ICE-BREAKER: REDUCING THE AGRONOMIC AND ECONOMIC IMPACT OF ICE DAMAGE ON GOLF COURSES AND OTHER GRASSLANDS

PROJECT PERIOD: JANUARY 2020 - DECEMBER 2023

FUNDING (kSEK)

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR / CONTACT PERSON

Trygve S. Aamlid, NIBIO Department for Urban Greening and Vegetation Ecology, Turfgrass Research Group, Landvik, N-4886 Grimstad, Tel: + 47 90 52 83 78. E-mail: trygve.aamlid@nibio.no

CO-APPLICANTS

Tatsiana Espevig, Karin Juul Hesselsøe, Wendy Waalen, Pia Heltoft, Ann Borchert, Marit Almvik and Sigridur Dalmannsdottir, NIBIO.

Carl Johan Lönnberg and Håkan Blusi, Swedish Golf Federation. Michelle DaCosta, University of Massachusetts. Eric Watkins, University of Minnesota.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Primary objective - Better understanding and improved strategies to prevent and repair damage caused by prolonged ice cover and meltwater on golf courses and other grasslands.

TALKS AT CONFERENCES, SEMINARS, MEETINGS ETC. IN 2022

9 March. Turfgrass ice and water damage and re-establishment challenges. Finnish Greenkeeper Association Winter Meeting, Teams. T. S. Aamlid.

13 April. Species survival under extended ice cover. UMN WinterTurf Field Day, St. Paul, Minnesota. A. Holmann, UMN.

6 May. Grass research at NIBIO TRomsø. Seminar at Stockbridge School of Agriculture, Massachusetts. S. Dalmannsdottir.

19 May. ICE-BREAKER and SCANGREEN Field Day, NIBIO Apelsvoll, Norway

- Bruk av duker og sensorer og/eller fjerning av snø og is for å forebygge is- og vannskade på greener.. W. Waalen.

- Fire års erfaringer med tette duker Holtsmark, Haga, Bærum, Asker and andre norske golfbaner. M. Thers, Holtsmark GK, Norway.

- Økonomien ved dekking av greener. T. Sundbye og M. Wiig, Handelshøgskolen BI, Oslo.

- Betydning av spirehemmende forbindelser ved reetablering av døde greener om våren. P. Heltoft and K. J. Hesselsøe.

- Såteknikk, krypkveinsorter, vårduker, og biostimulanter for raskere (re)etablering av greener ved lav jordtemperatur. T. S. Aamlid.

7 June. NGF/ICE-BREAKER Webinar.

- Velkommen og oversikt over ICE-BREAKER P. Melbye, NGF & T. S. Aamlid.

- Ulike gressarters og -sorters toleranse for oksygenmangel (anoxia). K. J. Hesselsøe.

- Vårduker under plasten og behov for ventilering? T. S. Aamlid.

- Plastdekking, snø- og isfjerning til ulike tid gjennom vinteren eller ingen tiltak på tunrapp, krypkvein og rødsvingelgreener. Resultater fra feltforsøk i ICE-BREAKER WP2 på Apelsvoll. W. Waalen.

- Erfaringer med dekking på 20 norske baner 2021-22. T. S. Aamlid.

- Vinterskader til tross for dekking. T. Petterson, Sala/Heby GK, Sweden.

- Den vanskelige overgangen vinter-vår: Erfaringer fra norsk-amerikansk samarbeid i ICEBREAKER WP4. S. Dalmannsdottir.

- Ulike krypkveinsorters evne til å spire ved lav jordtemperatur. C-J. Lönnberg og H. Blusi, SGF.

- Vårduker og biostimulanter for raskere (re) etablering av krypkveinsgreener. T. S. Aamlid.

10-15 July. International Turfgrass Research Conference, Copenhagen.

- Practical reestablishment of golf greens following winter damages – A field study. Poster. C. J. Lönnberg, SGF.

- Plant parasitic nematodes, substrates or grass species as reasons for poor re-establishment of a sand-based putting green after winter kill. Poster. T. S. Aamlid.

