A brief overview of a few stops that will be seen at the Olathe Horticulture Research Center can be found on the this video. We look forward to seeing you at the Olathe Center on August 3rd!
CLICK HERE to see the video that provides an overview of the Field Day!
Register for Field Day using the QR code below or visiting https://2023turfday.eventbrite.com
Robotic mower use is becoming more popular. I was fortunate to recently visit with Steve Wilson, certified golf course superintendent at Milburn Country Club, about use of robotic mowers at his course. Steve uses 11-inch wide robotic mowers that cover areas near greens and tees on the golf course. He uses several of them to cover about 15 acres. They are controlled by a reference station which connects with a satellite. Areas to be mowed are defined by the manager and the mowers can operate over up to 24 hours. When the lithium battery gets low, the mowers return and automatically connect to a charger – no person needed to connect!
We have a lot more to learn about robotic mowers and how they’ve performed for those in the industry. We’ll have an industry discussion session at the 2023 Kansas Turf and Landscape Conference (Nov. 29 and 30th in Manhattan, KS) involving Steve and others who use or market robotic mowers.
Click here to view robotic mower in use.
Although referred to as the “buffalograss webworm” this insect has the ability to cause damage to cool-season and warm-season turf. Dr. Raymond Cloyd has had been reached out to help from many in the industry regarding damage to lawns this spring. Learn more about this insect issue by clicking on the link below and then clicking on Newsletter>2023:
DR. CLOYD’S RECENT K-STATE INSECT NEWSLETTER ARTICLE
Winter injury has shown up in Kansas and many other states on some warm-season grasses, including bermudagrass and zoysiagrass. Low temperatures came in mid-December at levels that were not common for warm-season grasses to deal with when they have not reached maximum cold acclimation. For example, daily low temperatures did not exceed 10 F between Dec. 22nd and 27th in Olathe, KS. In addition, little or no snow cover was out to help protect turf and wind speed was high (approached 30 mph during this period in Olathe) which could have caused desiccation damage as well. Temperatures during this period reached a low of -7 F. Winter injury has also been reported in Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas on both bermuda and zoysia. Injury tends to be most common in areas that have high levels of traffic, shade, or excessive thatch. There are also many different “micro-climates” across areas that can result in different levels of injury – from excessive to none.
Photo shows crabgrass emerging in Olathe, Kansas near a paved walking path in a park area. Greater soil warmth allows for earlier emergence in these areas. The photo was taken on April 21.
Author
Randy James is author of the textbook Beauty & Order: 51 Lessons from my life’s work in Landscape Management and success in small business. Randy is a K-State graduate (Horticulture undergraduate; Plant Pathology Master’s degree) who has owned landscape management businesses for many years. Many of you may have heard Randy speak at the Kansas Turf and Landscape Conference or others. Randy provides guidance to those interested in owning and managing companies in this industry and others. It was not written for his benefit, but to assist those in the industry. Highly recommended!
About the Book
Starting a service business is a work of art. Whether the intention is for it to remain a practice or to be scaled, the creation takes the whole person- left brain, right brain and soul.
What is going on in the mind of a person when the desire to go-it-alone takes hold?
Where do you start? When do you start? How do you start?
What obstacles and struggles can one expect?
In a conversational style, the author shares his small business journey in landscape contracting in a simple and vulnerable way. The hope being it might spark the next entrepreneur to dream of a way to meet both their personal needs and the market place.
Or it may inspire an existing small business owner to take their business to another level.
Either way, the world will be better for what they create.
Several sites on which you can access:
On August 3, 2023 the Kansas Turf and Ornamentals Field Day will be held at the Olathe Horticulture Research and Extension Center. At least 8 stops will be included in this year’s field day with some highlights including: new zoysia cultivar release; weed, insect, and disease control; tall fescue and fine fescue variety trials; ornamental selection and management. More details will be coming– mark your calendar!
This blog post was presented last year, but we’re approaching that time of year again when crabgrass and other annual grassy weeds are approaching emergence.
As a reminder, if you want more detailed information on weed control in general, consider getting this 2022 publication that was developed by several state universities, including K-State, and was led by Purdue: “Weed Control for Turfgrass Professionals”
Preemergence herbicide applications for crabgrass, goosegrass, foxtail, and other annual grasses are underway. Here are bullet points to consider to increase the efficacy of the herbicide you use.
