From the T VSTMA President Wayne Treadway
Start with
Good Preparation
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nother youth baseball season has come and gone. Football season is starting. No rest for the weary! I look back at the past season and think about what I can do better next year to make the field better. This past spring and early summer combined to create the worst growing season for bermudagrass I’ve experienced. We started with a wet cold spring that continued in east Tennessee through June. There was one silver lining, though. Irrigation was not needed. I wished I could have reversed the pumps and sucked some water out of the fields. When the growing season is not optimum, what can a turf manager do? My opinion is to make sure you have done the basic practices, which starts with good preparation. In the winter, make sure all of your equipment is working well, making repairs where needed. Sharpen mower blades, and adjust them to your preferred height. Also, in winter, take a soil test in all turf areas. It is hard to get where you want to be if you do not know where you’re starting. Soil tests will let you know what nutrients are needed, and if the test is conducted early enough, you can budget accordingly. Make sure the nutrient level is optimum to start the growing season. As the season begins, keep notes on problem areas. Are these areas caused by poor drainage, over-use, disease, low fertility or insects? This year, I had more problem areas than ever, primarily caused by low areas with poor drainage. I hope to correct these areas before the next season. One problem often causes other problems. My low, wet areas were susceptible to disease. Over-use, compaction and poor growing conditions kept the areas from recovering before July. Ample aeration
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cannot be over-appreciated. Good airflow was a must this past growing season. Even if you haven’t yet needed to run irrigation, still make sure that all facets of the system work properly. Check pumps, lines, valves, controls, rotors and nozzles. I’ve learned that if any part of the system is faulty, the turf suffers. Another area of preparation is education. Attend as many workshops and turfgrass meetings as possible. Learn what’s
TENNESSEE TURFGRASS August/September 2013 Email TTA at: tnturfgrassassn@aol.com
new in the turgrass industry. Share your experience with others, and learn from others, also. You may not be able to predict what the next turfgrass growing season will bring, but good basic preparation will make it easier to handle whatever problems do pop up.
Wayne Treadway
2012–2013 TVSTMA President