A SNEAK PEEK AT THE NEW
#HydroponicGreen
project at Michigan State University
Michael Rabe, Operations Coordinator at MSU’s Hancock Turfgrass Research Center discusses the new Capillary Hydroponic greens system with MTF Executive Director Carey Mitchelson and Thomas A Nikola PhD, Senior Turfgrass Academic Specialist and the Doctor of Green Speed.
Comparing the 2 Systems
The project includes three Capillary hydroponic greens and three Variable-Depth Root Zones USGA greens, each 36x36. “What we’re going to do is compare the two systems for economic and environmental impacts. Obviously, we anticipate the hydroponic greens will save a lot of water and energy inputs, but there are also many questions about pests, playability, and management factors. While the hydroponic greens are the focus it’s also exciting that we are constructing the first triple replicated alternative depth root zones greens, so we’re really getting two projects in one”.
3 Capillary Hydroponic Greens (Sub-surface irrigation)
20
VOL 2
| ISSUE 1
The green’s cavity is divided into 2 equal parts. There is a 55 gallon basin on the outside with pipes that feed into the middle of each cavity. The water moves back and forth between each cavity at a fully adjustable rate. “You can control the level of the water table. It’s an ebb and flow system.”
www.michiganturfgrass.org
3 Variable-Depth Root Zones USGA greens
The latest USGA technolgy. The peak of each green has 8 inches of root zone and the low areas will have 16 inches of root zone. This keeps the moisture higher at the peak so it doesn’t dry out as quickly and areas that are lower, that typically get wetter, holding the water further away from the surface. “So you have an ideal water holding situation for keeping the surface dry, essentially.”
Dr. Nikolai: “I’m gonna guess that these are the most perfect research greens built in the history of turfgrass. We have a professional construction crew out here (Frontier Golf) building them and since drainage is of utmost concern to the research, it’s the only site built I know of that is perfectly level. The site was designed by architect Chris Wilczynski ASGCS and he made each green with a 1.5%, 3% and 5% slope”. Chris wrote, “The slopes are typical of a real putting green. The 1.5% slopes support the cupping areas (where the pin is located) and the 3-5% slopes support the transition zones between the cupping areas. Each plot will be constructed exactly the same”.
