Golfdom, February 2018

RESEARCH FOR REAL SUPERINTENDENTS Hosted by Clark Throssell Ph D clarkthrossell@ bresnan net Super Science Tifway bermudagrass growing on renovated soil left and existing topsoil right The greater quantity of nutrients in the existing topsoil resulted in acceptable turfgrass whereas the newly renovated turfgrass growing on poor soil on the left required more nitrogen THE SOILS THE THING DETERMINING FUNGICIDE RATES FOR SOILS OLD AND NEW By Kaiyuan Tang and Travis Shaddox Ph D S uperintendents often follow best management practices BMPs for establishing turfgrass which provide a range of nutrient applications that have been determined to be sufficient However many BMPs do not account for differences that may exist due to soils or nutrient sources Two superintendents may follow the same nitrogen recommendation one develops high quality fairways the other does not To address this problem we are determining if current nutrient recommendations are sufficient for both existing and newly renovated soils The study began by simulating the same methods of fairway construction In half of the research plots topsoil was removed and replaced with the underlying subsoil In the remaining plots the topsoil remained intact We applied nitrogen to each of these soils either soluble urea or as polymer coated urea First year results indicate bermudagrass grown on newly renovated soils requires an amount of nitrogen greater than the highest recommended rate of 7 lbs of nitrogen per 1000 sq ft per year Bermudagrass grown on the existing topsoil was acceptable using nitrogen below the lowest recommended nitrogen rate of 5 lbs of nitrogen per 1000 sq ft per year Nitrogen source had little influence on turfgrass quality Based upon this research superintendents will have evidence to support applying different rates of nitrogen based upon their soil type BMPs would be amended to allow greater quantities of nitrogen to be applied to poor quality soils leading to higher quality turfgrass and better playing conditions even when soils are not ideal Kaiyuan Tang and Travis Shaddox Ph D University of Florida Ft Lauderdale You may reach Travis Shaddox at shaddox@ ufl edu for more information NEWS UPDATES TEXAS A M TURFGRASS BREEDERS DEVELOP DROUGHT TOLERANT GRASS The Turfgrass Producers of Texas have launched a new website dedicated to TamStar The website serves as a resource for industry professionals regarding TamStar St Augustine a new drought tolerant low water use grass developed by turfgrass breeders at Texas A M University The website offers research and information about TamStar including its benefits installation maintenance and where to purchase this sod TamStar St Augustine is the result of more than a decade of research at Texas A M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas It was bred to stand up to drought and specifically meet the demands of commercial and residential lawns and landscapes in Texas The grass is now on the market and ready for harvest at more than a dozen farms and nursery centers throughout the state Along with drought tolerance and low water use studies show TamStar demonstrates pest and disease tolerance specifically to southern chinch bugs and tropical sod webworms TamStar has a deep root system that allows it to tolerate stressful drought periods with a rapid recovery response once irrigation resumes February 2018 Golfdom 29 Golfdom com PHOTO BY TRAVIS SHADDOX IN FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR DISEASE THE SPOTS CAN EXPAND AT AN ALARMING RATE INTO AN OVERALL IRREGULAR STAND SYMPTOM Jim Kerns Ph D see story on page 30