This morning I made the 3rd application of the chemical, PoaCure to the 18th approach. You can begin to see that the Poa annua is starting to fade, as expected. Again, I have a small amount of this product that is being used under an experimental use label. Unfortunately, this product is hung up in the EPA registration process. My gut feeling tells me it will remain there unless the individual who discovered this product opts to sell it to a company like Bayer or Syngenta, who have more resources and knowledge of the legislative process and what is required to get a product labeled. I hope I am wrong! It's unfortunate because many Clubs, just like HCC, could really benefit from this. It shows tremendous potential at selectively removing 100% of the Poa annua population in bentgrass putting greens and fairways.
Poa annua, also known as Annual Bluegrass is most times considered a weed in a golf green. Some broadcasters incorrectly refer to it as "Poe." I'm not sure what that is, but you would be surprised at the amount of people who call it, Poe. In the UK and Europe, its called Annual Meadowgrass. Regardless, when Poa annua hangs around long enough, mutations occur that make the turf more of a perennial biotype. This is when it really becomes a great putting surface. As you've heard many times, courses like Oakmont and Winged Foot relish their Poa annua greens. It is able to be mowed at much lower heights of cut compared to bentgrass which means, faster greens. It is also much denser turf compared to bentgrass. On the negative side, its a shallow rooted turf and therefore, more prone to stresses. It is extremely prone to winter kill and clubs up north struggle mightily with that. It can't survive under ice cover as long as bentgrass can. What makes for an excellent putting surface, has it's fair share of issues. For many golfers, much of it boils down to aesthetics. When a club spends the time and money to rebuild and re-grass greens, it's discouraging to see them with lime green spots once the Poa annua moves in.