A GUIDE TO TESTING PRODUCTS AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS: PART I GETTING STARTED

Within the past two years, at least four new fungicide active ingredients, a new herbicide and a new insecticide were introduced for use in pest management at golf courses in California. Combined with the currently registered pesticides, fertilizers, amendments, and various new pieces of cultivation equipment and turfgrass management approaches, the task of selecting the correct blend of products and practices can sometimes be daunting. The only way to gain more confidence that a management system is the best one for your site is to start a testing program. This article is the first in a series of three articles that will describe how to set up a successful testing program at a golf course. Part I, Getting Started will describe the basic elements of testing program, attitude, components of an experiment, record keeping; Part II, Experiment Design will provide expanded details on how to set up experiments that will be simple and efficient, plot design, replication and randomization techniques will be discussed; Part III, Interpreting Results will provide a background on how to evaluate your findings and how to decipher scientific publications with an introduction to basic statistics. Combined, these three articles will provide sufficient information to develop an effective testing program. You've got to have an ATTITUDE! One of the most important factors to consider when setting up a testing program is your attitude