Vol. 15—1961 - NorthEastern Weed Science Society

20.
Applying materials which prevent crabgrass fro
desirable but that in itself does not create a goo
Applying materials which changes crabgrass from g en to brown
does not, in itself, improve the lawn. Good manag ment is still
the main part of the total. crabgrass control prog , if we are
to kill crabgrass for a purpose. Killing crabgras just for the
exercise ot killing crabgrass is pointless, but we have a number
of homeowners who are doing just 1;hls. I remembe one homeowner
this year who was very disappointed because his c bgrass froze
the night before he got around to apply a weed ki ler.
It is, indeed, Unfortunate that many of our h
over sold on killing orabgrass and under sold on
lime, fertilizer and other management praotices w ich will im­
prove the lawn and oontrol weeds. No dOUbt, much good, is coming
out ot selective crabgrass killers, but let's not under sell the
total program that is necessary to properly improe the home lawn.
One last area which I believe important is th application of
materials, inoluding weed killers to the home gro nds. Getting
homeowners to apply materials at the proper rate s a problem for
everybody, the research men, county agents, manuf cturers and
homeowners. ·It materials are not applied properl , our efforts
are cooperatively wasted. If you want to see a s ghtin the
spring, taJ(e a ride around the developments in Na sau County and
observe thestrij)ed landscape. You can find almo' t any design
of modern art on a:Eiwns'caused by a nitrogen respo se or nitrogen
injUry. If weed' killers are applied as haphazard y as our fert­
ilizers,' I wonder sometimes, if anyone is getting satisfactory
results.' .
Our homeowners may be precision drivers at 50 miles per hour,
but when they are slowed down to 2 to 3 mIles per hour behind a
lawn spreader, they are in· a new world •.
We spend years researching and. teaching, then send a home
gardener across his lawn without proper direction He very otten
does not know what he has covered or if he has co ered an area
at all. So why not ~olor our herbic'ides so that he homeowner
will treat once and not twice or not at all. You may think this
point is not important, but you are a professiona and you may
not realize how much trouble a greenhorn can get nto. .
Another question which is a real corker, and e frequently
get this type of question, "At what number should I set my spreader
on tor XYZmaterial",· or ttl have one man's mat rial and another
manf s spreader,' now what number should I set it 0 • tt One lady
who attended our turf field day this year aaid, It use number 3
for everything, do you think that,'s OK?"