Critical Turfgrass Maintenance in 2020

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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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My front steps, southern Thailand

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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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Keep safe at work

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Fundamental turfgrass management

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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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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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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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Growth rate

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Old Course, St. Andrews

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Measuring clipping volume

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Fertilizer

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

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

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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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Consider soil testing for even more efﬁciency

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Keeping grass alive

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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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Royal Hua Hin GC, Thailand

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Sritrang GC, Thailand

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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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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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Prioritize areas if you must.

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Cost of maintenance

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

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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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Mowing

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Set mowing height as high as possible

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

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