PennStateTurf

Posted by Pete Landschoot

This November, turf managers and homeowners will be making late fall fertilizer applications with the hopes of improving turf vigor, color, and recovery from winter injury next spring.  The main purpose of late fall fertilization is to enhance spring green-up without the excessive growth that often accompanies early spring fertilization.  This green-up often will last into mid spring, so an early spring fertilizer application is not needed.  A fertilizer application in mid to late spring is usually required to sustain turf color and growth into the summer months.

Research has shown that late fall fertilizer applications do not force as much leaf growth in spring as equal amounts of early spring nitrogen fertilizer, thus carbohydrates are not exhausted as quickly.  Carbohydrates help turf tolerate environmental stress and recover from disease injury during spring and summer. The result is a slight advantage to the turf in the form of better heat and drought tolerance and recovery potential.

One reported advantage of late fall fertilization is increased root growth during late fall and winter. The theory is that roots are still growing at a time when shoot growth has ceased, thus allowing the roots to make full use of the fertilizer.  However, root growth is very slow at this time of year, and if the soil is frozen, roots do not grow at all.  Consequently, the benefit of increased root growth in response to fall fertilization is questionable.

Late fall fertilization should take place when foliar growth stops (or slows to the point that turf no longer needs to be mowed), grass is still green, and before the soil freezes.  In Pennsylvania, this period usually occurs around Thanksgiving.  Application timing may vary from year to year depending on weather conditions.

Late fall fertilizer applications can be put down on most lawns at rates of 1 to 1.5 lb of nitrogen/1000 sq ft.  Just about any source of nitrogen can be used for late fall fertilization, but slow-release sources may be a better choice than soluble sources on sandy soils because of reduced potential for leaching.  Nitrogen fertilizer should never be applied to frozen soil due to the increased chance of nutrient runoff.  Although application timing is not as critical with phosphorus and potassium as it is with nitrogen, these elements can benefit turf when applied in late fall.  Application rates for phosphorus and potassium should be determined according to soil test recommendations.  There is no need to apply either of these nutrients if they are present in the soil at sufficient levels. 

A draft of New Jersey Senate Bill K204_0037 was recently released to the public, and contains language similar to legislation adapted by some Midwestern states concerning restrictions on phosphorus fertilization of turf.  However, the bill (in current form) goes further than restricting phosphorus applications, and includes proposals to regulate nitrogen rates and for mandatory certification of professional fertilizer applicators.  Selected excerpts from the bill are provided. 

1.      No person may apply fertilizer to impervious surfaces, and any inadvertently applied shall be swept or blown back to the target surface or original container.

2.     No person may apply fertilizer within 10 feet of any water body, or when the ground is frozen, or after December 15 or before February 15.

3.     No professional fertilizer applicator may apply fertilizer to turf without first obtaining fertilizer certification from the Dept. of Environmental Protection.

4.     No person shall use phosphorus fertilizer on lawn turf unless a soil test indicates additional phosphorus is needed, or when used for establishing or repairing a turf area. 

5.     No person shall apply fertilizer containing more than 70% water soluble nitrogen, or fertilizer containing nitrogen at a rate of more than 0.7 lbs water soluble nitrogen per 1000 sq ft at one time.  Exceptions are allowed for turf establishment.

Bills such as New Jersey Senate Bill K204_0037 are becoming more common around the country, and is one reason why turf managers and homeowners are seeing less phosphorus in fertilizer products.  Obviously, some aspects of New Jersey's proposed legislation will be easier for professional applicators to implement than others.  I will try to provide updates as this bill moves forward.  So far, legislation regarding turf fertilization has not been proposed in Pennsylvania.

Pete Landschoot, Prof. Turfgrass Science          

Michael Shelley, a 2008 graduate of the Turfgrass Science program at Penn State, has started the pursuit of a Master's Degree in Soil Science. Under the direction of Dr. Andrew McNitt, he will be studying various aspects of safety and playability of synthetic and natural turf systems.
           

Penn State has recently partnered with FieldTurf, and Michael will be involved in constructing numerous synthetic turf plots as a part of the Center for Sports Surface Research. The Center's main areas of research will include athlete traction, field surface hardness, abrasiveness, and surface temperature control.
          