15 July Intl. Turfgrass Research Conference Winter Stress Symposium, Copenhagen.

- Covering greens to reduce winter stress damage. T. S. Aamlid.

- Winter stresses of grasses in the Arctic. S. Dalmannsdottir.

- Covering greens to reduce winter stress damage. T. S. Aamlid.

18 Oct. Plastdekking for mindre vinterskade. NIBIO Landvik Lunch Seminar. T.S. Aamlid

25 Oct. Timotei og overvintringsproblematikk. Årsmøte i Tromsøysund Bondelag, Skulsfjorden, Tromsø. S. Dalmannsdottir.

4 Nov. Glimt fra gressforskingen i 2022 med hovedvekt på ICE-BREAKER og (re)etablering av vinterskadde greener om våren. NGF Golf Forum; Gardermoen. T. S. Aamlid.

8 Nov. Using environmental sensors on golf greens to improve knowledge and management of winter stresses in cold climates. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Intl. Meeting. E. Watkins, UMN.

10 Nov. ICE BREAKER project & reference group meeting, Bærum GC.

15 Nov. Herding og vinteroverlevelse i gras. Norsk landbruksrådgivings kursuke, Gardermoen. S. Dalmannsdottir.

22 Nov. Vintertäckning. Seminar, SGA Uppland, Stockholm. H. Blusi, SGF.

7 Dec. Physiology and Management for Minimizing Winter Injury of Turf. Ohio Turfgrass Foundation Conference and Show. M. DaCosta, University of Massachusetts.

PROJECT SUMMARY AND STATUS AS OF 1 JANUARY 2023 The project has six work-packages. In WP1, a study examining anoxia tolerance (AT) was repeated in 2021/22. Samples were taken from SCANGREEN in December, vacuum-sealed, kept in darkness at 0.5°C and survival determined after 5-10 weeks. Species were ranked for AT in the order velvet bent (VB) > chewings fescue (CF) > colonial bent > slender creeping red fescue (SCRF) > creeping bent (CRB). Within species, the highest AT was found in VB ‘Nordlys’; CF ‘Lykke’, ‘Compass II’ and ‘Radar’; SCRF ‘Cezanne’ and ‘Charlotte’ and CRB ‘Penncross’.

In WP2, a trial examining ice encasement (IE), spring tarp + plastic cover between turf and ice, and timing of snow/ice removal on annual bluegrass (AB), CRB, and RF greens was repeated in 2021/22. Despite O2 levels down to 2%, there was less winter damage and the best spring start on CRB, AB and RF greens covered with plastic for up to 140 days.

WP3 includes large-scale trials on four GCs near Oslo. Winter 2021/22 showed no need for ventilation, but higher temperature fluctuations at the green surface and increased risk of damage if the tarp under the plastic was omitted.

WP4 focuses on the critical transition when greens that have been under IE are exposed to ambient O2, strong light and low temperature after ice melt in spring. Trials at UMass and UMN showed that increasing duration of anoxia results in higher risk of photoinhibition upon re-exposure to 21% O2 and 800 µmol m-2 s-1.

WP5 addresses chemical inhibition of re-establishment from seed after IE. In 2021/22 uncovered greens of CB and RF with >7% OM in the thatch had 87% and 71% winter kill, respectively, after 128 days of IE. However, extracts collected just after ice melt showed no higher concentrations of butyric or acetic acid and no inhibition of germination or seedling growth compared with plots that had not been under IE. Thus the risk of inhibition of germination after IE of golf greens may have been exaggerated and temperature is the most important driver for recovery after reseeding.

WP6 compares the emergence of CRB cultivars after reseeding winter-killed greens in Sweden. While re-establishment in spring 2022 was slow due to low temperature, recovery rate tended to increase in the following order: Independence (unprimed seed) < Independence (GA3-primed seed) < Luminary < Pure Select. NIBIO trials showed that apart from their temperature effect, temporary shade covers may have an effect in preventing light stress in newly emerged CRB seedlings.