Tennessee Turfgrass - February/March 2020

FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

TURFGRASS CULTIVATION TOOLS Where, When and How to Use Them in Your Cultural Program

The Official Publication of the Tennessee Turfgrass Association, the Tennessee Valley Sports Turf Managers Association and the Tennessee Golf Course Superintendents Association

Member Spotlight on

DR. BRANDON HORVATH Tom Samples Turfgrass Professional of the Year

Turfgrasses for the 21st Century

Our goal is to produce the highest quality, innovative turfgrass on the market today while providing the best customer service. Our affiliation with several research and development professionals gives us access to some of the best varieties of turf available for difficult applications. We are also a grower of Tennessee Crop Improvement Association Certified Turfgrass.

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901.867.8116 • 1.800.624.TURF (8873) 22860 Highway 196 • Arlington, TN 38002

16 The Official Publication of the Tennessee Turfgrass Association, Tennessee Valley Sports Turf Managers Association and the Tennessee Golf Course Superintendents Association

TABLE OF CONTENTS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

16

Recent Event — Highlights from the 54th Annual TTA Conference & Trade Show

24

Cover Story — Turfgrass Cultivation Tools: Where, When and How to Use Them in Your Cultural Program

32

Member Spotlight — Tom Samples Turfgrass Professional of the Year Recipient, Dr. Brandon Horvath

24

DEPARTMENTS

4

From the TTA President

6

From the TVSTMA President

8

From the MAGCSA President

10

From the ETGCSA President

12

From the MTGCSA President

13

News from TTA

14

The Turfgrass Team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

15

Calendar of Events

30

Index of Advertisers

31

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020

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FR O M T H E T T A PRE S I DE N T

Doug Ward

TTA SHOWING ITS COLORS As

with every TTA conference and trade show, we expect to see a few new wrinkles in its production that indicate progress and improvement for our members. By the overwhelmingly positive comments that several board members and I have heard post-conference, I would have to say “mission accomplished” for our 54th Annual Conference and Trade Show! Over the many years I have been attending the TTA conference it’s been a unique experience to see how this event has evolved to what we have today… something we should all be proud of.

THANKS: From the educational program, well-coordinated trade show/ lunch event and memorable awards banquet – special thanks go to the TTA board and its various committees as well as our Executive Director, Melissa Martin, for their many hours of planning in making this event such a huge success.

Our sincere thanks also go out to our supporting vendors that continually make the trade show a vibrant gathering and their sponsorship of much of our food and gatherings that are essential in providing a top flight event.

With robust attendance seen again this year, thanks also go out to all members that participated in this year’s event. It’s your presence and support that ultimately make our association stand strong in the industry.

on how we may improve this event. No idea is too small – your input is an important factor in the process of enhancing our organization and conference success.

RECOGNITION: I would like to recognize Jason Pooler, our outgoing President, for his time and dedication to our association over the last two years as president and eight years as a board member. We have seen many positive things happen during his tenure and I thank him for his service, leadership and untiring efforts in directing our association on a successful path.

Extended thanks also go to outgoing Board of Directors veteran Tim Long for 8 years of commitment and service to our association. Your service has been much appreciated.

I likewise want to welcome new board members Jeff Wyatt of Smith Turf and Irrigation, Brad Jean of Crossroads Sod Farms and Ashley Gaskin of Pure Green LLC. It is volunteers such as these gentlemen that make this association operate in such an effective manner. I’m sure they will find their time spent on the Board a rewarding experience.

Lastly, I would like to say that I am honored to serve as President of TTA. It has been a rewarding experience for me as a board member over the last several years and I look forward to working with newly appointed vice-president, Chris Sykes and secretary/treasurer, Ryan Storey as we endeavor to guide our association to a most successful 2020.

INPUT: With all of its success, we continually strive to improve our conference. Whether it be a matter of logistics, educational offerings or promoting our membership, I encourage everyone to share their thoughts with me or one of our board members

6

Doug Ward Golf Course Superintendent Belle Meade Country Club TTA President

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

The Official Publication of the Tennessee Turfgrass Association, the Tennessee Valley Sports Turf Managers Association and the Tennessee Golf Course Superintendents Association

Tennessee Turfgrass is the official publication of The Tennessee Turfgrass Association 400 Franklin Road Franklin, Tennessee 37069 (615) 928-7001 info@ttaonline.org www.ttaonline.org Published by Leading Edge Communications, LLC 206 Bridge Street Franklin, Tennessee 37064 (615) 790-3718 Fax (615) 794-4524 Email: info@leadingedge communications.com Editor Dr. James Brosnan TTA OFFICERS President Doug Ward Belle Meade Country Club (615) 292-6752 Vice President Chris Sykes Tellico Village (865) 458-5408 Secretary/Treasurer Ryan Storey Vanderbilt University (615) 343-6694 Past President Jason Pooler Tri-Turf Sod Farms, Inc (731) 642-3092 Executive Director Melissa Martin Tennessee Turfgrass Assn.

(615) 928-7001 TTA 2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ryan Blair, CGCS Bart Cash Ashley Gaskin Cal Hill Jeff Huber Brad Jean Jeff Kuhns Jason Sanderson Darren Seybold Mark Stovall Paul Webb Jeff Wyatt TTA ADVISORY MEMBERS OF THE BOARD Bill Blackburn Dr. Jim Brosnan Joe Hill Dr. Brandon Horvath Lynn Ray Jeff Rumph, CGCS Dr. Tom Samples Dr. John Sorochan Dr. Wes Totten

FR O M T H E T V S T MA PRE S I DE N T

John Wagnon

ANOTHER GREAT YEAR IN 2020 W

elcome! I hope everyone is off to a wonderful start in 2020.

