Dr. Raymond Cloyd has put together a nice article referred to as “Fall Armyworms – Second Generation.” Learn about the biology, control, and difficulty associated with Fall armyworms on the K-State Entomology blog – View the Article Here!
Author: Jack Fry
Fall Seeding Tips
- September is the optimum time to seed cool-season grasses.
- Use good quality, certified seed; avoid seed with significant levels of “weed” and “other crop.” More information HERE
- Use recommended seeding rates with good distribution – more than one direction; seeding at rates too high can cause issues with disease and environmental stress.
- Seed to soil contact is critical!
- If renovating an existing stand of turf, mow low to reduce competition with seedlings and help improve seed contact with soil.
- Aeration, slit seeding, topdressing, or raking to cover seed are methods of enhancing seed-to-soil contact contact. If thatch levels are high, seed-to-soil contact may be difficult to get without thatch reduction first.
- Aeration brings soil the surface, and is often done in concert with vertical mowing, which breaks up cores and also creates small furrows in which seed can make contact with soil.
- Slit seeders create furrows in the soil surface and drop the seed into them.
- Topdressing or raking loose soil in a tilled area covers seed and ensures contact.
- If the desire is to convert from one species to another, and a reasonable stand of turf exists, it will have to be removed before conversion happens. Removal is typically accomplished with a nonselective herbicide.
- Managing a high-traffic athletic field? Consider allowing for presence of a “seed bank” through the playing season. More information HERE
- Starter fertilizers, that contain nitrogen and phosphorus, help enhance establishment.
- Light, frequent irrigation is needed the first few weeks after planting, and may be required several times daily, depending upon weather.
K-State’s Sodcast: Interview with Holly Dickman, Water Conservation Specialist, Hays, KS
Holly Dickman is a K-State Horticulture alumnus who currently serves as the Water Conservation Specialist in Hays, KS. Holly provides an overview of water-saving strategies, and how they have impacted water use in Hays. Watch it HERE! (about 18 minutes)
2021 K-State Turfgrass Research Report
Each year, K-State researchers post articles that summarize research that was done in the past year. In 2021, you’ll see articles on newly developed cold- and large-patch tolerant zoysias; suppressing zoysia seedheads; reducing thatch with aerification; bermudagrass cultivar performance; and the influence of herbicides on emergence of tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass seedlings; and calibration of soil moisture sensors.
Access the 2021 K-State Turfgrass Research Report HERE!
Fall Armyworms are Back!
Fall armyworms have been spotted in the Wichita area, including the John C. Pair Horticultural Center. Armyworms are foliar feeding caterpillars that can sever turfgrass tillers at the ground level. Recovery is often good after the damage occurs, but be aware that if no attempt at control is used, turf quality will be low for a period of time. Dr. Raymond Cloyd provides details about fall armyworms and their biology and control HERE!
Fine Fescues are Impressive in Kansas…So Far
Fine fescues include multiple species: creeping red fescue; slender creeping red fescue; Chewings fescue; sheep fescue; and hard fescue. In our state, they have traditionally been used in seed mixtures targeted at shady sites. In general, fine fescues perform fairly well in shade. Decline of fine fescues has been observed in Kansas during midsummer under wet conditions.
The 2020 NTEP Fine Fescue trial was planted in September at the Olathe Horticulture Research Center in full sun. It is a low-maintenance trial: no irrigation has been applied (other than during establishment) and the area only received starter fertilizer at the time of establishment. Many of these species and cultivars look very good in mid-July 2021. We will continue to evaluate their performance over the coming years. It’s quite possible that some of the fine fescues could provide an acceptable quality lawn with relatively low input.
Dr. Ross Braun is a former K-Stater (M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in turf at K-State) is now a lead research scholar at Purdue University, and is working diligently with these species. The Purdue research team is working with that at the Univ. of Minnesota on fine fescues (low-input turf). To learn more about fine fescues, development of new cultivars, and management, check out the article and video below by Ross and explore the web site on which these are posted.
https://lowinputturf.umn.edu/news/what-are-fine-fescues
https://lowinputturf.umn.edu/news/what-are-fine-fescues
K-State’s Sodcast: Interview with Loren Breedlove, former superintendent at Kansas City Country Club
The is the second edition of “K-State’s Sodcast,” which is a short interview with an individual to hear information about their involvement in the turf profession. Several of these will be put together each year. In this interview, Loren Breedlove, former golf course superintendent at Kansas City Country Club, talks about the 42 years he spent employed at one golf course. These interviews are done to highlight professionals who have been supportive of K-State, not to advertise their accomplishments or their business. I’d like to acknowledge the help of Gerry Snyder with K-State’s Division of Information Technology for helping put this together.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH (about 15 minutes)
K-State’s Turf and Ornamentals Field Day is On!
