Q&A with Larry Lennert

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1What do you want superintendents to know about AMGUARD™ Environmental Technologies?

First of all, they might not recognize the new company name because we have rebranded our businesses from AMVAC Environmental Products (AEP) to AMGUARD™ Environmental Technologies this year. The name change reflects our strategic commitment to providing a compelling portfolio of new technology and innovative solutions to the markets we serve, including the golf course industry. We are a leading provider of proven chemistries and low-impact solutions to the professional pest, public health, golf, lawn care, ornamental, and greenhouse markets.

For the golf course industry, we offer a portfolio of herbicide, insecticide, fungicide, and fumigant products.

2Does AMGUARD Environmental Technologies have any unique chemistries and products?

Absolutely, and we will continue to seek out even more new technologies and develop innovative solutions that can help make the golf course superintendent’s job easier.

The proprietary chemistry we’re best known for is pentachloronitrobenzene, or PCNB for short. Besides being a multi-site contact fungicide, PCNB is the only FRAC Code 14 fungicide available for use on golf turf, making it a very valuable fungicide resistance management tool. PCNB is widely recognized as the most effective single active ingredient for control of all three major snow mold pathogens. More recently, PCNB has been shown to be one of the most effective active ingredients for control of anthracnose as well. We have four PCNB-based fungicides: two granular products – FF III® (PCNB, chlorothalonil, propiconazole) and Turfcide® 10G (PCNB), as well as two liquid products, PREMION® (PCNB + tebuconazole) and Turfcide® 400 (PCNB).

3It’s late September and snow mold fungicides will be applied in the next few months. Any advice, and what are some of the best ways to use PCNB in snow mold control programs?

As a Regional Sales Manager for AMGUARD Environmental Technologies in the Midwest, and a Wisconsin native, I’ve very aware of the damage snow mold can do to unprotected golf turf. We had some very severe snow mold pressure in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois last winter for the first time in several years, and it caught many golf course superintendents by surprise. Because we haven’t seen much snow mold pressure in our area for a while, and given the changing weather patterns, some superintendents had started to wonder if they needed to apply snow mold fungicides to fairways anymore – and those that didn’t got hit hard. It was a cruel reminder to hope for the best, but plan for the worst with snow mold.

I’ve found that one of the best and easiest ways to incorporate PCNB into a snow mold control program is to use Turfcide 400 instead of chlorothalonil as the contact fungicide component in snow mold fungicide mixtures. PCNB consistently outperforms chlorothalonil in snow mold field trials, so you will get much better snow mold protection simply by making the switch from chlorothalonil to Turfcide 400.

Another great way to use PCNB is to use one of the four Turfcide 400 snow mold fungicide programs in our 2021 Turfcide 400 Snow Mold Assurance Program. Download it at our dedicated snow mold website amvac.com/snowmold.

4It’s also EOP season. Tell us about your new AMGUARD™ Defenders Early Order Program. How does it work?

Our AMGUARD Defenders Early Order Program is very easy to participate in, with no order minimums, no forms to complete, and no invoices to submit. Just place an order and we’ll take care of the rest. We know there are many early order programs out there, and we wanted to make ours as easy to use as possible, to earn your savings.

The AMGUARD Defenders Early Order Program runs Oct. 1 – Dec. 17, 2021. Order any of our eligible products during this period and earn rebates in the form of a distributor credit, to be applied to your account in 2022. Learn more at amvac.com/eop.