University of Kentucky researchers are collaborating with golf course operators to combat a destructive pest that threatens playing surfaces and operating budgets across the state, according to reporting from The Lane Report.

Researchers at UK's Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment are studying the annual bluegrass weevil, a small beetle that has expanded from the Northeastern United States into Central Kentucky in recent years. The pest damages fairways, putting greens, collars and approaches by feeding on grass blades as adults and attacking plant crowns as larvae.

"We know a lot about the ABW's biology and seasonal activity in the Northeast, but we don't know when the different life stages are active here in Kentucky and when populations peak in abundance," said Caleb Wilson, assistant professor of Urban Landscape Entomology at UK.

The research aims to help golf course managers reduce unnecessary pesticide applications by timing treatments to when the pest is most vulnerable. Graduate student Grace Ferry is collecting soil and turf samples from putting green collars at several courses, including Champion's Trace at Keene Trace Golf Club in Jessamine County, to track when weevils are most active. Temperature data collected at these sites will help develop predictive models.

Information is shared weekly with golf course superintendents, enabling them to make targeted treatment decisions rather than applying costly preventive sprays. The Kentuckiana Golf Course Superintendents Association funded the research, while agricultural company Syngenta has also supported UK's turfgrass research efforts.

"As the cost of turf management products continues to rise, reducing unnecessary treatments is increasingly important," said Matthew Shallock, KGCSA president. The collaboration demonstrates how university research can address practical challenges facing Kentucky's golf industry while lowering operating costs and protecting turf quality.