Research

Turf Toughie: How snow cover effects spring thaw

March 16, 2017 By Curt Harler

True or false: Soils protected with thick snow cover will thaw more quickly than open fairways and greens? The point of this question is whether a thick blanket of snow helps keep things underneath frozen. The answer is “true.” Soils ...

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Spring dead spot in bermudagrass

March 15, 2017 By Clark Throssell, Ph.D.

Lane Tredway, Ph.D., is a turfgrass pathologist with Syngenta. Lane has conducted many research projects on spring dead spot and has written extensively on the biology, management and control of spring dead spot. Lane is available at lane.tredway@syngenta.com for more ...

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Debunking a large patch myth

March 15, 2017 By John Koehler, Lee Miller, Ph.D., Ross Braun, Ph.D. and Megan Kennelly, Ph.D.

Meyer zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica Steud.) is favored for use on golf course fairways and tees in the United States Transition Zone because of its excellent traffic durability, low maintenance requirements and cold hardiness. Although the species is relatively pest tolerant, ...

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Ferrous sulfate for dollar spot suppression

March 15, 2017 By David McCall, Ph.D, Shawn Askew, Ph.D., Camden Shelton and Erik Ervin, Ph.D.

Researchers at Virginia Tech demonstrated in 2012 that ferrous sulfate applied at 1 lb./1,000 sq. ft. (20 percent ferrous sulfate-heptahydrate) can reduce dollar spot pressure without traditional fungicides. Because previously tested ferrous sulfate rates were so high, trials were established ...

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How a wetland can clean equipment-washing water

February 28, 2017 By Mickey Spokas, Ph.D., Michelle DaCosta, Ph.D. and Scott Ebdon, Ph.D.

During the summer of 2011, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Turfgrass Research Center constructed a small artificial wetland (vegetated sand bed) to treat water used to wash the facility’s mowers and spraying equipment following use. The system consists of ...

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Annual bluegrass control in California

February 24, 2017 By Jim Baird, Ph.D.

California’s Mediterranean climate is ideal for annual bluegrass (Poa annua). Under intensive management, however, this species is highly susceptible to several abiotic and biotic stresses, including heat/drought/cold, disease (e.g., anthracnose and rapid blight) and nematodes (e.g., Anguina in coastal northern ...

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