Every summer, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin Turfgrass Association host a summer field day. The event is excellent every year, but this year was extra special because it was the 30th anniversary of the O.J. Noer Turfgrass Research and Education Facility! Dr. Doug Soldat gave a presentation highlighting the extensive collaboration and support that was pulled together to make the construction of the O.J. Noer Facility possible 30 years ago.
To this day, the staff and researchers who work at this facility continue to teach, improve, and innovate the way that we manage urban and suburban landscapes across the world.
The agenda for this year’s WTA Field Day was full of exciting topics ranging from cultivar evaluation, establishment, irrigation and wetting agents, weed and disease management, fertilization, soil testing, and cultural practices like topdressing. Every topic was noteworthy, but this blog post will highlight a few specific studies that I found especially interesting.
These plots are standard lawn grass mixtures. One plot was left unfertilized (left) and the other was fertilized with 4 lbs N/1000 sq. ft. (right).
Concept: Fifteen years ago, turf plots were established with three different cutting heights (1.5”, 2.5”, or 3.5”) and seeded with a range of low- and high-end turf species and cultivars. Each turf variety or species was fertilized with three different annual nitrogen rates (0 lbs N/1000 sq. ft., 2 lbs N/1000 sq. ft., or 4 lbs N/1000 sq ft.). No herbicides were applied throughout the duration of the study.
Highlights: In general, the plots receiving no nitrogen had the greatest weed infestation, and plots receiving 4 lbs N/1000 sq. ft. per year had very low weed pressure despite no herbicides being applied. Under minimal maintenance (no N fertilization), low-end grasses outperformed high-end grasses that were bred to thrive with more inputs.
One key takeaway is that turf problems – such as weed infestation – are part of a broader context that we need to understand and manage. Weeds are competing with grass for water and sunlight. If the grass is not competitive in a given environment, and weeds are better suited for those growing conditions, they will continue to grow and cause problems.
Topdressing study evaluating multiple methods for calculating sand volume.
Concept: Topdress a sand-based putting green according to different methods for calculating sand volume (USGA, Woods, or PACE), two different application frequencies (weekly or monthly) and two different sand particle size ranges (coarse or fine).
Highlights: This study is in its first year but may continue for 10-15 years according to the researchers. In the research world, the vast majority of studies only last for 2-3 years. However, longitudinal studies that span many years (see Home Lawn Demo above) are critically important to understand real-world impacts of management practices. Organic matter accumulation on putting greens takes place on a timescale of decades, so it is really exciting to see research designed to measure management impacts over these longer timescales.
All fungal diseases follow the disease triangle – for infection to occur, you need the presence of an infectious pathogen, a suitable host, and an environment in which the pathogen can grow and infect. Fungicides address the pathogen part of the triangle. However, there were many studies focused on the host and environment parts of the triangle.
Phosphorus-deficient plot showing very low dollar spot infection despite not being treated with fungicide.
Dr. Soldat highlighted National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) trials where the newest grass cultivars are screened for many parameters including disease susceptibility. Dr. Paul Koch’s research group is investigating soil fertility and how the soil microbiome might affect disease development. In another study, the researchers hypothesized that altering leaf surface pH could create an unsuitable environment for dollar spot to develop. Dr. Soldat highlighted a study where turf plots deficient in phosphorus had virtually no dollar spot compared to adjacent plots with no P deficiency.
As the researchers walked through study after study looking at all these aspects of disease development, you couldn’t help but think “this is the future of turf management.”
The studies that were on display during this 30th anniversary of the O.J. Noer Turfgrass Research and Education Facility might be laying the foundation for the studies we’ll see 30 years from now. All of these studies are valuable because they contribute to our understanding of agronomic problems at the system level. That understanding is built piece by piece through decades of research. The WTA Turf Field Day event was exciting because it put those pieces together in a way that clearly showed “here’s where we’ve been, and here’s where we are going.”
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Listen in as Brad DeBels, a prominent figure in the turf industry and the President of the Wisconsin Turfgrass Association, discusses current turf challenges, provides insight on the increasing value of turf, and shares his perspectives on the future of the green industry.
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