Winterkill sensor package on an ice covered green.
RESEARCH NEWS
WinterTurf Research Update By Kevin W. Frank
T
he classic saying of ‘third time’s the charm’ held true for our WinterTurf grant that was funded in 2021 after our third submission. The WinterTurf research project was funded by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) SCRI (Specialty Crop Research Initiative) grant program. The research team represents seven universities (Iowa State, Univ. Massachusetts, MSU, Univ. Minnesota, Rutgers, Oregon State, and Univ. Wisconsin) and one country, Norway (Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research). The full title of our grant is “WinterTurf: A holistic approach to understanding the mechanisms and mitigating the effects of winter stress on turfgrasses in northern climates.” The $8 million grant was funded for 2021-2025. There are many different aspects of winterkill that will be researched. MSU turf team faculty Dr. Vargas, Dr. MerewitzHolm, and myself will be working on different aspects of the grant. I will be focused on researching reestablishment, preventative practices such as cover systems, nitrogen and potassium rate and timing effects on snow mold incidence, leaf mulching effects on snow mold incidence, and of course outreach efforts. There are many exciting aspects of receiving and working with a large group of scientists focused on one issue such as winterkill but probably one of the greatest benefits to our program is enrolling new graduate students. Payton Perkinson started a Masters’
program under my direction officially in May, but even before she graduated from our 4-year turf program she’s already seeded a reestablishment study this spring. Payton is an excellent study who recently won the top award from the GCSAA Scholars Competition, the Mendenhall Award.
Sensors to Monitor Winter Conditions on Greens In the autumn of 2020, the MTF Founders Society funded the purchase of six sensor packages to monitor winter conditions on golf course putting greens in Michigan. The sensor package was developed by scientists at the University of Minnesota that we’ve been working with as part of the WinterTurf research project. The winterkill sensors we installed at 6 golf courses in Michigan last winter was part of the process of collecting preliminary data to support this grant. The sensor package included: soil temperature and moisture sensors at 3 depths, and oxygen and carbon dioxide sensors. Data collection from the sensors was powered by a solar panel and data was transmitted via real time via a cell signal.
The objectives of this research are: 1) Determine if the sensors reliably record and transmit data throughout the winter 2) Develop a model that could notify superintendents when conditions are likely to
MTF NEWS NOTES
| SUMMER 2022
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