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Management Updates: May 29, 2015

Turf Maintenance Levels, Stress, and Expectations
May 29, 2015

We often hear the terms ‘low maintenance’ and ‘high maintenance’ used in reference to turf management programs or specific turf sites, but what do these terms really mean?  Furthermore, how does one we go about modifying the level of management attention that is required?

After the epic winter and the tough spring we have experienced thus far, stress is the first word that comes to mind.  Stress is one of the primary ingredients that has bearing on required maintenance levels.  Just like people or animals, plants are susceptible to detrimental effects from stress.  One way to define plant stress is any agent that forces a plant to devote resources away from growth in order to combat the stress or its effects.  When the growing environment is stressful, there is a greater need to ‘assist’, or intervene, with inputs, pest control measures and/or cultural practices… thereby increasing maintenance.

We have a great deal of control over some potential stress factors (e.g. mowing height), while for others we are able to exert very little control (e.g. heat).  Some common stress factors are as follows:

Management Practices Environmental Factors Site-Specific Factors
  • Mowing height
  • Mowing frequency
  • Disruptive practices (aeration, dethatching, topdressing, etc)
  • Herbicides
  • Heat
  • Cold
  • Drought
  • Ice
  • Salinity
  • Wear/traffic
  • Shade/Exposure
  • Slope
  • Drainage
  • Soil factors (texture, pH, fertility, etc)

Another main element that influences maintenance levels is the expectations for turfgrass performance; both aesthetics and function.  While the basic survival of turf cover receives a large share of the priority in lower maintenance situations, additional practices designed to maintain a certain level of performance come into play in higher maintenance programs.  For example, while lower maintenance programs may to allow for natural dormancy, many other programs irrigate throughout the summer in order to maintain turf growth and color.

Expectations and certain stress factors, furthermore, are typically interrelated.  A great example of this relationship involves putting greens.  The very low mowing height and constant defoliation for greens minimizes the amount of leaf area available for photosynthesis.  Lower photosynthetic capacity translates to a smaller root system which is less able to capture moisture and nutrients from the soil.  Such plants, therefore, are less able ‘to provide for themselves’, are more demanding in terms of careful watering and precision fertilization, and are much more likely to fail when environmental stresses, pests, or use-related challenges upset the delicate balance.

A large part of lowering maintenance demands and reducing inputs, then, is about managing stress and also expectations.  In some ways it is more straightforward to deal with stress factors that we can directly control, such as mowing height, mowing frequency, or timing of other cultural practices.  Such practices, however, are often linked to expectations and may therefore necessitate ongoing dialog with customers, clients, or others users of the turf.  Such conversations are often more productive if there is a common goal to reduce maintenance. 

Management of stresses that we can't control is promoted by better adaptation of the grasses present, and thus better equilibrium with the growing environment.  Other approaches that support lower maintenance include reducing inputs such as fertilizer and water to the lowest level required to maintain the desired turf performance, integrated management of pests to reduce pesticide use, and investment of limited time and resources in key activities that pay future dividends (renovation or overseeding, for example). Finally, as covered in my last message, it never hurts to be prepared to shift priorities temporarily to deal with unforeseen, extenuating circumstances.

Submitted by: Jason Lanier