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 From the News Desk...A better divot diggerby John ReitmanA motorized divot-making tool developed at the University of Arkansas might represent the next level in divot-recovery research. The device, when used in concert with the university’s work in digital image analysis, gives turfgrass researchers the opportunity to simulate a high number of accurate divots in a short amount of time and apply the latest technology for analyzing turf damage and recovery. “Literally thousands of divots can be easily created and then monitored during the recovery period,” said Mike Richardson, Ph.D., professor in the university’s horticulture department. “(The device coupled with digital image analysis) allows us to look at a much broader range of treatment variables, such as large cultivar trials, a range of management practices, etc.”  Researchers at Arkansas tested the device’s ability to create uniform simulated divots compared with other industry-recognized instruments. According to the Arkansas research, the motorized divot-making tool produced simulated divots that were as uniform or more so than those created by manual divot-making devices created at Michigan State University and Oklahoma State University. The research was conducted by Richardson, Doug Karcher, Ph.D., and Randy Fry, then a graduate student at Arkansas.
The study was conducted in 2002-03 and the results were published in recent edition of Crop Science. The device also has been used in subsequent research trials at Arkansas conducted in 2003 and 2004 in which researchers quantified divot recovery in Bermudagrass and zoysiagrass. Results of those studies appeared in Applied Turfgrass Science. Richardson and Fry came up with the idea for the motorized device because the hand-operated Michigan State divot-making tool they had been using was not satisfactory at creating uniform divots in the more fibrous warm-season grasses under research at Arkansas. Their device was fashioned from a lawn edger with a 3.5 hp gasoline-powered engine. Fry replaced the standard shaft that held the edging blade with a longer shaft that holds 12 circular saw blades (2 mm thick each) with each blade separated by a washer. In the Arkansas study, all three devices were tested on Bermudagrass, zoysiagrass and bentgrass for divot uniformity.  When tested for uniformity of divot length, the Arkansas device produced more uniform divots than the other two devices in bentgrass. The Michigan State device produced divots of more uniform length than the Arkansas device. The Michigan State device slightly outperformed the Arkansas device on zoysiagrass, but both far outperformed the Oklahoma State device across all turf types for uniformity of length.
For divot width, all three devices performed equally well in bentgrass, while the Arkansas device produced divots of more uniform width in Bermuda and zoysia than the other two divot-making tools, but the differences were not statistically significant. When tested for divot depth, the Arkansas device produced divots of more uniform depth in bentgrass. The Michigan State device performed better in zoysia and Bermuda, but again the differences were not statistically significant. According to the researchers, the Arkansas device outperformed the other two divot-making tools in producing divots of uniform total area across all three turf types. The device, according to the research, can produce more than 300 uniform divots per hour, which is as much as five times as many as can be produced with the Michigan State device or the foot-operated device from Oklahoma State. |
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 » |
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