Spring will be upon us in no time. The TVSTMA Board and I would like to thank all members and vendors for helping us have a successful year in 2019.

We look forward to another great year in 2020 learning how to manage our fields to an even higher standard as well as enjoy some camaraderie with fellow turf managers. We will be kicking our TVSTMA meetings this year off with a trip to

Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN. We will be joined by fellow turfgrass professionals to talk about new and upcoming trends and discuss other problems. We will have CEU and Pesticide points available to anyone who needs them. This meeting will be March 11 starting at 8am with lunch provided.

We are working to finalize dates for our other two meetings planned for 2020. The first will be our Annual Field Day in July at Winstead Turf Farm’s new location in

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TENNESSEE TURFGRASS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

Hurricane Mills, TN. Here vendors will get to show off their equipment with hands on demonstrations. You as a turf manager will get to see these pieces of equipment run live and have any questions answered for you. This will include new mowers, fraze mowing, aerification, painting, and much more. There will also be opportunities to earn CEU and Pesticide points! Our last meeting of the year will take place in the Middle Tennessee area in late October/ early November. We are planning a morning of professional development with CEU and Pesticide Points available, followed by an afternoon social event. Be looking for more info to come on these topics.

We would also like to encourage all turf managers to be a part of the TVSTMA. The Tennessee Valley Sports Turf Managers Association (TVSTMA) chapter has been established as a vehicle for sports turf professionals to network locally with their peers and to meet regularly for educational opportunities. The TVSTMA is an affiliated chapter of the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA). STMA members work to combine the science of growing turfgrasses and the art of maintaining both natural and artificial sports turf to produce safe and aesthetically pleasing playing surfaces. STMA represents all segments of the sports turf managers, their assistants, full & part time students, university staff, turf & landscape specialists, and commercial suppliers.

For more information about TVSTMA, membership, or commercial sponsorship, visit our website www.tvstma.org or you can email myself, president@tvstma.org, or Stephen Callis at sectres@tvstma.org.

John Wagnon 2020 TVSTMA President

© 2020 STIHL MA20TURF01-12-143735-1

FR O M T H E M A G C S A PRE S I DE N T

Andrew Foster

HAVE A SAFE 2020!

E

arly Orders, Spring PreEmerge ready, Cutting Budgets, Winter Projects, Ha! “Slow time of year.”

There is one procedure that I know I don’t review enough with the crew and it is probably the most important, First Aid Policy and Procedures.

Everyday there are a lot of potential situations on the golf course and around the maintenance facility that would need a quick response. Do you know what to do if an accident happens, does your crew know what to do? Talk about one of the worst times to have an employee be the “not my job” employee! We are the ones out there every day in every weather condition. Are you confident and are your crew and members confident in your ability to assess the situation and administer the correct response?

It could be as simple as someone just being sick, a twisted ankle or a small cut.

What if it’s something more that needs stitches or worse, a broken leg? How about something life threatening such as choking, heat stroke, heart attack or dismemberment, do you know what to do? Do you have a first aid kit, oxygen tank or AED? Do you treat it yourself, take them to ER or call 911? If they send an ambulance, does the pro shop know? If the ambulance has to travel onto your course, can they access all areas? Is that bridge wide enough, strong enough, will they bottom out on that dip, can they make it around that corner, if it’s wet will they get stuck?

That is just scratching the surface of possible problems that you would have to answer in a split second if not prepared.

If you do know what to do, does everyone else know? If you are out of town are you confident in your crew? Some of the accidents we can’t prevent, some of them we can. We can continually train on

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equipment, always wear correct PPE and conduct regular safety checks and meetings. One accident that can easily be prevented is heat related illness. Say an employee gets sick and goes to the hospital. For some strange reason, you get a call from OSHA and it turns out to be a heat related illness.

OSHA says “Under OSHA law, employers are responsible for providing workplaces free of known safety hazards.

This includes protecting workers from extreme heat. An employer with workers exposed to high temperatures should establish a complete heat illness prevention program. *Provide workers with water, rest and shade. *Allow new or returning workers to gradually increase workloads and take more frequent breaks as they acclimatize, or build a tolerance for working in the heat. *Plan for emergencies and train workers on prevention. *Monitor workers for signs of illness”. There is much more information on OSHA’s website (osha.gov) along with posters and handouts for your safety meetings.

If you don’t have procedures in place YOU take the first steps in getting it organized! It is our responsibility to send our employees home in the same condition they arrived in the morning. Hope everyone has a SAFE 2020!

Andrew Foster MAGCSA President

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TENNESSEE TURFGRASS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

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FR O M T H E E T G C S A PRE S I DE N T

DJ Lerchen

NEWS FROM THE ETGCSA It’s

so exciting to be looking into a new year! I’m hopeful everyone has been working on their winter punch lists. It’s not been much of a winter so far and spring is, like it or not, fast approaching. This winter has seemed to go by as fast as the last 24 years I’ve been in the industry. In January of 2000, I was offered the Superintendent’s position at Stonehenge Golf Club in Fairfield Glade, TN. All I can say is I hope the

next twenty years don’t go by as quick. I’ve met and worked for so many inspiring people in my 24 years, and I feel fortunate every day to wake up and work in this industry. I say it all the time, I love my job and can’t imagine doing anything else. This is the same way I feel about serving our association as President, and I look forward to another year serving with my fellow board members and advisors.

We also are pleased to announce the courses that will be hosting our monthly meetings for this coming season.

