My work with the Asian Turfgrass Center involves lots of travel, research, writing, and teaching. I usually travel to four countries each month, although this month is a treat, with only three: USA, Thailand, and Japan. As I do this work, the things that especially interest me are choosing the grass species that will be most suitable for the environment, ensuring that the grass is supplied with just enough fertilizer, but no excess, and in general to manage the turf to create a high quality surface while doing so with a minimum of water, fertilizer, pesticide, and energy inputs. I'll illustrate the importance of this through some examples from my work in Asia, and relate that to examples from Iceland, England, Spain, Oregon, and lots of other places. This won't be an especially technical presentation, although there will be a few facts and numbers shown. It will give an overview of turfgrass science as I see it from my traveling perspective.
Turfgrass science: new developments in an exciting field, carefully illustrated and explained
1. Turfgrass science: new developments
in an exciting field, carefully illustrated
and explained
Micah Woods, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist | Asian Turfgrass Center
@asianturfgrass
seminar.asianturfgrass.com/2014_mirabella.html
14 October 2014
Mirabella Portland
37. The Park Grass Experiment
and the Fight Against Dogma
Sometimes the value of a turfgrass management practice
takes a long time to become apparent.
BY MICAH WOODS AND FRANK ROSSI
It seems we are inundated with new
technology for golf turf management.
Technology can be a vital aspect of
turf management, yet it can also be
BACKGROUND
In 1856, 11 fertilizer treatments and
two unfertilized control plots were laid
out on a meadow at the Rothamsted
multiple applications to modern turf-grass
management. Yet the Park Grass
Experiment seems to go unnoticed by
turfgrass scientists and managers.
A close-up view of potassium (K) versus no potassium and
dandelion growth. Copyright Rothamsted Research Ltd.
A spring view of dandelion growth in a plot receiving
potassium (K), and no dandelions in the adjacent plot
receiving no potassium. Copyright Rothamsted Research Ltd.
Woods & Rossi. Green Section Record, 2011.
38. We need to know 3
quantities
L-93 creeping bentgrass
Ithaca, New York
1. How much of
an element is
present in the soil?
2. How much of
an element is
needed in the soil?
3. How much of
an element does
the grass use?
39. Reference
September, 2014
Minimum Levels for Sustainable Nutrition
Soil Guidelines
The Minimum Level for Sustainable Nutrition (MLSN) Guideline is a new, more sustainable ap-proach
to managing soil nutrient levels that can help you to decrease fertilizer inputs and costs,
while still maintaining desired turf quality and playability levels. The MLSN guidelines were devel-oped
in a joint project between PACE Turf and the Asian Turfgrass Center. All soil analyses were
conducted at Brookside Laboratories, New Bremen, OH.
MLSN Soil
Guideline
pH >5.5
Potassium (K ppm) 37
Phosphorus (P ppm) 21
Calcium (Ca ppm) 331
Magnesium (Mg ppm) 47
Sulfur as sulfate (S ppm) 7
Nitrogen requirements are best determined based on turf growth potential, which incorporates
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Course Management, p. 108-113, March, 2005).