North Carolina Turfgrass - November / December 2018

November/December 2018

A Publication of the Turfgrass Council of North Carolina

Fraise Mowing’s Impact

on Soil Physical Properties of Bermudagrass Surfaces

Plus, Improved

Drought Tolerance

in Perennial Ryegrass via Biotechnology

Use

Enjoy

less

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12 18 table of contents November/December 2018

From the President, Damon Dean

12 Cover Story

Fraise Mowing’s Impact on Physical Properties of Bermudagrass Surfaces

18 Feature Story Improved Drought

Tolerance in Perennial Ryegrass via Biotechnology

Welcome, New TCNC Members Calendar of Events TCNC Deluxe Members TCNC Membership Application NC State Turf Team Index of Advertisers

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6 7 7 8 9 22 22

From the President

Colder Weather

North Carolina Turfgrass is the official publication of the Turfgrass Council of North Carolina 110 Horizon Drive Suite 210 Raleigh, NC 27615 919-459-2070 fax 919-459-2075 www.ncturfgrass.org

Executive Director Anna Brooks Whichard, CAE IMI Association Executives annabrooks@imiae.com 919-459-2070 Published by: Leading Edge Communications, LLC 206 Bridge Street Franklin, TN 37064 615-790-3718 fax 615-794-4524 info@leadingedge communications.com

TCNC OFFICERS President

Damon Dean Keith Hills Country Club West End, NC 910-893-1372

The

colder weather is finally here, and I think everyone in North Carolina sure is happy about that. Even with the lower temperatures, our jobs as turf managers are still busy. Since we plant both cool and warm season grasses, there is still a lot of work to be done. Recovery for the cool season grasses and winter prep for the warm season grasses are in full swing. The cooler temps just give you a little bit more energy than getting beat down with constant heat. The weather can be our friend or worst enemy, and the challenges of winter will be here before we know it.

This year has been full of weather events. Damaging cold temperatures and massive flooding just to name a few.

Hopefully, this coming up winter will be a mild one and we won’t see the damage in the warm season turf like we did last year. Hurricane Florence caused devastation in the state, and some have lost a lot. I hope and pray that the ones who faced this storm have a quick recovery.

The flooding was some of the worst ever

recorded. Storms like this show how small we really are. Living in North Carolina, we know the potential for hurricanes is a way of life, so we must always be prepared during the season.

The colder weather is a sign of the year-end. Time has passed by so quickly and the holidays are right around the corner. With all the strange weather events that have taken place, take time to pause from your crazy schedule and spend some time with friends and family.

This is always a good way to recharge your batteries. Well, unless your family resembles The Griswold’s from the movie Christmas Vacation.

Don’t forget conference season is approaching, so take time to attend our Annual Meeting/Conference in January.

The date and location will be posted soon. Support our industry and attend some of the events being held this year.

It will make you and the industry better as a whole.

God Bless.

Damon Dean, CGCS TCNC President

Vice President Gene Queen Nature’s Select Premium Turf Services Winston-Salem, NC 336-768-7999

Past President Billy Cole Raleigh Country Club Raleigh, NC 919-427-0312

Treasurer Kevin Herrmann Fairway Green, Inc. Raleigh, NC 919-818-9640

Directors

H. Dean Baker Kinston Country Club Kinston, NC David Bradley, NCCTP Turf Mountain Sod, Inc. Hendersonville, NC Michael Hrivnak, NCCTP Canopy Lawn Care Raleigh, NC Jonathan Richardson, NCCTP Green Resource Dunn, NC

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November/December 2018

New TCNC Members Brad Butler Wayside Landscapes & Supply LLC Raeford, NC

Calendar of Events

January 22–25, 2019 STMA Conference and Exhibition Phoenix, AZ

February 2–7, 2019 Golf Industry Show

San Diego Convention Center San Diego, CA

February 18–21, 2019

TPI International Education Conference & Field Day (Turfgrass Producers Intl.)