APRIL Chatata Valley Joe Starr, Superintendent

MAY Link Hills Corey Seals, Superintendent

JUNE The East Tennessee Golf Course Superintendents Association BOARD MEMBERS FOR 2020 ARE:

JULY Woodlake Golf Club Michael Medley, Superintendent

PRESIDENT DJ Lerchen The Sevierville Golf Club

2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

VICE PRESIDENT Travis Hopkins Dead Horse Lake

Roger Frazier, CGCS Cattails at Meadowview

AUGUST 27

Joe Hill – Retired

University of Tennessee Field Day

SECRETARY / TREASURER Jordan Clark Links at Kahite

Timothy Long Smith Turf & Irrigation

Michael Crawford Fox Den Country Club

Jeff Rumph, CGCS – Ladd’s

Southeast Turf utilizes the best deep aerification equipment available today to address any type of turf aerification need, including Deep Drill and Drill & Fill.

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Egwani Farms Gary Southerland, Superintendent

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

AUGUST TBA

OCTOBER East Tennessee Scholarship & Research Tournament Oak Ridge C.C. Guy Hudson, Superintendent I hope everyone has a great spring! I encourage everyone to mark your calendars and come to the monthly meeting.

Not only will you get to hear about the latest and greatest our industry has to offer from our guest educational speakers, but you’ll also have the opportunity to play golf on some impressive golf courses.

DJ Lerchen Golf Course Superintendent The Sevierville Golf Club

FR O M T H E M T G CS A PRE S I DE N T

LOOKING FORWARD I

hope this year has started great for everyone and that Mother Nature does not throw us any curve balls, which I am sure she will. I am proud to be serving as your MTGCSA president and hope to continue the great success that Tyler had with awesome speakers and turnouts. We will have our lineup of speakers and locations out to you soon, so be on the lookout for an email with that information. You will also be able to find all our events online at www.tgcsa.net. We plan to continue the mechanics and assistant superintendent driven meetings this year, so encourage your team to sign up. The board and I will be working on having some fun social events this year as

Thurston Farrar

well. I would like to thank in advance the superintendents that will be hosting us at each event. Do not forget to invite fellow superintendents to attend these important meetings. The meetings are a good place for continued education, but also a great place for networking opportunities. I look forward to seeing everyone out this year.

Thurston Farrar Golf Course Superintendent Troubadour Golf & Field Club

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION • TENNESSEE VALLEY SPORTS TURF MANAGERS ASSOCIATION • TENNESSEE GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION

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NEWS FROM TTA

OFFICERS and BOARD OF DIRECTORS Meet your new

OFFICERS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT Doug Ward Belle Meade Country Club 815 Belle Meade Blvd.

Nashville, TN 37205 Email: bellemeadeturf@bellemeadecc.org Phone: (615) 292-6752

Ryan Blair, CGCS Holston Hills Country Club 5200 Holson Hills Road Knoxville, TN 37914 Email: rblair@holstonhills.com Phone: (865) 523-7804

Bill Marbet Southern Athletic Fields 1309 Mainsail Drive Columbia, TN 38401 Email: bill@safdirt.com Phone: (931) 380-0023

Bart Cash Buy Sod 1007 Ball Park Ave Eagleville, TN 37060 Email: bcash@buysod.com Phone: (615) 946-1023

Jason Sanderson Cherokee Country Club P.O. Box 10987 Knoxville, TN 37939 Email: jasanderson12@gmail.com Phone: (865) 388-9766

Ashley Gaskin Pure Green, LLC 2340 Marylebone St Murfreesboro, TN 37126 Email: sportsturf@puregreenllc.com Phone: (615) 800-9780

Darren Seybold UT Sports Facilities 2101 Scenic Ridge Cove Knoxville, TN 37923 Email: dseybold@utk.edu Phone: (865) 974-0911

Cal Hill Winfield Solutions 7594 Raptors Roost Lane Signal Mountain, TN 37377 Email: cchill@landolakes.com Phone: (901) 412-0121

Mark Stovall Harrell’s 2303 East Brow Road Signal Mountain, TN 37377 Email: mstovall@harrells.com Phone: (423) 290-3921

Jeff Huber The Golf Club of Tennessee 1000 Golf Club Drive Kingston Springs, TN 37082 Email: jeffhuber@thegolfcluboftn.com Phone: (615) 952-4653

Paul Webb Humbolt Golf & Country Club 215 Pleasant Hill Rd Huboldt, TN 38343 Email: pwebb00@hotmail.com Phone: (731) 694-3373

Brad Jean Crossroads Sod Farm, LLC 166 Lester Limbaugh Lane Belvidere, TN 37306 Email: bradjean@icloud.com Phone: (931) 993-6974

Jeff Wyatt Smith Turf & Irrigation 525 Fairground Ct Nashville, TN 37211 Email: jeff.wyatt@smithturf.com Phone: (704) 512-9121

VICE PRESIDENT Chris Sykes Tellico Village 112 Chota Center Loudon, TN 37774 Email: csykes@tvpoa.org Phone: (865) 458-5408 Cell: (865) 228-3370 SECRETARY/TREASURER Ryan Storey Vanderbilt University 230 Appleton Place Nashville, TN 37203 Email: ryan.storey@vanderbilt.edu Phone: (615) 343-6694 PAST PRESIDENT Jason Pooler Tri-Turf Sod Farms, Inc 170 Dolan Road Paris, TN 38242 Email: triturfsodfarms@bellsouth.net Phone: (731) 642-3092 Phone: (731) 336-8932 Executive Director Melissa Martin Tennessee Turfgrass Association 400 Franklin Road Franklin, TN 37069 Email: melissa@ttaonline.org Phone: (615) 928-7001 Cell: (334) 324-4540

Jeff Kuhns Montgomery Bell Golf Course 800 Hotel Avenue Burns, TN 37029 Email: jeff.kuhns@tn.gov Phone: (615) 405-1381

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TENNESSEE TURFGRASS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

T HE TURF GRAS S TE AM AT T HE U NIVERSIT Y OF T ENNESSEE, KN O X V I LLE José Javier Vargas Almodóvar Research Associate II Turf & Ornamental Weed Science The University of Tennessee 2431 Joe Johnson Drive 252 Ellington Plant Sci. Bldg.

