Aeration, dry soils, Caddyshack and tidbits....

Aeration, anthracnose and lingering summer issues remain....

Fairway aeration is well over half done, and will continue until completed. Not all fairways have messy soil cores brought to the surface, due to equipment ruining rocky conditions. Fairways with rocky soil are aerated with a solid tine where we only poke a 3/4" round hole down four inches or so. Read below for a few reasons we aerate turfgrass. Thanks for everyone's patience!!

Anthracnose continues to injure a few greens in small areas. (Disease first appears as dime sized or smaller, yellowed damaged areas of turfgrass that can spread and kill turf overnight) Mostly greens 1 and 6 are affected. This disease is still present in late September despite 20 fungicide applications designed to combat this "scum, slime and menace to the golfing industry." Apologies for the (Caddyshack quote), but it's getting too late in the season to see this turf disease on greens day after day, despite its minor presence from my viewpoint. Colder temperatures and continued vigilance to its control should eliminate Anthacnose remnants very soon.

You may have noticed areas on a few greens' that have weakened during the last week or two, especially on a few outside edges. (1,3,8,11,12,13,15,16,17,18,PG) These weakened areas' soils are dry, despite adequate and sometimes excessive irrigation. We can explain the condition, and what we are doing now and in the future to re-wet the soils, and thus improve these turfgrass areas.

A few factors are involved here. Many greens' soils are now somewhat "hydrophobic," in that they are resisting wetting, they are repelling water from any source instead of accepting water, which we as turf managers obviously desire. Standing with my trusty hose attempting to add water to a few areas has been a bit frustrating the last week or two. Instead of disappearing into soil to be used by roots as is normal, irrigation water is puddling on some greens' surfaces, rendering them un-puttable (and strangely, still with dry soils.) Today, I watched a 2 minute irrigation cycle on the 2nd green form a river of water in the center of the green after only 60 seconds. No water was entering the green.

Typically, sandy soils have higher potential for being hydrophobic; and it is not a coincidence that the top few inches of Poto greens' soils are comprised of sand. (Despite hydrophobic soil conditions, sandy soils remain the preferred growing medium for golf turf, because of its excellent drainage and playability characteristics.)

We have applied wetting agent materials during the last week. These "soap like," waxy chemicals are designed to pull water into the soil profile, and the product we used works very well for our current situation. These applications have helped the hydrophobic situation but have yet to totally change conditions.

Other factors have contributed to the greens' inability to get water. Soils close to greens' surfaces have been compacted, or squeezed out by foot traffic, mowing and maintenance equipment, and even the awesome weight of 25" of rainfall we've seen since April 3rd. Compaction happens when the important air component of soil is removed, squeezed out by weight and pressure. A healthy soil is comprised of 50% soil particles, and 50% spaces for air, water and roots. Imagine a time lapse photo of our 18th green from April until today. The effect of golfers, equipment and water are factors that cause soil compaction. Over time, pore spaces disappear. To me anyway, its affects are impressive.

With less pore space available because of compaction, there is less room for the water to go within the soil, which limits the amount of water the greens can accept.

Of course, the above diatribe partly explains the need to frequently aerate greens, as scarring the surfaces of the greens helps to address the problems mentioned above. Aeration (planned this year for October 13th, until completed) will help to change persistent hydrophobic soils and improve soil compaction issues. Aeration also removes the organic thatch layer that acts as a barrier between plant and soil. Aerating creates channels to direct water to soil, thus eliminating hydrophobic conditions. Aeration also cures soil compaction issues by physically creating additional soil pore spaces.

Late this fall, our greens aeration program will consist of three different processes. First, we will aerate greens with our conventional 4" deep aeration equipment. Soil plugs will be removed with snow shovels and oven dried sand will be added to fill the holes. Secondly, we will aerate with a deep tine machine to a depth of 8", with pencil shaped tines. The deep machine will add more oxygen availability to soils and create deep pore spaces for water. Thirdly, we will use the sand injection aerators that inject sand into fine small holes using high pressure water. (5000 PSI) This third machine also helps to smooth the greens after the three processes. Upon completion, I believe this is the best aeration program designed for greens in our climate.

Finally, we despise greens aeration almost as much as you do. At the same time, it is our only method available of cultivating soil, and the most important cultural tool to guarantee wonderful greens for the 2010 season. Again, thanks for everyone's patience and understanding!!

Tidbits......11,500,000 gallons of irrigation water have been applied so far this season. This is far less than the 18,000,000+ we pumped last year......Hyperoides weevils were able to munch on the 18th approach for a week or two before they were controlled. Turf damage was evident. Usually a late June or early July pest, the second or third generation of these small grubs caused the damage, which is rare. 2010 control programs will continue insecticide applications well into August......We have re-applied through Coastal Management to extend the three year permit for proposed berm work on 17........Irrigation system is in excellent shape as Assistant Superintendents Dan and Steve get more proficient diagnosing and repairing problems.......As mentioned earlier in the year, after selling a few pieces of older, unused equipment during winter 2009, we were able to purchase two pieces of the most modern reel grinding equipment available. An unbelievable deal for us!! (2002 original purchase price was close to $40,000 by Newport National) Quality of cut will improve drastically as we begin using both machines over the winter......