The Westin Charlotte Charlotte, NC

The Turfgrass Council of North Carolina (TCNC) 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, North Carolina Turfgrass, or its editors. Likewise, the appearance of advertisers, or TCNC members, does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services featured in this, past or subsequent issues of this bimonthly publication. Copyright © 2018 by the Turfgrass Council of North Carolina. North Carolina Turfgrass is published bi-monthly. Subscriptions are complimentary to members of TCNC. Presorted standard postage is paid at Nashville, TN. Printed in the U.S.A. Reprints and Submissions: North Carolina Turfgrass allows reprinting of material published here. Permission requests should be directed to TCNC. 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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A P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e T u r f g r a s s C o u n c i l o f North Carolina 7

TCNC Deluxe Members Companies wishing to support TCNC with multiple members can join as Deluxe Members.

New for the 2018–2019 membership year, Deluxe Memberships can be purchased in one of three tiers: 1–5 employees; 6–10 employees; or 11+ employees.

If you'd like to learn more about the Deluxe Membership, please contact the TCNC office at (919) 459-2070 or info@ncturfgrass.org.

Thank You to Our Deluxe Member Organizations

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Keith Hills Country Club Kinston Country Club Leap Frog Landcare Inc. NCSU Landscape Construction Services

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North Carolina A&T State University Pennington Seed – ProTurf Division

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Quality Turf

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November/December 2018

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Turfgrass Council of North Carolina 110 Horizon Drive, Suite 210, Raleigh, NC 27615 Phone: (919) 459-2070 • Fax: (919) 459-2075 www.ncturfgrass.org • info@ncturfgrass.org

TCNC Membership Information The TCNC membership year is July 1 to June 30 with annual renewal dues due in full at the end of each membership year to continue receiving membership features and benefits. New member dues are based on date of application: [Jul-Sep 100% of annual dues] [Oct-Dec 25% off] [Jan-Mar 50% off] [Apr-Jun 100% of annual dues which includes all of following membership year]

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• Membership Certificate • Use of TCNC logo and current year membership decal for use on business materials • Listing in the public-facing TCNC Membership Directory • TCNC News, Member Alerts and Announcements • Access to the Members-Only section of website

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Page 2 of 2

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Cover Story

Impact of

Fraise Mowing on Soil Physical Properties of Bermudagrass Surfaces

By Raymond K. McCauley, Grady L. Miller, Garland D. Pinnix Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, North Carolina State University

E

xcessive organic matter accumulation (>3 to 4% by weight) compromises soil aeration, drainage, turfgrass health, and playability. Aerification and vertical mowing are traditionally used to manage shallow organic matter. However, nei-

ther of these practices impacts the entire playing surface. Fraise mowing is an aggressive cultural practice that impacts 100% of the playing surface and removes all plant and soil material up to a two inch depth. Although fraise mowing was originally devised to mechanically control annual bluegrass in cool-season sports fields, the practice has gained acceptance for bermudagrass thatch management.

Despite its growing popularity, fraise mowing research is limited, and its effect on soil physical properties has yet to be thoroughly explored. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of fraise mowing on the soil physical properties of two soils beneath established ‘Tifway’ hybrid bermudagrass.

Fraise Testing Methods Trials were conducted in 2016, 2017, and 2018 on a sandy loam soil (loam) at NCSU’s Lake Wheeler Turf Field Laboratory in Raleigh, NC and a sand capped soccer field (sand) in Cary, NC. Four fraise mow depths 0.25 inch (shallow); 0.5 inch (intermediate); 1.0 inch (deepest); and an untreated control (control) were applied in mid-June every year with a Koro Field TopMaker (FTM) 1200.

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Turf quality and percent cover were visually assessed on a weekly basis. Field hardness and stability were measured every 14 days. Water infiltration (ksat) and retention of the sand were also measured. Studies concluded in September every year.

