SSGC MAINTENANCE: Magic Mystery Donut

SSGC MAINTENANCE: Magic Mystery Donut: For a few weeks now we have been experiencing a lack of pressure on one of our laterals on #3 fairway. After trying of looking at everything...

751 Upgrade

New this year from Rain Bird is the 751 Eagle series rotor. This is both a full and part circle in the same rotor. Our irrigation system was designed without back-up heads on our greens. Because of this, it is difficult if not impossible to dry down our greens for tournament purposes without severely affecting the playability of the green surrounds. If we need to replace a head on the course, we use the Eagle series. These can be ordered with the 751 drive, which we can then replace the 700 full circle that are currently installed around our greens. Now when we want ot dry down the greens, we will still be able to water the surrounds.

Rhizinoc

Continuing with our philosophy of increased use of organics, we have started using a product called Rhizinoc Plus. This is not only an organic, it is a biological product as well. Rhizinoc Plus contains a higly infective mycorrhizae fungi that forms a symbiotic relationship with the turfgrass. While the plant provides basically food(glucose and sucrose) for the fungi, the fungi's highly absorptive capablilty for water and nutrients increase uptake of these materials for the plant.

Fertilizer Program

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been working on the development of our turf nutrition program for the season. One of the major factors in determining our program is our soil tests. Our testing is performed by Soil Horizons, Inc. and Agronomist Rusty Oetker. One trend we have noticed is both the increase in Sodium and the decrease in Magnesium and Potassium. We have come up with two possible scenarios for this: 1. Testing was done after a prolonged dry period where we were watering heavily on a daily basis. With our water being a little high in Sodium, and little natural moisture, there may have been a buildup of Sodium in the upper profile where the sample was taken. 2. Over the past few years, we have been applying good amounts of calcium without supplementing both magnesium or potassium. While the calcium helps to alleviate sodium bound to the soil exchange sites, without another anion(Mg+, K+) to take over those sites, sodium will not precipitate out and possibly re-attach. This year, based on these results, we will be more aware of increasing magnesium and potassium applications to displace sodium. I will be very interested to see the soil tests for next year to see if we are able to affect this issue.

Organic vs. Synthetic

Here is a great video from gcsaa.tv explaining both the advantages and disadvantages of organic vs. synthetic fertilizers.

Friend or Foe?

Depending on who you ask, golf carts are either the greatest or worst invention in the history of golf. From a revenue standpoint, carts allow a course to push through a lot of rounds which in turn creates more money. They also allow differently abled players to access the game. But ask a Superintendent and they will sing a different tune. At our facility, carts are the #1 source of soil compaction and turf decline. This year, we are dealing with one of the driest Fall, Early Winters on record. While it has been great for our round played, cart traffic on our dormant turf has accelerated crown dehydration and forced us to recharge our irrigation system to re-hydrate the plants. I am torn on this issue. While my first priority is to protect the golf course, i am aware that in this economy, carts play an integral role in the revenue generation of a course.

To Organic or not to Organic?

One of the things I have been thinking about over the past couple of years is the use of organic products on the golf course. I believe cost used to be the determining factor as to the infrequent use of organics. Now that synthetic fertilizers have risen in cost, and the manufacturing process as well as distribution of organics have made them more budget friendly, I think we will see more and more natural products on the market. Why wouldn't we want to try and feed our turf the way nature intended? By feeding our little friends the microbes in the soil so they can in turn feed our plants. Today we went to a seminar given by the makers of AlgaeGreen, a line of nutrient products derived from seaweed. This is actually a picture of the Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed which they make the extract from. I hope to do some trials next year, so stay tuned for future posts about what I think is the future of turf management.