Serenade - advice

Kentucky bluegrass, Fescue, Rye and Bent, etc
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southern-ct-4
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Serenade - advice

Post by southern-ct-4 » June 28th, 2019, 9:24 am

Hi all. 2 questions re: Serenade (which I only just learned about on a few threads here):

1) can someone point me to a good thread explaining the proper ways to utilize Serenade as a preventative? Yes, I used the search feature but way too much info/different topics came up, specific to individual people's situations for the most part, and I couldn't easily find instructions on general how/when/how much/etc.. to apply, as a general preventative.

2) for someone like me, with 20k sq ft and who doesn't really enjoy mixing/spraying liquids over the entire yard, is it vastly beneficial to use Serenade, or close enough to use Azox or Prop?

Past couple of years my lawn looks great, greens up nice, then gets hit with assorted (I don't know specifically what, but probably dollar spot, red thread...) fungi in late May, and I start dumping curative doses of azox and/or prop.

In the future, am looking to put something down in mid-early May to hopefully stop/lessen the fungus.

Thank you!

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andy10917
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Re: Serenade - advice

Post by andy10917 » June 28th, 2019, 9:34 am

If you don't like making regular applications of items like Serenade, then I wouldn't spend my time considering the Proactive Biofungicide program - it won't work and you'll be wasting your money and time.

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Re: Serenade - advice

Post by TimmyG » June 28th, 2019, 9:46 am


southern-ct-4
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Re: Serenade - advice

Post by southern-ct-4 » June 28th, 2019, 10:02 am

Great, thanks guys!

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HoosierLawnGnome
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Re: Serenade - advice

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » June 28th, 2019, 10:21 am

I do preventative applications of fungicides, not biological. It's 2-3 applications a year. Typically one in mid spring, one in early fall, this year I had an extra in the spring. It's 1 pint of my fungicide per application for me, pretty minimal.

Each blanket spray takes me about an hour. I don't have time for 2-3 times that many applications in a season. Serenade also shouldn't be combined with chemicals, so it's even more of a drain on time if I have to apply it separately from something else I may want to apply at the time.


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andy10917
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Re: Serenade - advice

Post by andy10917 » June 28th, 2019, 10:28 am

My answer was posted when I only had a few minutes to post - here's the logic behind it:

Using Serenade, Companion or other biologicals is much like using Aspirin for a headache - the dosing needs to be repeated on the schedule that is on the label, and we can't expect it to do it's job beyond the effective period that is listed. So, just as the headache may return when the effective period of Aspirin wears off, so too we can't expect the Bacillus Subtilis to keep providing the natural antibiotic-like effects beyond the listed effective period. If you don't like the application expectations, then you'll have to use something else.

southern-ct-4
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Re: Serenade - advice

Post by southern-ct-4 » June 28th, 2019, 10:36 am

Understood and thanks again. Definitely sounds like too much work for me :(

Green
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Re: Serenade - advice

Post by Green » June 28th, 2019, 10:55 pm

southern-ct-4 wrote:
June 28th, 2019, 10:36 am
Understood and thanks again. Definitely sounds like too much work for me :(
I thought so, too, but started using it anyway (and soon bought a backpack sprayer to help with it). Maybe pick and choose the most important sections to use it on. To me, it was better than having disease outbreaks in the Summer, so it was an easier decision.

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Re: Serenade - advice

Post by KBGkicksazz » June 29th, 2019, 11:32 pm

Agreed on the sprayer. I had the typical 2 gallon sprayer, then got a 4 gallon but manual pump.

Finally broke down a bought the battery powered sprayer from site one and now I don’t loathe doing the applications. Easy peezy now.

Not cheap @ $175 bucks for it but Glad I bought it.
Green wrote:
June 28th, 2019, 10:55 pm
southern-ct-4 wrote:
June 28th, 2019, 10:36 am
Understood and thanks again. Definitely sounds like too much work for me :(
I thought so, too, but started using it anyway (and soon bought a backpack sprayer to help with it). Maybe pick and choose the most important sections to use it on. To me, it was better than having disease outbreaks in the Summer, so it was an easier decision.

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bernstem
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Re: Serenade - advice

Post by bernstem » July 1st, 2019, 9:18 am

Yup, a battery powered backpack sprayer is amazing for frequent applications. The effectiveness of a biological prevention plan depends on frequent applications and may not be enough in areas with heavy disease pressure or with certain diseases. For example, I have been unable to effectively control Summer Patch or Dollar Spot in St. Louis with biological sprays. My disease pressure, though, is very high.

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