Impact on Turfgrass Quality and Cover Ideally, field conditions would return to an acceptable level as quickly as possible following fraise mowing. From a longterm perspective, fields should have better quality due to fraise mowing. In our studies, all fraise mowed treatments on both soils had unacceptable turfgrass quality and cover for various durations. Turfgrass cover decreased and recovery time increased with fraise mowing depth on both soils. On the loam, shallow, intermediate, and deep treatments had acceptable turf quality by two, four, and five weeks, respectively. In the non-treated turfgrass areas, turf quality and cover was unacceptable from three weeks after others were treated through mid-September as a result of excessive scalping. In 2017, recovery after fraise mowing was longer.

Shallow treatments had acceptable turf quality at four weeks after treatment and intermediate and deep treatments were recovered at six weeks after treatment.

In the non-treated areas turf quality and cover was acceptable on all dates except four, five, and ten weeks after treatment (because of excessive scalping).

www.ncturfgrass.org

Photo

1

Fraise mowing on sand at 0.25 inch in mid-June.

Treatments on sand zero days after fraise mowing.

Photo

1.0 inch

0.5 inch

2

0.25 inch

Non-treated control

Cover Story | continued

On the sand in 2016, shallow, intermediate, and deep treatments had acceptable turf quality by two, three, and six weeks after treatment, respectively. Non-treated areas maintained acceptable turf quality on all rating dates except seven to ten weeks after treatment. In 2017 on the sand, similar recovery times were observed after fraise mowing. Shallow and intermediate achieved acceptable turf quality

at three weeks after treatment and deepest by four weeks after treatment.

Thatch Removal with Fraise Mowing At both locations and over both years, fraise mowing effectively decreased thatch levels of hybrid bermudagrass. Thatch

Table 1: Stability (N m -1) of fraise mowed treatments on loamy and sandy soils.

Treatment

Loam 2016

Sand 2017

N

2016

2017

m -1

N

m -1

Control

94.6

84.1

105.0

120.3

0.25 in

101.3

80.3

97.7

116.0

0.5 in

98.5

86.9

98.1

107.1

1.0 in

98.9

96.2

76.7

104.7

lsd

5.4

5.7

6.6

4.5

content decreased with fraise mowing depth, and control treatments had twice the thatch content as the deepest treatment (8.3 vs 4.1 g, respectively).

Fraise Mowing Influenced Field Stability On the loam in 2016, only the shallow treatment had higher shear values (a.k.a., greater field stability) than the control, and the difference between all treatments was small (<7 N m-2). However, in 2017, deep and intermediate treatments had the highest shear values (Table 1). Control and shallow treatments had lower tensile strength than the deepest and intermediate treatments. More thatch in the shallow and control treatments likely lowered their stability. Removing the thatch to engage more of the high cohesiveness of the underlying loam likely increased the stability of the deepest and intermediate treatments in 2017. On the sand in 2016 stability decreased with depth of fraise mowing treatment. The non-treated areas had the highest shear values (105 N m-2), shallow and intermediate had similar values and the deepest treatments had the lowest shear strength (76 N m-2). In 2017, the non-treated areas and shallow treatments had similar values which were higher than the intermediate and deepest treatments (~104 N m-2). The removal of reinforcing roots, stolons, and rhizomes and the poor cohesive strength of the sand rootzone likely resulted in the lower stability of the deepest and intermediate treatments.

Relationship with Water Infiltration (ksat) It was not known if removal of the top organic layer would have a significant influence on water movement through a soil profile. Since both compacted soil and organic layers may impede water flow, we thought it may positively impact water movement. But our testing found that during both years, intermediate and deepest treatments had slower water infiltration (ksat) rates than non-treated areas immediately after fraise mowing.

The non-treated areas in 2017 had 200 to 400% higher ksat values than fraise mowed treatments on the day of fraise mowing. These reductions dissipated by four

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November/December 2018

Cover Story | continued

weeks after treatment in 2016 and six weeks after treatment in 2017 (Table 2).

Similar reductions in ksat have been recorded following aerification due to hardpan formation (Murphy et al., 1993). Like aerification, surface crusting from repeated passes of the fraise mower may have decreased ksat of the deepest treatment.