Maintain turf density and mow higher. Good turf density resulting from proper cultural practices for the grass you’re managing reduces encroachment of all weeds, including annual grasses. Mowing at the higher end of the recommended range has consistently shown significantly lower populations of crabgrass and other annual grasses than mowing at lower mowing heights.
Apply before emergence. Not all annual grass species emerge at the same time. For example, goosegrass emerges later than crabgrass. However, even within a species, emergence of new seedlings occurs throughout spring and summer. With most preemergence herbicides, when seedlings have emerged, they will not effectively control those plants. However, the application will control emergence of grasses beyond that date. Dithiopyr (Dimension) does provide control of crabgrass that has emerged but has not begun to produce tillers.
Use effective strategies to guide application. Calendar dates, soil temperature, flowering of ornamentals, and other strategies are all used to help guide applications and maximize herbicide residual during the period annual grasses emerge. Here are a few articles related to this subject:
How Preemergence Herbicides Work and Why They Fail (Univ. of Nebraska)
https://blogs.k-state.edu/turf/methods-of-predicting-crabgrass-emergence/
https://blogs.k-state.edu/turf/flowering-ornamentals-and-crabgrass-emergence/
Apply uniformly. Uniform application is critical – just like distributing paint evenly over your house is aesthetically pleasing. If you leave a section of the house unpainted, it’s clearly visible. Good annual grass control requires uniform application; if an area is not treated, it’s likely you’ll seed weed emergence there. Uniform application is achieved by proper spreader or sprayer calibration, colorants that indicate areas that have been treated with liquid products, and applying the product in two directions (half rate in each).
Split applications. Some, not all, preemergence herbicides generally provide better suppression of annual grasses when applications are split (1/2 rate each application), usually 6 to 8 weeks apart. This allows a higher level of herbicide presence on the soil surface, which will minimize weed emergence. Here’s an article from Purdue on this subject:
https://turf.purdue.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/15_AGRY_Patton_sequential20apps.pdf
Water in after application. For preemergence herbicides to be activated and ensure uniform distribution on the soil surface, irrigation (or rainfall) after application is needed.
Find more information on weed control by clicking on the tags on the blog (left column), such as “weed control,” “crabgrass,” etc., or search by category on the right side of the page.
***Mention of trade names or commercial products in this article is solely for identification purposes and does not imply recommendation or endorsement, nor is criticism implied of similar products not mentioned by Kansas State University.***
Don’t forget to follow the K-State Turf and Landscape Team on Twitter @KSUTURF
Also, visit our facebook page www.facebook.com/KSUTurf
K-State, Texas A&M AgriLife-Dallas, and Purdue University received a grant from the US Dept. of Agriculture (multi-state specialty crops block grant) to focus on production, establishment, and marketing of zoysiagrass sod. A primary goal of research at Olathe is to evaluate how “farm” practices, including grow-in practices at the sod producer, may influence the performance of sod after it is harvested and laid at a site.
Three zoysia cultivars sprigged in June 2021 (photo above left) and appearance of the same plot area in June 2022 (photo above right) at the Olathe Horticulture Center. Grow-in is being influenced by mowing height and nitrogen rate, which could influence thatch accumulation and performance of newly laid sod (to be harvested in spring 2023)
Learn more information about this project here: https://dallas.tamu.edu/research/farm-to-lawn-zoysiagrass-sod-project
And, if you’re a Twitter follower, this may be of interest to you: @ZOYSIARESEARCH
Checkoffs are financial contributions created through sales and support from within industry operations, including beef, pork, lamb, cotton, sorghum, watermelon, mushrooms, and many others. Discussion about U.S. Sod Industry Checkoff started with those in the sod industry in 2017. Thoughts are that it can provide support by helping to expand markets; increase demand; support marketing and scientific research; and promote industry initiatives and activities.
As part of the checkoff, farms would contribute 1/10th of one penny per square foot of sod sold. This contribution will be invested by a board of volunteer sod producers, nominated by fellow producers. Potential programs could include consumer advertising, producer promotional support, agronomic and consumer research, and customer and regulator education and outreach. Every checkoff dollar would be invested to support this goal: increase the value of every square foot of sod in the U.S. Sod Industry.
Everyone will have an opportunity to provide comments online on the U.S. Sod Checkoff plan in the near future. After comments, votes will take place only among sod producers. It must be approved by at least 50% (plus 1) of national sod producers.
To access a list of resources regarding the Sod Checkoff, CLICK HERE
To view a recorded video (38 min) from Dr. Casey Reynolds, Executive Director of Turf Producers International, CLICK HERE
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