 |
|
||||||||||
 From the News Desk...Iowa superintendents rebound from tough winterby John ReitmanWinter’s grip offered hard-learned lessons to golf course superintendents throughout Iowa. An unseasonably warm autumn followed frigid winter conditions left golf courses throughout the state covered by ice and snow for more than 100 consecutive days. The sudden shift in climatic conditions resulted in winter damage of varying degrees at an estimated 70 percent of Iowa’s 425 golf courses, according to Dave Minner, Ph.D., professor of horticulture at Iowa State University. At least 25 percent of the courses throughout the state and maybe as many as half endured turf loss that Minner called "substantial."  The take-home lesson for superintendents, Minner said, are these: Improve drainage where necessary, remove trees that create unnecessary stress from shade cover, and assume Mother Nature is going to throw the worst at you each summer and winter. That means preparing for summer drought each spring and taking the steps necessary to sufficiently harden turf in the fall rather than promote top growth late in the year.
“They need to be frugal and pay attention to hardening off the grass in the fall,” Minner said. Late fall temperatures in Iowa typically are cold enough to provide the base for a frost layer that eventually reaches 3-4 feet beneath the surface, which helps harden the turf for the winter, Minner said. But warm temperatures that prevailed late into the fall throughout the state reached into the 70s through much of November. The scenario for a disastrous winter was in place when the season’s first winter storm arrived shortly after Thanksgiving, dumping snow, ice and sleet onto the warm ground. Freezing temperatures became the norm until early March. A pattern of thaw-freeze cycles that followed made matters even worse. “We went straight from summer to winter,” said Jeff Wendel, CGCS, executive director of the Iowa Turfgrass Institute. “I don’t think there was anything anyone could have done to get ready for what we had this year.” “We went straight from summer to winter. I don’t think there was anything anyone could have done to get ready for what we had this year.”Annual bluegrass and perennial ryegrass in low-mow areas were hit hardest, while bentgrass and Kentucky bluegrass were largely unaffected, but there was no one-size-fits-all analysis, Minner said. For example, areas where water collects suffered a great deal of damage, but some courses reported dead turf on exposed knobs and crests and healthy grass in adjoining swales. Damage also was pronounced in shaded areas. “This is just another reason to take down trees,” Minner said. Damage also was indiscriminate. River Bend Golf Course in Story City, a nine-hole, low-budget operation where Minner is a member was unaffected. Many private clubs were not as fortunate. “There is not a dead piece of grass (at River Bend),” Minner said. “Then there are high-budget places with lots of money that just got zinged.” The warm, late-season conditions also brought out many golfers, a scenario that probably forced many superintendents to manage their turf too late into the year, rather than prepare the course for winter, Wendel said.  Some superintendents reported septic odors emanating from the turf, a symptom of anoxia, after the snow melted in March, Minner said. However, Minner said he has yet to confirm turf loss by anoxia in Iowa in12 years. He is reserving his final diagnosis until after he consults with representatives from the Northeast Winter Injury Initiative, a group comprised of researchers, USGA officials and golf course superintendents formed in cooperation with the University of Massachusetts.
“Did we have suffocation under ice? I don’t know. We could have,” Minner said. “I want to talk with those guys in the Northeast before I say that. Right now, I’m calling it unhardened grass and direct, low-temperature kill.” Minner and Wendel were guests on Bogey Brothers, a golf-oriented radio program in Ames, on April 30 and were able to educate golfers about what happened and pleaded with them to be patient as superintendents reseed and work to fix problem areas. Wendel said he received several phone calls after the broadcast from golfers who did not know the problem was so widespread until tuning into the show. They’re scheduled to go on the air again May 3. “We’re just trying to drum up support for these guys as they try to get their courses back into shape,” Wendel said. “I think it did some good.” |
In other news... Study examines spring pre-stress fertility programs Research finds no correlation between biostimulant applications before spring core cultivation and recovery. Posted: 09/02/2010 Read more » Aquatrols, TurfNet present Water Week The series of five Webinars is aimed at helping superintendents manage water and soils more efficiently. Posted: 09/01/2010 Read more » News and people briefs Registration opens soon for Irrigation Show, Briggs & Stratton elects new chairman, FMC taps new director for professional solutions division Posted: 09/01/2010 Read more » GCSAA selects firm in search for new CEO Kansas City-based company will open search process for Mark Woodward's successor in October. Posted: 08/31/2010 Read more » Water foul! Research shows that droppings from non-migratory geese on turf can result in nitrogen runoff into adjacent bodies of water. Posted: 08/26/2010 Read more » Complete news index » |
|
 |
 — The TurfNet Media Network: TurfNet.com, TurfNet TV, TurfNet Monthly, TurfNet University — Connecting golf course superintendents worldwide, since 1994. © 1994-2010, Turnstile Publishing Company. All rights reserved. |
 |