Field Hardness Over both soils the deep and intermediate treatments were harder than the nontreated areas and the shallow treatments (Figure 1). However, hardness values for the deep and intermediate treatments were within the appropriate range of 65 to 100 gravities for professional soccer fields (Baker et al., 2007), while those for the non-treated areas and the shallow treatments were not. This difference in firmness was attributed to less thatch and organic matter in the intermediate and

deepest treatments. Similar results have been seen with previous fraise mowing studies (Baker et al., 2005).

How Fraise Mowing can Influence Field Performance During both years, fraise mowing changed the soil physical properties of both soils.

In both soil types, thatch content decreased (positive response) while turfgrass quality decreased and field hardness increased (negative responses) after fraise mowing. In the sand, infiltration rate and soil stability decreased (negative responses). Because of the cohesiveness of the loam, stability increased (positive response) after fraise mowing. The removal of shallow organic matter likely increased field hardness (negative response) of both soils. Despite the differences in soil physical properties and a general perception that more was negatively influenced

than positively influenced, all fraise mowed surfaces had acceptable playability and significantly less thatch. Thatch reduction may supersede any temporary changes in soil physical properties. Additional soil physical properties were researched that were not presented in this article. These evaluations will be repeated in 2019 with the addition of a hollow tine aerification treatment structure.

Acknowledgements We would like to thank Mr. Jimmy Simpson and the WakeMed Soccer Park Grounds Crew, Mr. Casey Carrick and the UNC Athletic Dept Grounds Crew, Mr. Chad Price of Carolina Green Corp., as well as Mr. Sam Green of Aqua-Aid North America for their contributions.

This research was funded by the North Carolina Center for Turfgrass Environmental Research and Education. G

References: Baker, S. W., J. A. Wheater, and C. A. Spring. 2007. Performance requirements for surface hardness of winter games pitches. J. Turfgrass Sports Surf. Sci. 83:p.

83-89.

Baker, S. W., A. G. Owen, and A. R. Woollacott. 2005. Physical and chemical control of Poa annua on professional football pitches. J. Turfgrass Sports Surf.

Sci. 81:p. 47-61.

Murphy, J.A., P.E. Rieke, and A.E. Erickson. 1993. Core cultivation of a putting green with hollow and solid tines.

Agron. J. 85:1â&#x20AC;&#x201C;9. doi:10.2134/agronj1993.

00021962008500010001x

Figure 1: Field hardness (gravities) over both soils and years. § Bars with similar letters are statistically similar.

Table 2: Infiltration rate (in hr -1) of sandy soil following fraise mowing in 2016 and 2017.

2016 Treatment

Day 0

Week 2

2017 Week 4

Week 6

Day 0

Week 2

in hr -1

16

Week 4

Week 6

in hr -1

Control

16.9

13.6

9.0

4.8

6.0

3.5

29.2

18.0

0.25 in

10.7

15.0

6.1

4.2

3.0

2.2

14.7

22.2

0.5 in

7.4

9.2

6.2

4.7

1.6

1.8

14.2

11.9

1.0 in

3.4

6.8

6.8

2.8

2.5

2.0

8.3

10.1

lsd

7.7

9.9

4.6

2.7

2.1

3.4

15.3

7.3

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November/December 2018

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Feature Story

Improved

Drought Tolerance

in Perennial Ryegrass via Biotechnology

By M. Patel, S. Milla-Lewis, W. Zhang, C. Reynolds, M. C. Zuleta, R. E. Dewey, and R. Qu, North Carolina State University

T

here are over 40 million acres of turfgrasses in the US, consisting of home lawns, golf courses, parks, and recreation areas.

Each year, we drench our lawns with enough water to fill the Chesapeake Bay! That makes turfgrasses the largest irrigated crop in the US. Moreover, analysis predicts that, along with global warming, drought will be an increased risk in the twentyfirst century, and water is becoming a scarce resource in nature and in human life. The situation calls for developing more drought tolerant cultivars of crops including turfgrasses to cope with the climate change.

