Turf

AQUATIC MANAGEMENT By Joe Lara BASF Product Manager Clean It Up with Color L imnology. Watersheds. Lentic ecosystems. The days of course managers just cutting and fertilizing turf and vegetation and skimming algae off ponds are long gone. Not only do superintendents need to be up to speed on a variety of horticultural innovations, they also need a holistic understanding of water and how water bodies play a larger and larger role in the overall golf course experience and golf course economics. The ponds, lakes and streams within a course are more pivotal than ever. They help determine aesthetics. They feed into the overall botanical health of a golf course, and they have a growing impact on the financial health of a course. Aquatic Dyes There are two primary reasons to use aquatic dyes. Number one is cosmetic. When the objective is to improve the aesthetic look of an ornamental body of water, colorants can provide a very clean, aquatically safe tool for aquatic habitats and for a site manager to improve the look. Aquatic dyes can mask negative cosmetic effects, such as dirty water with floating sediments. The other reason is to use colorants that are labeled for aquatic algae and weed control. In addition to the cosmetic effect, these colorants also help control nuisance aquatic algae and aquatic weeds. There are two aquatic colorants on the market today that are EPA-registered—Admiral from BASF and Aquashade from Applied Biochemists. Registered products are approved for applications where a site manager wants to introduce an EPAregistered colorant into their system to accomplish some of those aquatic vegetation control practices during the season. Trends For many years, the standard color for aquatic colorants was blue. Within the last 10 years, the trend is moving toward darker colors, predominantly black. BASF provides a high concentrate black colorant called Black Onyx to meet the changing needs or preferences for site managers to do something other than blue. The black colorant not only provides The Palos Verdes (Calif.) Golf Club uses BASF Black Onyx as its premium black lake and pond colorant. an economical way to offset discoloration of water to improve the aesthetics, the black coloration gives a very different look to the body of water than the traditional blue. The black colorant creates a reflective, mirror-like look to the water, where an end-user wouldn't necessarily discern a color, but just simply see a very dark body of water. One of the attributes of using an aquatic dye is it not only approves the aesthetic look of the water, but when used in combination with other tools to manage a body of water, it is a great foundational product to start a management program at the beginning of the year. Specifically, if you are looking to control nuisance weeds and algae, it's important to get an early start to the program when the water is coming out of the cold winter. Weed & Algae Control Aquatic colorants can help manage growth of aquatic weeds and algae. The mode of action for dark colorants filters the UV light that is required as part of the energy system of these plants. When you have the ability to darken the water and filter out the light, you're effectively retarding the growth of any algae or aquatic plant. When the plants start growing or break through, it's impor- tant to bring in other tools, such as an algaecide or herbicide. Getting Started Before getting started with aquatic colorants, it's important to understand how you are using the body of water that's going to be treated. If the water is being used for irrigation, there will be a dilution effect. You're pulling out the water, irrigating your turf, so there's a volume of water left. Somewhere in the process there's an automated fill pump which will introduce new water into that system. At that point, you're diluting the effects of the color because you're adding new or untreated water into the system. In general, the site manager needs to make sure they are in complete control of the water body. Some sites may have a flow-through. It's important to recognize if you do have outflow from the body of water you are treating, there may be dilution over time or it may prohibit downstream use of dyes. It is recommended to get a professional involved that understands the nuances of managing a water body with either flow in or out. Be sure to check with your local regulatory agency on what you can and cannot do with that body of water. continued on page 29 Spring 2014 25

• Cover