April 17, 2015

On Thursday Dr. Albrect  Koppenhoffer came to lay out an area on the 7^th fairway where he will conduct field trials to determine the percentage of pesticide resistance on our population of annual Bluegrass Weevils (abw).  Dr. Koppenhoffer has come the last two years during the fall to collect abw adults from our course. Those samples were tested in the lab for resistance, and to our benefit, resistance at Greate Bay was found to be very low. With this preliminary data, he is now taking the testing out into the field – into the real world – where variables cannot be controlled. He will use the data he collects in the field to compare it with the lab data and along with the results he gains from field trials at other courses. From this study, which will be ongoing for a few more years, and maybe longer, we will receive up to date information on our levels of resistance, newer control methods, and expert advice. On the whole, and in the long run, the entire study will help the industry to better understand this small destructive insect, its habitat, life cycle, and how it can be best controlled while lessening the development of pesticide resistant populations.