Knoxville, TN 37996 (865) 974-7379 jvargas@utk.edu tnturfgrassweeds.org Twitter: @UTweedwhisperer

Jim Brosnan, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Turfgrass Weed Science The University of Tennessee 2431 Joe Johnson Drive 252 Ellington Plant Sci. Bldg.

Knoxville, TN 37996-4561 (865) 974-8603 jbrosnan@utk.edu tnturfgrassweeds.org Twitter: @UTturfweeds

Frank Hale, Ph.D. Professor, Entomology and Plant Pathology The University of Tennessee 5201 Marchant Drive Nashville, TN 37211-5201 (615) 832-6802 fahale@utk.edu ag.tennessee.edu/spp

Tom Samples, Ph.D. Professor, Turfgrass Extension The University of Tennessee 2431 Joe Johnson Drive 252 Ellington Plant Sci. Bldg.

Knoxville, TN 37996-4561 (865) 974-2595 tsamples@utk.edu turf.utk.edu Twitter: @tnturfman

John Stier, Ph.D. Associate Dean The University of Tennessee 2621 Morgan Circle 126 Morgan Hall Knoxville, TN 37996-4561 (865) 974-7493 jstier1@utk.edu turf.utk.edu Twitter: @Drjohnstier

Greg Breeden Extension Specialist, The University of Tennessee 2431 Center Drive 252 Ellington Plant Sci. Bldg.

Knoxville, TN 37996-4561 (865) 974-7208 gbreeden@utk.edu tnturfgrassweeds.org Twitter: @gbreeden1

Kyley Dickson, Ph.D. Associate Director, Center for Athletic Field Safety Turfgrass Management & Physiology (865) 974-6730 kdickso1@utk.edu Twitter: @DicksonTurf

Brandon Horvath, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Turfgrass Science The University of Tennessee 252 Ellington Plant Sci. Bldg.

2431 Joe Johnson Drive Knoxville, TN 37996 (865) 974-2975 bhorvath@utk.edu turf.utk.edu Twitter: @UTturfpath

John Sorochan, Ph.D. Professor, Turfgrass Science The University of Tennessee 2431 Joe Johnson Drive 363 Ellington Plant Sci. Bldg.

Knoxville, TN 37996-4561 (865) 974-7324 sorochan@utk.edu turf.utk.edu Twitter: @sorochan

Alan Windham, Ph.D. Professor, Entomology and Plant Pathology The University of Tennessee 5201 Marchant Drive Nashville, TN 37211-5201 (615) 832-6802 https://ag.tennessee.edu/spp/ Twitter: @UTPlantDoc

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R ECE N T E V E N T

54TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE & TRADESHOW

The

54th Annual TTA Conference and Trade Show was a great success! Held at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro on January 6–8, 2020, the event was an opportunity for turfgrass professionals from across the state and beyond to learn, network and share insights and new ideas. It is through these interactions that the turfgrass industry continues to grow and progress, and we are honored to provide a venue for this vitally important exchange of ideas!

With sessions covering everything from professional development to performance data to equipment managers’ workshop, our speakers and researchers provided engaging and essential information to help our members advance in their profession.

We’d like to thank all who attended and our speakers, vendors and sponsors for making this event the success it was – without you, this conference would not be what it is today. We look forward to seeing you there again next year!

HIGHLIGHTS CONTINUE ON PAGE 18

16

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

Jason Pooler passed the torch to incoming TTA President, Doug Ward

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO PLAY WITH

R ECE N T E V E N T – CON GRATUL ATI ON S T O OU R AWARD AND SC H O LARSH IP REC I PI EN TS

Environmental Stewardship Award The Country Club • Morristown, TN Superintendent Chris Lloyd

High School Field of the Year Independence High School Thompsons Station, TN Head Coach Mike McLaury

Professional Field of the Year

Smokies Stadium • Sevierville, TN Turf Manager Eric Taylor

Private Course of the Year

Presidents Reserve Course • Old Hickory, TN Superintendent Bobby Schultz

Collegiate Field of the Year

Municipal Field of the Year

Legacy Scholarship

Ernest Hardison Scholarship

Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN Director of Sports Surface Management, Darren Seybold

Lucas Sykes

HIGHLIGHTS CONTINUE ON PAGE 20

18

Public Course of the Year

Holston Hills Country Club • Knoxville, TN Superintendent Ryan Blair

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

Drakes Creek Park Field 3# Henderson, TN Turf Manager Billy Grisard

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TENNESSEE TURFGRASS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

R ECE N T E V E N T – THAN K YOU TO OUR EXH IBIT ORS!

