Lasting impressions

Andy Jorgensen had a problem. Katana solved it for him. As superintendent at On Top of the World Golf Club in Ocala, Fla. Jorgensen tends to three 18-hole courses, two private, one semi-private. The courses host a combined 120,000 rounds per year.

In March of 2014, Jorgensen was preparing for a tournament and found himself dealing with Poa annua issues. “We were having issues with treating Poa annua in the winter,” he says. “We were having (herbicide) resistance issues and we really needed to switch to something that gives us a much quicker kill.”

A product rep suggested Jorgensen try Katana, a PBI-Gordon herbicide. He agreed and was immediately impressed. “We sprayed about two weeks prior to the event. It knocked (the Poa) down,” he says. “It definitely knocked it out to where it wasn’t visible anymore for the tournament. That’s really what turned me on to it originally. Ever since we’ve been using it throughout the winter to try to clean up any breakthrough we get with the Poa annua.”

Katana (Flazasulfuron) was introduced in 2010 as a control mechanism for Poa and other assorted issues. Since his first experience three-and-a-half years ago, Jorgensen has been impressed by its versatility. “We’ve adjusted over the last couple years,” he says. “I think our program is pretty good. One thing that we did this past summer; a rep said it was also good for sedge control. So we did a little trial on traces of sedge with it. It actually worked really well for sedge control so we found some other uses for it.”

Jorgensen applies Katana at a rate of 2 oz. per acre, ideally in December. “We try to catch (Poa annua) preventatively when the plants are still pretty small. But we’ve sprayed all the way up into March with some pretty healthy adult plants out there that are difficult to control. Katana knocks it out every time. Ideally we get it out earlier, the sooner, the better.”

In addition to Poa, Katana controls tall fescue, ryegrass, sedges (yellow, purple, globe and kyllinga) and Poa Trivialis, as well as some broadleaf and grassy weed control, says Jay Young, PBI-Gordon’s herbicide product manager.

Jorgensen is impressed Katana is not as temperature sensitive as some herbicides. “With a lot of products, you must have warmer temperatures,” he says. “With Katana, you don’t have to have that.”

“Katana shows very good activity when temperatures are cooler compared to other products used for the same weed control, making it a very good option for golf courses,” Young says. “For those few courses that still overseed, Katana can also be used to transition out overseeded Bermudagrass.”

Young notes there are no known resistance issues with Katana, but the product is only effective with certain species of turf. It can only be used on specific warm-season turfs,” he says. “Bermuda, buffalograss, zoysia, centipede and seashore paspalum. Not all cultivars of approved warm-season turfs have been tested. It cannot be used on bahiagrass, carpetgrass, and St. Augustine.”

Regardless of the agronomic challenges he may face at On Top of the World Golf Club’s three courses, Jorgensen is enthused about having Katana in his arsenal.