Quick Agronomic Question: If You Could Only Aerate Once…

By |  October 4, 2012

Do it now…in the Fall.

That’s the response from Karl Guillard and the agronomic team at the University of Connecticut/Storrs to this month’s Quick Agronomic Question.

Given budget limitations on golf courses, many superintendents are trying to cut back on operations. We asked the Huskie team if they could aerate only once a year, would they do it in the Spring or Fall (or some other time).

“Typically in our area, I believe that if aeration was limited due to budget constraints, fall would be best,” says Guillard.

Steven Rackliffe – who in addition to being an extension instructor in turfgrass science is a CGCS — agrees.

“As well as relieving compaction and improving plant health from the stresses of summer and the golf season’s traffic, it is also a great time to overseed in aeration holes,” Rackliffe says.

Guillard adds that this strategy would give the turf time to recover without the added stress of heat that could be experienced if it were aerated in the Spring.

“Since ET (evapotranspiration) would be lower during the fall in normal climatic years (of course, what’s normal anymore??), there should be less moisture stress in addition to heat stress at this time,” he says.

It’s easier to aerate in Fall, too. “Spring aeration has to be timed correctly,” Rackliffe says. “It should not be done after a pre-emergent has been applied. This can make aeration timing difficult.”

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