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CO V E R S T O R Y

TURFGRASS CULTIVATION TOOLS:

Where, When and How to Use Them in Your Cultural Program

By Barry Stewart, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Sports Turf Science, Mississippi State University

U

nlike most other crops, turfgrass soils are rarely exposed to tillage and therefore many turfgrass soils become compacted due to traffic. Our cultivation program is our best defense against soil compaction and the myriad of problems it can cause. In turfgrass, nearly everything we do — mowing, fertilizing, topdressing, rolling, playing games, etc. — happens on the horizontal plane. Turfgrass cultivation is one of the few things that happens on the vertical plane (I borrowed this from Dr. Trey Rogers at Michigan State). As we maintain and use turf soils, downward forces are applied and soil particles are pushed closer together. Soil pores, particularly macropores, are eliminated and the bulk density of the soil increases. If we think of an “ideal soil” we think of one that has 50% pore space and 50% solid space. When we consider that quartz is the dominant mineral in soils, then our ideal soil would have a bulk density of 1.33 g/cm3 given that the density of quartz is 2.65 g/cm3 (83 lbs/ft3). A bulk density range of 1.2 to 1.5 g/cm3 is a good working range for healthy turfgrass. Once bulk densities creep above 1.6 g/cm3 root growth begins to be affected and at bulk densities above 1.9 g/cm3 root growth nearly stops. Roots are not drills, they grow in the pore space, and compacted soils have less and less pore space, particularly macropore space and therefore limited root growth.

The second benefit of cultivation is the control of thatch and organic matter

24

accumulation. In cultivation we break up the organic material accumulating at the turf surface. Sometimes the material is removed when we harvest the cores after aerifying or sweep up the clippings after we vertical mow or fraze mow. By keeping the rootzone in a favorable state of aeration, organic matter accumulation will be kept to a minimum as oxidation will proceed at its maximum rate. As organic matter accumulates and compaction happens, the rootzone is less well-aerated and organic matter decomposition slows down and organic matter accumulation increases. This leads to more moisture being held in the soil making it more vulnerable to compaction, and we begin on a downward spiral in which turf cover is lost. Topdressing is another tool in this battle with organic matter accumulation and will be the subject of a future article.

This article is written with warm season grasses in mind. The need for cultivation will vary with grass type and soil type. In general, native soils have a greater need for cultivation than sand-based soils. It is ironic that sand-based turf is more likely to receive cultivation than a native soil, but this is probably not surprising given the cost to establish and maintain grass on sand construction. Bermudagrass and zoysiagrass make up the vast majority of sport turf surfaces and require more cultivation. Some St. Augustine and centipede grass that receives traffic may also need occasional cultivation, but this should be done carefully. To ensure rapid recovery

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from any cultural practice mowing, make sure we have temperatures favorable for turf growth, 70 degree nights or 150 days with plenty of water available.

Core Cultivation / Hollow Tine Cultivation Hollow tine cultivation is the cornerstone of any cultivation program. It should be a “showstopper” in that it should be a scheduled event. My mind’s picture of the benefit of core cultivation is that as our turfgrass soil becomes compacted, the elevation of our surface would decline.

When we pull cores, we create a new large pore (the hole) and bring material back to the surface. As the cores are broken up and drug back into the holes not all of the material will fit into the holes and some will remain on the surface adding elevation to the surface. If the cores are collected and new material is topdressed onto the site, it is likely that enough material will be added to provide an increase in surface elevation.

Core cultivation equipment has come a long way since John Mascaro introduced the first vertical overhead aerifier in the 1940’s. Prior to this the tool of choice was a rolling aerifier (Figure 1). Modern aerification equipment works smoothly and feature a wide range of tine diameters to choose from. Core diameter can range from 5 mm to 25 mm. Working depths can range from 25 mm to 250 mm (Figure 2). Depths longer than about 4 inches

FIGURE 1: An old school rolling aerifier. Still working but the technology has improved greatly over the years.

FIGURE 2: An aerifier working on at the MSU Golf Course.

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION • TENNESSEE VALLEY SPORTS TURF MANAGERS ASSOCIATION • TENNESSEE GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION

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CO V E R S T O R Y TABLE 1: Results of a study on golf greens at the MSU Golf Course in 2002.

Treatment

Mean Hardness Value* (Values decrease moving down the table)

Solid tine 1 x year

112 a

Solid tine 2 x year

103 ab

Hollow tine 1 x year

102 ab

Solid tine 1 x monthly

100 ab

Solid tine 2 x monthly

93 bc

Solid tine 2 x monthly 2 directions

86 c

*m ean hardness values followed by the same letter are not different at the 0.05 level of significance

(100 mm) are considered to be “deep tine� aerification. After the introduction of aerifiers it was found that compacted cultivation pans began to form after several years of aerification at the same depth.

Incorporating deep tine aerification into a program occasionally breaks up this pan and keeps it from becoming problematic.

Hole spacing can range from 1 inch x 1 inch (25 mm x 25 mm) to 6 inch by 6 inch (150 mm x 150 mm) and is determine by spacing on the machine and ground speed.

In general as tine size decreases so does tine spacing. It would be reasonable to pull 3/8 inch (9 mm) cores on 1 inch centers but unreasonable to pull then on 6 inch centers, likewise pulling 3/4 inch cores on 1 inch by 1 inch centers is unreasonable.

Solid Tine Cultivation Solid tine cultivation produces a hole but does not remove a core. As the walls of the hole created slough off and fill the hole with time, compaction is relieved and a zone of better aeration is created. Solid

26

FIGURE 3: A fairway / athletic field vertical mower ready to go to work.

tine cultivation can be a very valuable tool in loosening up severely compacted areas to allow hollow tine coring. Solid tine cultivation improves soil aeration but does not remove any material from the profile therefore it has a minimal effect on thatch and organic matter accumulation.

It does break up layering and improves infiltration and drainage. The larger the tine the longer lasting the effect will be.

