Growth regulators

[lawrence stone]

Well I am off to the races today for I have<br>a site visit scheduled this afternoon for a<br>full service contract at a 15 acre (turf) industrial site.<p>I was considering spraying a growth regulator<br>along the areas that need to be weed wacked<br>every month during high growth periods.<br>I can spray an amazing amount of linear<br>feet along curbs with the old homemade<br>pesticide application vehicle.<p>The one thing nice about the toro t-bar is<br>that I can steer with one hand while using<br>a spray wand with the other hand.<p>Any suggestons on an economical growth regulator?

[richard]

in my opinion for a pgr i would use PROXY - if we're talkin' 'bout grass...misc. vegation i might use FINALE just to burn it down than chop it once

[GroundKprs]

Have found Primo to be the most forgiving on over/under application. Harder to see errors on turf with it than older technologies. Will be pricey, at 0.6 to 1.0 oz/K, runs $2- $3/K. If you figure time savings it's usually worth it.<p>----------<br>Jim<br>North central Indiana

[Retro67]

Jim-<p>I have a place that would work great for. There is a guard rail that would require extensive work since it is surrounded by parking lot on one side and fence on the other. There is a lot of trim work here. How many times would I have to apply something like that per season to keep the growth to a minimum once it is trimmed and &quot;under control&quot;?<p>John

[GroundKprs]

Growth regulators will not stop growth, but are used to reduce growth. Older types, like Embark, did freeze growth for two weeks, but timing was critical. Primo is first of a new class of PGR that reduces cell elongation at certain point of growth. Use is most beneficial in heavy spring growth: mow weekly in one pass, instead of 2 or 3; trim distant borders every second or third week. Because of cost - about $110 for qt size - and application time, most use is in spring. Some golf courses will use year long on roughs.<p>Can't remember tot annual dosage allowed or durations exactly, but one could use it season-long in our area. See label at www.bluebooktor.com. Be aware though, if you would have mechanical, insect or disease damage to turf, the slow leaf growth could make damage look more severe. That is not a problem in the spring growth flush.<p>----------<br>Jim<br>North central Indiana