold macro and micro nutrients in place to be available to the plant.
5.    Fungi Filaments (mycorrhiza) start to increase in population creating a hairnet like web of fungi that grows into the root increasing root capacity up to 700 times. These fungi absorb water and nutrients from the soil conducting them back to the roots. 
GenNext creates balance for your existing microbes, delivering to them byproducts not being produced by the current microbe population. 

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Research on Reduced Rates of Fungicides for Anthracnose Control in Annual Bluegrass Putting Greens

The final data points are on this research project in a Research project with Rutgers University in particular Anthracnose Control with reduced rates of Fungicides and GenNext Products.  The label rate for Daconil Ultrex 82.5 is 3.2 oz. per 1000 sq. feet. This research was done reducing the rate by 25% to 2.4 ounces and 50% to 1.6 ounces See the charts Rutgers 2014

The table below shows the average result of four plots, through end of the trial of this year, using Daconil Ultrex 82.5 plus GenNext A&B at the 8 oz. of GenNext  A and 8 oz. GenNext B per 1000 square feet.

Anthracnose Trial DAC Rate Label Percent Turf Area infested (%) plot 
Products  /1000 sq feet % APP Sch 27-Jun 7-Jul 17-Jul
Daconil Ultrex 82.5 3.2 100% 14 day 8.5 10.3 13.5







GenNext A&B +Daconil Ultrex 82.5 1.6 50% 14 day 4.8 5.0 3.5
GenNext A&B +Daconil Ultrex 82.5 2.4 75% 14 day 4.3 4.3 2.0
GenNext A&B +Daconil Ultrex 82.5 3.2 100% 14 day 3.5 5.3 1.8
(DAT) Days after last treatment  DAT DAT DAT
was applied. 10 6 2

Anthracnose Trial DAC Rate Label Percent Turf Area infested (%) plot 
Products  /1000 sq feet % APP Sch 27-Jul 6-Aug 16-Aug 26-Aug 5-Sep
Daconil Ultrex 82.5 3.2 100% 14 day 9.3 12.8 8.8 11.8 10.5









GenNext A&B +Daconil Ultrex 82.5 1.6 50% 14 day 6.3 11.3 4.5 1.3 0.5
GenNext A&B +Daconil Ultrex 82.5 2.4 75% 14 day 3.8 3.0 1.8 0.0 0.0
GenNext A&B +Daconil Ultrex 82.5 3.2 100% 14 day 4.0 4.8 0.0 0.3 1.0
(DAT) Days after last treatment  DAT DAT DAT DAT DAT
was applied. 12 8 4 14 24


Values below 15% turf area infected with anthracnose are typically judged to be acceptable in research on this disease.


So as you can see we had significantly better control of the anthracnose using GenNext A&B and Daconil Ultrex at reduced rates.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Near Detroit Michigan Recovery Photos



Here is an update from the field on spring recovery. These pictures are from a course near Detroit Michigan after three treatments over six weeks of the GenNext A&B products. I think these pictures tell it all!

Practice Green before first application


Practice Green after second application

Practice Green Friday June 13, 2014