Solid tining has the advantage of no cores to process and no clean up. The fields or greens are immediately playable.

It is debatable whether or not topdressing should follow solid tining. Topdressing will smooth out the surface and fill the holes which could aid playability, however we are also adding material to our soil profile which means we increased our soils density. Perhaps as a once in a while practice this may be allowable but this should not be an every time practice. Also some hollow tining must be incorporated into this process to remove some material.

We did an experiment to examine aerification frequency on the MSU Golf Course

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in 2002 (Table 1). We used six treatments and replicated each on three greens. We used 6 inch (L) x 1/2 inch tines. We found solid tining twice monthly in two directions reduced greens hardness the most.

There was not a great amount of separation among these treatments.

Vertical Mowing Vertical mowing is a cultivation tool that is more focused on thatch and organic matter accumulation than on improving the physical condition of the soil, although it does have an effect on breaking up layering near the surface. Vertical mowing equipment ranges from greens equipment with thin blades and narrow spacing to larger area models with thicker blades and wider spacings. Think of circular saw blades.

These blades spin into the canopy and remove material as well as severing stolons and rhizomes (Figure 3). Working depths can range from a surface tickle to about 1 inch in depth. Deep depths generate more material that must be removed to make

FIGURE 4: A fraze mower removing dead bermudagrass for the resurfacing of Davis Wade Stadium at MSU

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our surface playable again. Vertical mowing is often followed by topdressing to smooth out the surface. During the growing season some golf greens are lightly vertically mown and topdressed weekly to control grain and organic matter accumulation. Fairways and athletic fields would benefit from vertical mowing once or twice during the growing season. To ensure rapid recovery from vertical mowing, make sure we have temperatures favorable for turf growth, 70 degree nights or 150 days with plenty of water available.

Fraze Mowing Fraze mowing is much like vertical mowing except that fraze mowing completely removes all surface materials to a set depth. Fraze mowing can be used to just remove the verdure and the thatch/mat layer or as deep as 2 inches below the soil surface. The material removed flows onto a conveyor belt and is deposited in a debris wagon for disposal (Figure 4).

In many cases the material removed is a

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FIGURE 5: Leveling fraze mower removing a lip from an infield.

fantastic source of springs that could be used to plant or renovate a nearby field.

Fraze mowing generates large amounts of clippings/spoils that must be disposed and planning for that should be part of the process. Fraze mowing will remove surface layering, thatch and accumulated soil organic matter. The regrowth from fraze mowing can take as little as 21 days to as long as six weeks. In Matt Carpenter’s research (Carpenter, 2019) on fraze mowing at MSU we found that fraze mowing was very effective in removing overseeding in the month of May. Fraze mowing was also found to be an effective way to establish overseeding in the fall, with a mid-October date being most effective.

Keep in mind that a field will not be playable for at least 3 weeks following fraze mowing. Fraze mowing may not be an every-year tool but certainly one to consider occasionally as a field renovation.

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Fraze mowing produces a clean new surface that is free of senescent leaves for a few weeks and during that time the field looks outstanding. Fraze mowing has proven to be very effective in removing a dead surface in the renovation process.

Some fraze mowing equipment such as The Turf Plane have the ability to level while they fraze mow. These machines have great utility in removing lips on baseball and softball fields as well as helping to maintain field smoothness (Figure 5).

Rotary De-compaction I think of these machines as being the parabolic plows and deep ripping subsoilers that are used to remove compaction pans from agricultural fields. These machines are beginning to be used more to remove compaction from fairways and athletic fields. A blade that is 10 to 12

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

inches long is rotated into the soil and the arrangement of the blades along the shaft produces a quaking action as the machine moves forward (Figure 6). The result is a continuous slit in the soil on 8 to 12 inch spacings. They do very little to remove thatch but do loosen up a surface. Research is needed to document the compaction relief achieved and the longevity of this relief. Some companies have equipped these machines to a sand hopper to inject sand into the slits. This will allow the slits to stay open for a longer period of time and remain effective longer. Using one of these machines perpendicular to the crown on an athletic field may be a way to enhance internal drainage.

Sand Injection These machines (such as the Dri-ject) have the old Toro Hydroject in their lineage.

FIGURE 6: The knives of a Redexim Shockwave. This machine makes continuous slits in the soil while quaking the soil in between the knives.

FIGURE 7: Driject machine working at the MSU Golf Course.

High pressure water is used to create a hole and the hole is then filled with dry sand or other dry soil amendments (Figure 7). These machines are mostly used on golf greens but larger models are available for athletic field and fairway use. Although these devices do offer some compaction relief, the sand injection is also used to tighten up golf greens after hollow tine aerification. The sand injection also offers a small amount of thatch/ soil organic matter control via dilution. Similar to solid tine aeration followed by topdressing, a hole is being made and filled with material and no material is being removed. Frequent use of this tool without pulling a core at some point should lead to an increase in bulk density.

In a Dryject study on athletic fields done at Mississippi State, Drijection five times per season and hollow tining two times per season increased bulk densities compared to hollow tining alone (Craft, 2015).

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FIGURE 8: An example of a slicer / spiker machine.

Slicers and Spikers These machines produce small holes or slits in the soil in a linear pattern. They do not have much effect on removing compaction or removing thatch. They do create holes and slits that allow the soil to breathe a bit until they are closed by traffic (Figure 8). These machines can be used frequently and there is often little to no recovery time or disruption in play. They are a good tool in the spring transition to do some “venting” and can also be used in the establishment of overseeding. The MSU Campus landscape department has an Aerovator that is often used ahead of fall overseeding. The first seeds to germinate are usually the ones in the holes created by this implement. They are also a good tool to use to open up the canopy.

