Syngenta improves WeevilTrak for annual bluegrass weevil management

Syngenta recently added updates to its online monitoring tool to track annual bluegrass weevil (ABW) beetles.

The changes to the WeevilTrak system included a blog updated in real time, the addition of Ference insecticide to the company's control strategy and two new bluegrass weevil research sites in North Carolina.

Golf course superintendents who register for WeevilTrak will be able to access the blog posts and receive emails from different researchers that they select. The blog will give updates on how to improve weevil tracking and recommend solutions throughout the season.

“The variability of ABW, from when they first appear to how they rapidly reproduce, can be frustrating for superintendents trying to control them,” Mike Agnew, field technical manager with Syngenta said. “The WeevilTrak Blog is a valuable new resource that brings live scouting and research to their fingertips. This tool provides superintendents with the latest information from the WeevilTrak researchers on their findings of ABW progressing in the field.”

New golf courses have been added to the existing program in order to increase accuracy in tracking the bluegrass weevil. Rick Brandenburg, a researcher from North Carolina State University, and Albert Koppenhofer from Rutgers University also joined the program.