Critical Turfgrass Maintenance in 2020

Dr. Woods discussed the way he would approach turfgrass maintenance in 2020, with the assumption that funds and labor available for turfgrass maintenance will be reduced. This webinar considers ways to save money, optimize turf conditions, and prioritize work. He will use the Short Grammar of Greenkeeping as a guide to these priorities.

Transcript

1. Critical Turfgrass Maintenance in 2020
   Micah Woods
   27 April 2020
   Campus del Césped
   Chief Scientist
   Asian Turfgrass Center
   www.asianturfgrass.com
   

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2. My front steps, southern Thailand
   

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4. Today’s topics
   1. Fundamental turfgrass management
   2. Growth rate
   3. Fertilizer
   4. Keeping grass alive
   5. Cost of maintenance
   6. Mowing
   

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5. Keep safe at work
   

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6. Fundamental turfgrass
   management
   

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9. Light: at least 6 hours per day
   Air: 20% or more, by volume, in the soil
   Water: keep grass alive
   Nutrients: to produce growth to match traffic
   Pest control: as you can afford
   Mowing: to match growth rate
   

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10. Proactive maintenance
    proactive, from the OED
    “creating or controlling a situation by taking the initiative and
    anticipating events or problems … innovative, tending to make
    things happen.”
    

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11. Reactive maintenance
    reactive, from the OED
    “responds or reacts to a situation, event, etc., especially that
    reacts to existing circumstances, rather than anticipating or
    initiating new ones.”
    

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12. Growth rate
    

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13. Old Course, St. Andrews
    

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14. Measuring clipping volume
    

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19. Fertilizer
    

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20. Don’t apply fertilizer unless you need the
    grass to grow more.
    

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21. If you must apply, estimate plant use, and
    don’t apply more than that.
    

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25. This example might surprise you.
    Using 2019 La Moraleja temperatures.
    N: annual N use estimated at 17 g N/m2
    P: 2 g P/m2 (or 5 g P
    2
    O
    5
    )
    K: 8 g K/m2 (or 10 g K
    2
    O)
    Ca: 2 g Ca/m2
    Mg: 0.7 g Mg/m2
    Fe: 0.04 g Fe/m2
    

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26. Consider soil testing for even more efficiency
    

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27. Keeping grass alive
    

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28. Irrigation
    It depends on the course situation, but you might be able to
    let the grass go dormant.
    If not, irrigate to produce the desired growth rate.
    

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29. Royal Hua Hin GC, Thailand
    

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30. Sritrang GC, Thailand
    

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31. Soil surfactants
    If you can afford it, soil surfactants (wetting agents) can help
    with improved turf performance when less water is applied.
    They can help with soil rewetting too.
    

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32. My personal thought, perhaps influenced by the part of the
    world I’m in, is that weeds are worse than diseases or insects.
    I would not be too worried about diseases or insects, and
    would cut back on applications to control those. I would try to
    control weeds as I find them more difficult to eradicate in the
    future.
    

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33. Prioritize areas if you must.
    

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34. Cost of maintenance
    

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35. Nutrient cost
    Remember that example we worked through for nutrient
    requirements?
    N: That annual N amount (100% of grass use), supplied
    from urea, would cost about €126/ha.
    P: That annual P amount, supplied from diammonium
    phosphate, would cost about €56/ha.
    K: That annual K amount, supplied from potassium
    chloride, would cost about €62/ha.
    

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36. Nutrient cost
    Cost to supply 100% of grass N, P, and K use
    €244 per hectare per year
    

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37. What’s a “soil conditioner”?
    A typical putting green soil, in 1 ha, has 22,500 kg of humus in
    the top 10 cm!
    Grass growth produces another 750 kg/ha of humus every
    year.
    

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38. Mowing
    

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39. Set mowing height as high as possible
    

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40. • use plant growth regulators if you have the budget
    • don’t collect clippings all the time
    • remove extra tee markers, other accessories, for easier
    mowing
    

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41. Growth rate that is under control will save
    a lot of mowing requirement and save
    money.
    

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42. Extras
    If you have a chance, take the opportunity to:
    • Get some weeds under control
    • Let the Poa annua die
    • Solve some shade problems
    • Remove organic matter from the soil
    • Add sand or otherwise modify surface conditions
    

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43. We’ve discussed
    1. Fundamental turfgrass management
    2. Growth rate
    3. Fertilizer
    4. Keeping grass alive
    5. Cost of maintenance
    6. Mowing
    

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44. www.asianturfgrass.com
    

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