ASGCA Past President Bob Lohmann used a summer project at Brown County Golf Course in Oneida, Wis., to test Basamid, one of the latest options in fumigation. He shared his experience with “Golf Course Industry” magazine.
He began by noting the few fumigation options which exist in the marketplace, since the use of methyl bromide is near its end. He worked closely with Brown County GC Superintendent Scott Anthes.
“There were two main factors that pointed us toward using the Basamid fumigation method at Brown County GC:
- Anthes has used Basamid before, to fumigate a chipping green;
- This summer project was approved very quickly (the way so many renovations are these days – when the money is made available) and we had very limited time to get all 18 greens ready, fumigate with MB, get seed in the ground, and achieve meaningful growth before the fall.
“These greens were interesting. They were old push-up jobs and drained very poorly. Indeed, that poor drainage and the infestation of Poa, which led to severe winter kill this past year (and several years prior), were two primary reasons for the renovation.
“But this poor drainage was one of the reasons Basamid worked well on this job. Basamid is a granular product that emits a gas – the fumigant – when it comes into contact with water. That gas can move quite quickly through a green’s drainage network. In fact, I’m not sure the deployment of Basamid is a very good idea on greens that drain too well, i.e. those modern, USGA-spec green profiles. If you’re dealing with old push-up greens where you’re sure there is little to no drain tile in them, it’s a solid option.”
For details on how well the fumigant worked at Brown County (and the cost savings), the entire article can be viewed here.