Turf Pest of the Month: Get to know ABW

Annual bluegrass weevil (ABW) is traditionally an East Coast pest native to New York, where scientists first identified it in the 1950s. So, why now do superintendents as far west as Nebraska and Kansas face potential ABW damage?

According to Shannon Slevin, Northeast territory manager with Quali-Pro, part of the reason is sod from the East Coast making its way west.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing a little bit more activity popping up in the Midwest as far north as Michigan and also in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Part of that reason is accepting sod in those states from the East Coast. What happens is the ABW is just kind of wrapped up in a nice little package (in the sod),” he says.

With Midwest superintendents now needing to watch for ABW, it’s important to know the warning signs and how to control this potentially damaging pest.

The basics

Annual bluegrass weevil, as the name would suggest, feeds primarily on annual bluegrass (Poa annua), although it has been known to feed on other turf types like creeping bentgrass.

Signs of ABW damage begin as yellowish-to-brown spots or small dead patches of turf that eventually become large areas as larvae develop. ABW damage usually shows up on the edges of tees, collars, approaches and fairways.

Superintendents can sometimes mistake ABW damage for anthracnose, making scouting an important step for control. To successfully identify an ABW outbreak, superintendents need to get down and dirty, taking turf samples if necessary and sending them to their local Extension offices for testing.

Some more straightforward ways to know if you’re dealing with ABW include flooding the affected turf area with soapy water to make the pest float to the surface or regularly checking clippings.

One timer

Slevin spent much of his career as a superintendent in what he calls “ABW-infested” areas of the country. Slevin served as superintendent at Old Oaks Country Club in Purchase, N.Y., and Shorehaven Golf Club in Norwalk, Conn.

“Most of my stops as either an assistant or superintendent were at heavily infested, if you will, ABW properties managing a lot of Poa surfaces with traditional chemistries prior to Suprado being available. On average, I’d put down six applications a year focused on ABW control,” he says.

According to Slevin, the active ingredient in Suprado, novaluron, helps give superintendents a one-stop shop for protecting their courses against ABW.

“Traditional chemistries only focused on a specific part of ABW’s life cycle and treat a specific stage,” he says. “So, timing was paramount depending on what product that you’re using. Suprado works across the entire life cycle from adults to eggs to developing larval stages, just kind of breaking that cycle.”

Slevin adds that while superintendents often make a single application of Suprado at the beginning of the year for the entire season, he recommends rotating products for even better control.

“We recommend rotating. So (a superintendent) should follow up with another chemistry kind as an in-between. A lot of supers have adopted Suprado followed by Tetrino, which gives extended ABW and white grub control.”

<p>The post Turf Pest of the Month: Get to know ABW first appeared on Golfdom.</p>