Mike is from Lancaster County, PA, most popularly known for its large Amish population. He completed his undergraduate internship at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, PA and worked for the Brickman Group in Maryland. When he finds the time to catch a break from the books and research, he enjoys going for long runs around Centre County.

Chase Rogan began his pursuit of a Master of Science degree in Agronomy this fall under the guidance of Dr. Max Schlossberg.  His undergraduate work in Turfgrass Science was completed at Penn State in 2007.  Chase has nine years of work experience on three different golf courses, getting his start at Meadville Country Club in 2001.  Upon graduation, he completed a summer internship abroad at Huvudstadens Golf Club in Sweden.  Prior to returning to Penn State, Chase served nearly two years as an Assistant Superintendent at Edgewood Country Club in Pittsburgh. 

Chase's research will examine the effect of nitrogen and plant growth regulator applications on winter damage and spring green-up of creeping bentgrass/annual bluegrass cohabited fairways and putting greens.  Plant health and vigor will be examined following several different application regimes (i.e. rates and timings).  He hopes the study will provide further insight on how to prevent injury over tough winter seasons.  Chase will also investigate aspects of water retention in hydrophobic/repellent sand root zones, particularly as they relate to commercial wetting agent applications

Chase is from Saegertown, Pennsylvania.  His career goal is to positively influence the turfgrass industry as he moves forward after Graduate School.  Chase loves to tee it up in the summer time, and rides his mountain bike up steep inclines with unflagging speed.

Ms. Jing Dai earned her BS degree in Agronomy from China Agricultural University in 2004. Jing then moved to the Pennsylvania State University to characterize the salinity tolerance of annual bluegrass and earned her MS degree in Agronomy (under the direction of Dr. David R. Huff) in 2006. Currently, Jing is a Ph.D. candidate in Agronomy (under the direction of Dr. A. J. Turgeon) at Penn State, working on improving creeping bentgrass nitrogen fertility regimes for optimized turfgrass quality and reduced environmental impact. Specifically, her dissertation is focused on the integration of iron and trinexapac-ethyl into nitrogen fertility programs for regulation of water and fertilizer requirements by intensively managed Penn A-series creeping bentgrass putting greens.

Jing enjoys teaching very much as a graduate teaching assistant. She has assisted in the instruction of four courses and five lab sections in the past four years and received the NACTA graduate student teaching award in 2008. She is also interested in agricultural statistics and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. minor in statistics. Under the direction of Dr. James L. Rosenberger, she presented a departmental seminar on incomplete blocks in 2008 and has implemented numerous advanced experimental designs and data analytical methods in her research. Ms. Jing Dai expects to complete her Ph.D. program in May 2010.

On this blog about once per week we are going to introduce a different turfgrass science graduate student.

First up is

Tanner Delvalle

Mr. Tanner Delvalle (class of 2008) recently began a Master of Science degree program at Penn State (under the direction of Dr. Pete Landschoot) looking at the effects of fairway mowing frequency and dew removal programs on fungicide efficacy for dollar spot control. 

The main objective of the study is to determine if increasing mowing frequency on golf course fairways increases or decreases fungicide efficacy.  Tanner is looking at three different mowing regimes (2, 4, and 6 days per week) imposed over applications of three different fungicides (chlorothalonil, propiconazole, and iprodione) and comparing how fast these fungicides lose efficacy under the different mowing regimes.  He is also looking at dew removal programs to see how this practice affects fungicide performance. 

Tanner is from Pottsville, PA, and recently completed his B.S. degree in Turfgrass Science at Penn State.  He worked at Eagle Rock Golf Resort for his internship, and was part of the 1^st place team that competed at STMA's Student Challenge competition in 2008 and 2009.  He expects to complete his Masters degree in 2010.

Presently a PhD student at Cornell, Dave Moody (MS Soil Science Penn State, '07) won 2nd place in the NE Branch of the American Agronomy Science Meeting Graduate Student Oral Paper Competition this July.

The presentation of his Penn State research, titled 'Predicting Repellency Indices of Hydrophobic Sands Using Ninety-degree Surface Tension Data' was one of two dozen delivered by MS and PhD graduate students representing Northeastern Universities at the meeting held in Portland, Maine.

The research was conducted under the direction of Dr. Max Schlossberg.