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November/December 2018

Figure 1

Performance of LpHUB1 transgenic plants after dry-down experiments of 3 and 8 weeks with 0%, 50% and 100% watering.

Watering

0% 50 % 100 % WT and Transgenic Dry-down (3 Weeks) Watering

0% 50 % 100 % WT and Transgenic Dry-down (8 Weeks)

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Conventional breeding strategies have attempted to introduce drought-stress tolerance in plants through the use of genetic variability available in diverse germplasm, through interspecific or intergeneric hybrids, and induced gene mutations. However, these approaches have met with limited success due to the complex cellular processes and multiple mechanisms of cellular adaptation which lead to abiotic stress tolerance.

Genetic engineering is considered an alternative for enhancing plant tolerance to abiotic stresses including drought, and many engineered plants have shown improved drought stress tolerance phenotypes. After developing transformation protocols for a specific species, we need to determine what gene we want to introduce into a turfgrass species to improve its tolerance to the drought stress. In this aspect, our collaborators at New Zealand cloned a gene from perennial ryegrass, called LpHUB1. The gene encodes a small protein of 73 amino acid residues, and its expression is enhanced threefold by drought stress. Although we do not know the exact function of the LpHUB1, its substantial induction by drought gained our attention.

Drs. Patel and Zhang developed protocols in the lab so we can efficiently transform perennial ryegrass, which was considered a recalcitrant species for genetic transformation. With funding from Bayer Environmental Science, we introduced and overexpressed the LpHUB1 gene into perennial ryegrass and obtained transgenic plants. These plants were subjected to two dry-down experiments to investigate the plant responses to the drought stress.

The first dry-down experiment involves eight transgenic plants and a nontransgenic control plant (Ck) with three water treatments: 0%, 50% and 100% of routine amount of water. Without water, the Ck plant stopped growing by day 18, whereas the best transgenic plant, D12, was still growing by day 25. The turf quality of D12 was significantly better than that of the Ck plant even after seven weeks of 0% and 50% water stress treatment. Under the 50% water stress condition, both growth and turf quality for the Ck plants fell sharply. In contrast, for the best transgenic line, D12, the decline was much more gradual. The performance of the Ck and transgenic lines D11 and D12

November/December 2018

Figure 2

Shoot growth of transgenic plants (labeled as D plants) after 25 days without watering, showing improved growth of transgenic Plants D1, D11 and D12. WT: non-transgenic control; VC: Vector control.

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after three weeks and eight weeks treatments are shown in Figure 1 (page 19).

In the second dry-down experiments, 25 days after water withholding, the control plants wilted, whereas three out of four transgenic lines (D1, D11, and D12) remained turgid, healthy and green without obvious damages. Similarly, the shoot biomass (clipping fresh weight) of the control plants were significantly reduced when compared to the other three transgenic lines under the same water stress conditions, while no significant difference was observed when the plants were well-watered (Figure 2).

In addition, all the four transgenic plants had significantly higher leaf water potential, and higher chlorophyll content over control plants 8 days after water withholding. Two of them also had significantly higher relative water content (RWC), indicating transgenic plants retained more water under drought stress.

All the data indicate that overexpression of the LpHUB1 transgene improved the drought tolerance in transgenic perennial ryegrass. G

A P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e T u r f g r a s s C o u n c i l o f N orth Carolina 21

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Divots, Inc.............................................21 www.divotssand.com

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Morgan Sand Company........................20

Progressive Turf Equipment Inc...........11 www.progressiveturfequip.com

Smith Seed Services..............................20 www.smithseed.com

Southern Seeds, Inc..............................14 www.southernseedsinc.com

Southern Specialty Equipment.............20 www.ssequip.net

Super-Sod................................................3 www.supersod.com

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Turf Mountain Sod, Inc...........................7 www.turfmountain.com