These machines cover a lot of ground quickly and can be used fairly frequently.

To reiterate, hollow tine coring is the backbone of a cultivation program and at least one if not two coring events should

30

take place most years. Make this event a “showstopper.” In addition to the coring event there are many other cultivation tools that are less disruptive and can be used more frequently. If thatch and organic matter are a problem, then vertical mowing or fraze mowing should be considered.

If compaction is the main problem solid time aerification or rotary decompaction may be of benefit. Develop a program that works for you and stick to it. The results will be healthier soils and healthier turf.

June 2, 2020

References

August 27

Craft, J.M. 2016. Maintaining soil physical property integrity in turfgrass management systems. MS Thesis, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS Carpenter, Matt, 2019. Fraze mowing for overseeding establishment and removal of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) MS Thesis, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS

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The Tennessee Turfgrass Association serves its members in the industry through education, promotion and representation.

The statements and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the association, its staff, or its board of directors, Tennessee Turfgrass Magazine, or its editors. Likewise, the appearance of advertisers, or Turfgrass Association members, does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services featured in this, past or subsequent issues of this quarterly publication. Copyright © 2020 by the Tennessee Turfgrass Association. Tennessee Turfgrass is published bi-monthly. Subscriptions are complimentary to members of the Tennessee Turfgrass Association. Third-class postage is paid at Jefferson City, MO. Printed in the U.S.A. Reprints and Submissions: Tennessee Turfgrass allows reprinting of material. Permission requests should be directed to the Tennessee Turfgrass Association. We are not responsible for unsolicited freelance manuscripts and photographs. Contact the managing editor for contribution information. Advertising: For display and classified advertising rates and insertions, please contact Leading Edge Communications, LLC, 206 Bridge Street, Franklin, TN 37064, (615) 790-3718, Fax (615) 794-4524.

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ME MBER SPOT LIGH T O N Tom Samples Professional of the Year,

DR. BRANDON HORVATH

Associate Professor of Turfgrass Science, University of Tennessee

We

recently spoke with Dr. Brandon Horvath about everything from his golf game to his early days in turfgrass science to his current research at the University of Tennessee. His commitment to his work and growing the industry is one of the many reasons he was recognized as the Tom Samples Turfgrass Professional of the Year.

How did you get into the turfgrass industry?

My first exposure to turfgrass was when I was a young man, probably 14. I had been playing golf or exposed to golf since I was eight. I played with my dad, and I grew up in a small town just about 25 miles north of downtown Cincinnati, a little town called Mason. They had a golf course that hosted the LPGA Championship for a number of years in the 70s and 80s, and I believe into the early 90s. I was around the golf course all the time, I would find golf balls and sell them back to the golfers to make some money in the summer. So that was my first exposure and then I went to high school and I tried out for my golf team, but I wasn’t good enough and that was okay. Then I went to college and I was a pharmacy major and I was in pharmacy for two years at Butler University.

When I was in pharmacy my sophomore year, some of the guys in my fraternity house were on the golf team and we would play golf and I would beat them. They asked me why I wasn’t on the golf team and I said, “Because I’m not that good.” They commented that, “Well, you’re beating us, so why wouldn’t you want to try out for the team?” So I decided that summer that I was going to try out for the team, so I had to get my game in shape. I tracked down the golf pro that, many years ago, had given me my first five lessons that my dad got me as a birthday or a Christmas gift. I called him and told him I had some money in my pocket and that I’d budgeted out. I told him I could come down for three days, and depending on what he charged, I wanted to get some lessons and try to get better, I wanted to make my college golf team.

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I got these lessons and he encouraged me and he said, “What you need to do is you need to go back and work on your game every day, all summer, until you’re ready to try out.” So I figured the best way to do that was to get a job at a driving range or a golf course, so I got a job at this local driving range down the road from my house and it was there that I met a golf course superintendent. He was an assistant superintendent at Kenwood Country Club in Cincinnati, and he came in the evenings to hit golf balls and we got to chatting.

At the same time my parents told me that I needed to consider transferring to Ohio State University because they weren’t sure that they could continue providing for my education at a private school like Butler. So I had two choices – I could either go back to Butler and they would pay what they could afford to pay or I could go to Ohio State and they would continue providing for my education. I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I figured out that no debt was better than some debt, so I transferred to Ohio State. In the process of doing that, there was a question about whether there would be seats open for me to be in the pharmacy class.

I was trying to think about what else I might want to do with my life and magically I met Marcus Lucinak, and Marcus was this assistant superintendent who said, “Well, if you like science and math and chemistry and stuff, and you like golf, you’d love what I do.” He invited me to come to work with him one day and so I did. Of course, I chuckle now because we got the crew set up in the morning and they were off doing their jobs and we were riding around, kind of checking on them and then went to the clubhouse and had breakfast. I had never been at a private club before in my life and it was incredibly nice. We had this nice breakfast on fine china, then we go back out and check on the crew and ride around some more and we’re talking about things on the golf course. We go back in and have lunch the clubhouse, and I was like, Man, if this is what this guy does, I’m in – this is great, right?

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So I went home and proudly told my dad that I was going to change my major to agronomy, which I did. But when I told my dad, it was a scene like straight out of Caddy Shack. He’s like, “You’re gonna do WHAT? I’m gonna pay for school to do what? What is that, anyway?” I said, “Well, in its pure form, it’s farming.” He said, “So I’m gonna pay for you to go learn how to farm?”