Come the end of summer, millions from around the world turn their eyes to South Williamsport PA.  Kids from all over the world play the game of baseball in hopes of playing in the Little League World Series.  Sixteen teams of players 11 and 12 years old descend on the Little League complex in the Lycoming County, PA in hopes of being crowned the only true sports "World" Champion.  The Little League World Series has become a grand event.  Television coverage of every game played during the series on the ABC, ESPN family of networks has turned up the event's exposure.  In 2009 the television ratings were high with millions watching and attending.  It is estimated that the event injects $20 million dollars into the economy of Lycoming County. 

With the players, coaches, managers and umpires on the field, announcers, scorekeepers, security, ushers, cameramen and television production crews in place everything is set, "PLAY BALL".  But wait, what about the field, is it ready?  Is it safe for play?  Will it look good on television?    That portion of the series is left to members of Keystone Athletic Field Managers Organization (KAFMO) the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA).  "The chapter has been honored to assist Little League Baseball with field preparation for fifteen years" says Jeffrey T. Fowler, Penn State Cooperative Extension Turfgrass educator and Board member for the KAFMO chapter.   "We arrive before the series begins, we level the playing surface, edge the fields, resod any areas that are worn from summer play, all in preparation for the games that will be played and televised during the 10 days of the series."  "Our number one goal is providing a safe playing surface for the kids to play on",  says Fowler, "our goal is to provide  the safest fields possible".  Fowler was quick to credit Cheryl Miller, groundskeeper at the complex for her hard work and dedication throughout the year.  "Cheryl does a great job year round preparing the fields for the Series, she fertilizes, sprays and mows throughout the year when there are no television cameras around to see everything that is going on".  Cheryl also has ties to Penn State University as she graduated from Pennsylvania Technical Institute's Landscape and Horticultural Technology Program and currently is enrolled in the Penn State World Wide Campus Bachelors Degree Program in Turfgrass Science.

"We have approximately 40 volunteers that are a part of the grounds crew.  These volunteers are members of the state and/or national chapter of the STMA.  People take vacation time from their own work schedules and leave their families to come to the series and assist with field preparations.  Some stay for the entire event (two weeks), others help out for a few days" Fowler continues.  "The crew that we assemble is second to none for the Little League World Series, not only do they apply their considerable knowledge and experience in field care, but their professionalism is exemplary.   A major goal of the group is to help  the public understand that there is more to a safe field than putting down lines and mowing grass.  Every night we remove the lines, groom and water the infield, broom the edges of the grass, repair clay in the home plate circle and on the pitcher's mound.  We also tarp those areas and groom the warning track in order to have field ready for the following day". 

Thirty four televised games in 10 days in mid August takes its toll on the fields in South Williamsport, PA. Yet every year the grounds crew manages to battle through whatever curve balls are thrown their way to pull off one of the greatest youth sporting events in the world.  The grounds crew is proud of their results during the series.  Many of the crew members have been attending for 15 years or more.  Some have brought their children with them to help out.  Fowler exclaims, "That is the next generation of Sports Turf Managers! I tell kids all the time, the fastest way to the major leagues is with a rake in your hand." 

Article in Philadelphia Inquirer

Posted by Pete Landschoot

Click on photos to enlarge

If you're seeing brown spots and melting-out on your ryegrass of late, keep in mind that there are other late-summer leaf spot diseases of perennial ryegrass besides gray leaf spot.  I recently observed a case in central PA in which a contractor suspected gray leaf spot was taking out his newly-seeded perennial ryegrass.  In fact, the disease turned out to be a different leaf spot disease.  The spores appeared similar to descriptions of Drechslera siccans.  For the record.....I was fooled as well.  I could have sworn it was gray leaf spot when I looked at the turf in the field.  When garden-variety leaf spot diseases get rolling on susceptible hosts during extended periods of high humidity, they can resemble early stage symptoms of grey leaf spot.  Some common leaf spot diseases of perennial ryegrass include net blotch and leaf blight (Pyrenophora dictyoides (sometimes referred to as Drechslera dictyoides); Leaf spot, leaf blight, and foot rot (Drechslera siccans), and leaf blight and crown rot (Drechslera catenaria).   Only your diagnostician....using a microscope.....knows for sure.