Crop and Soil Sciences Dr. Dan Bowman Professor, Crop Science (919) 515-2805 dan_bowman@ncsu.edu Dr. Rich Cooper Professor, Crop Science (919) 515-7600 rich_cooper@ncsu.edu Emily Erickson Crop Science Lecturer (919) 513-2034 emily_erickson@ncsu.edu Dr. Travis Gannon Assistant Professor (919) 515-2647 (Office) travis_gannon@ncsu.edu Matt Martin Extension Associate â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Turfgrass, NCSU Crop Science Dept (910) 675-2314 (Office) matthew_martin@ncsu.edu

Dr. Susana Milla-Lewis Associate Professor, Turfgrass Breeding and Genetics (919) 515-3196 susana_milla-lewis@ ncsu.edu Dr. Grady Miller Professor (919) 515-5656 grady_miller@ncsu.edu Dr. Charles Peacock Professor and Extension Turfgrass Specialist (919) 515-7615 charles_peacock@ncsu.edu Dr. Ron Qu Professor, Crop Science (919) 515-7616 rongda_qu@ncsu.edu

Entomology and Plant Pathology Dr. Terri Billeisen Extension Associate (919) 515-7464 tlhoctor@ncsu.edu Dr. Rick Brandenburg Extension Specialist (Peanuts & Turf) & Department Extension Leader (919) 515-8876 rick_brandenburg@ncsu.edu Lee Butler Extension Coordinator (919) 513-3878 elbutler@ncsu.edu

North Carolina Tur f g r a s s

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Dr. Wei Shi Professor, Crop Science (919) 515-2647 (Office) wei_shi@ncsu.edu Dr. Fred Yelverton Extension Specialist (Turfgrass / Forage Crop Weed Mgt) (919) 515-5639 fred_yelverton@ncsu.edu

Dr. Garry Grabow Extension Specialist and Professor (919) 513-7348 garry_grabow@ncsu.edu

Horticulture Science Dr. Danesha Seth Carley Director, SIPMC & NC IPM Coordinator (919) 513-8189 danesha_carley@ncsu.edu

Dr. Jim Kerns Associate Professor and Extension Specialist (Turfgrass Pathology) (919) 515-2730 (Office) jpkerns@ncsu.edu

www.ncturfgrass.org

Dr. Tom Rufty Professor (919) 515-3660 tom_rufty@ncsu.edu

Biological and Agricultural Engineering

Vandemark Farms.................................11 www.vandemarkfarms.com

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Dr. Robert Richardson Professor and Extension Specialist (919) 515-5653 rob_richardson@ncsu.edu

November/December 2018

Give water a break tiftuf bermudagrass is the new drought-tolerance superstar.

The newest edition in the “Tif” (Tifton) series of bermudagrasses to originate from the renowned University of Georgia turfgrass breeding program, TifTuf promises to be a true game-changer in stellar yet environmentally friendly performance. Providing unbeatable drought tolerance, it uses 38% less water than Tifway 419, and it is significantly more drought resistant than all other bermudagrasses.

In addition to its incredible drought tolerance, TifTuf is more aggressive than Tifway and provides superior wear and traffic tolerance (even better than Celebration), excellent cold tolerance (equal to Latitude 36 at Kansas State University), fast spring green-up and excellent fall color retention. In the 2015 NTEP trials, TifTuf was the highest-ranked cultivar in North Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi, and across all 17 locations overall, it was the highest-ranked, commercially available cultivar.

TifTuf will not only pay for itself in water savings, but more importantly, it will create more-sustainable athletic fields for the future.

In fact, it will soon become the ultimate must-have grass for sports turf managers who want to take a break from water use.

www.buysod.com | 866-428-9763 World Class Service On Demand

Buy Sod VarietieS: Golf Putting Greens: Bentgrass and Champion Dwarf bermudagrass

Bermudagrass: TifTuf, TifGrand, Celebration, Patriot, TifSport, Tifway and T10 St. Augustine: Raleigh • Zoysiagrass: Zeon and El Toro • Paspalum: SeaStar Centipedegrass: TifBlair and Common • Bluegrass: Tournament • Fescue/Bluegrass Mixtures