After you graduated from Ohio State, what was the course that eventually brought you to UT? After doing the agronomy thing at Ohio State, I was interested in being a golf course superintendent, but I got into the science side of things and was really intrigued by the research. I interviewed for grad school with Dr. Joe Vargas at Michigan State. Joe, at the time and even today, is one of the preeminent turfgrass pathologists around the world. So the opportunity to go work for somebody of that stature was a pretty heady thing for this young undergraduate that was just finishing their degree.

I jumped at the chance and took advantage of it, then I went and got my Master’s and Ph.D. I finished my Ph.D. and at the time there were only a handful of positions in academia for turfgrass. I came in second twice in two interviews over a year and a half. During that time, my now wife, who was a breast cancer survivor already, needed to do another round of chemotherapy. So I decided to stay at Michigan State while she completed her treatment because we weren’t going to go somewhere for me at a small salary and get away from her oncologist and the job she had at the university, which was a residence hall director, so we actually lived in the residence hall for about three years.

Then in 2005, The International Turfgrass Society had their quadrennial meeting in Wales, and I knew that if I wanted to remain current, I needed to really stay visible and keep at the craft of doing science. So I put together a paper and submitted the paper and got it accepted, so then I presented my paper and it was at that meeting that I was at a social event with Mike Goatley and Erik Ervin, and they told me about this opportunity that was coming open at Virginia Tech.

I applied for that job, got it and started in 2006. I was there for three and a half years. While I was there I was at a research station in Virginia Beach, and the work environment at the research station was very different than the tempo that you experience when you’re on campus and I really missed that.

The opportunity here at the University of Tennessee opened and I applied for it, interviewed and got the offer and was able to say yes pretty quickly and come over here and be on campus with colleagues that were of similar mind and similar interest and that’s been an incredible thing for me as a person and as an academic.

Dr. Tom Samples presents Dr. Brandon Horvath with the award at the TTA Conference.

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION • TENNESSEE VALLEY SPORTS TURF MANAGERS ASSOCIATION • TENNESSEE GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION

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M EMBE R SP O T L IGHT What do you feel like is the biggest challenge for turfgrass professionals in Tennessee right now?

I think in the broader scope, the biggest challenge is certainly labor and labor availability. I don’t know how much a turfgrass pathologist at University of Tennessee can solve that aside from coming up with ways to more efficiently make applications, or things like that. I will say that one of the things that we’ve done to try to improve the labor situation is that we’ve focused a lot of our efforts on recruiting and retaining quality students in our program. We’re one of the few programs in the country that has actually grown in this last 7-10 year period where most programs have dramatically declined. We saw that decline coming and really got proactive and developed a recruiting strategy to make our degree program more obvious. When I was a kid, you were working in high school, and you might work on a golf course and find out this is a deal. But now with year-round sports and some of the other things, we don’t see our young people working in businesses like golf courses and things like that as often, so they don’t find out about it. In order to maintain a robust program, we found that what we need to do is go where the kids are and that means that we try to expose them to what the opportunities are in this industry by showing up to sporting events and giving them presentations at high school career days or having them come here for a field day in their science class and talk to them about the career opportunities that are available.

Those are great opportunities to recruit students so that they know the level of science and technology that goes into producing high-performance surfaces, whether you’re talking about a sports surface for an athletic field or whether you’re talking about a golf course surface like a putting green.

You hear all the time, and we kind of have a joke amongst ourselves here, that we title “It’s kind of like that,” because you’ll hear people say “Well I have a really nice lawn, I could take care of Neyland Stadium.” And it’s like well, it’s kind of like your lawn, but it’s different, and no, you couldn’t, right? But people just don’t have an appreciation for the level of professionalism that’s present in our industry and the education that’s needed to really produce these high-quality surfaces that so many of the folks in our industry produce. So that’s an area that we’ve addressed, this labor issue, with trying to recruit students into our program so that we have people to place into these opportunities.

What would be your advice for people entering the turfgrass industry right now?

The biggest thing in this industry that we tell our students all the time, you have to get experience and there’s so many great opportunities right now because of this labor crunch. We have maintained for the last 10 years, nearly a 100% placement rate of all of our students. The only students that struggle to find a job opportunity are those that are not willing to spread their net

34

Dr. Horvath presents research at the UT Turfgrass Field Day in August 2019.

widely and go to different places in the country and the world.

They decide that they have to be in this one little place where there’s only three golf courses or five turfgrass jobs and they’re all filled by folks that are 35 and they’re not going anywhere anytime soon. That’s the only time that we have students that are challenged to find a job opportunity. Otherwise, if you’re willing to move and cast your net a little more broadly, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a job and the biggest thing is for them to get experience.

What does it mean to you to be recognized as the Tom Samples Turfgrass Professional of the Year?

Well, it’s interesting because one of the things that I really loved about finding out that I had been given this award is that I didn’t know about it ahead of time. One of the things that happens too often in places like the university or organizations is that people will say that, “It’s about time that you win this award, so we’re going to nominate you. Would you mind filling this out, or sending us this or whatever form it is to get you nominated for an award?” One of the things that’s really cool about this award is you don’t know about it until it’s already been given, so it comes as a surprise, which I think is a really cool thing. It’s, in my opinion, the way all the awards should work. It was really humbling to be told that I had been given this award, not just because of the award, but because of the fact that it’s named after Dr. Tom Samples, who is a friend and a colleague, a mentor.

He’s one of the nicest human beings that I know, so to be mentioned in that same air is very humbling.

Congratulations, Brandon, on this achievement!

TENNESSEE TURFGRASS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org

To hear the full interview, visit www.THETURFZONE.com

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