K-State’s Turf and Ornamentals Field Day is happening! It will be held at the Rocky Ford Turfgrass Research Center, 1700 Barnes Road, on Thursday, August 5th. Due to the pandemic (which is receding for now!), we will have a change of structure for our tour of research plots and conversations with faculty and graduate students. Please note that the format and guidelines are subject to further change or cancellation, based on KSU and state/local health policies.
- Online advanced registration is strongly recommended. REGISTER ONLINE HERE
- Details on program and “fillable” registration form (if you don’t want to register “online”) available HERE
- Parking at Faith E Free Church – 1921 Barnes Road, Manhattan, KS.
- There will be no formal welcoming session this year. Tours will leave from the registration area about every 15 minutes beginning at 8:30 a.m. and running until 10 a.m.
- Vendors will be present from 8 a.m. until about 1 p.m. If you’re a vendor with interest in attending or sponsoring lunch or a “recorded video,” check HERE
- You can arrive anytime between about 8:15 am (or earlier) and 9:45 am to join one of the tours.
- Eight stops with different presenters, each running about 15 minutes.
- No donuts or coffee will be provided, but a boxed lunch will be available when your plot tour finishes. Take your boxed lunch and find your own space to eat – there will be some chairs spaced out in shaded areas. Or, feel to take it “to go.”
We hope to see you on Thursday, August 5!
Drive Your Car Without a Fuel Gauge?
By Wes Dyer (Ph.D. student)
The dreaded check engine light popped on this past month. Bound to happen to a 15-year-old vehicle, pushing a quarter of a million miles. I immediately stopped by a local auto parts store and connected a diagnostic scanner to find a faulty fuel level sensor. Not the worst diagnostic error, but I knew I had to be more aware of the miles I drive between refueling. It reminded me of a quote by Dr. Dana Lonn, former managing director for technology at Toro Company, in which he states, “controlling an irrigation system without soil moisture data, is like driving a car without a gas gauge.” I realized more than ever what he meant as I found myself making more frequent stops at the gas station to refuel this past month, just to be sure.
The rootzone profile is much like a fuel tank, where adequate water, or “fuel”, is needed in the profile to maintain a healthy turfgrass stand. How do you know when to refill your soil profile? Setting irrigation clocks to specific days of the week to water is prone to lead to overwatering, like myself now, making more stops than necessary to refuel the vehicle. Even calculating daily evapotranspiration rates (which are estimates of the water used by turfgrass) fail to accurately account for moisture in the soil profile. Utilizing technology and devices to determine soil moisture is much like a fuel level sensor that can aid in determining when the plant needs water. This is where implementing technology in the landscape has advantages. The greater period you can stretch between irrigation applications, the greater chance a rainfall event will occur which will serve as “free water”, though I do not anticipate free gas events.
For the past three years, I have been working to determine how to best employ technology in the turf landscape. Soil moisture sensors are one of many tools we can use to precisely determine when irrigation is needed to maximize water savings, increase turfgrass quality, provide consistent playing conditions, and minimize overwatering. Research results from 2020 indicated soil moisture sensor-based irrigation yielded 84% water savings compared to frequency-based irrigation (2x week-1) and 72% savings compared to deficit evapotranspiration (60% ET) irrigation. These significant water savings were achieved by simply monitoring soil moisture and watering only when necessary to “refuel the tank.” For more information as reference to this project, see this past article (Development of Irrigation Scheduling Techniques that Conserve Water in Turfgrass Landscapes using Soil Moisture Sensors and Weather Data. Kansas Turfgrass Foundation Newsletter, September 2019).
Throughout my turfgrass management career, I have had the opportunity to work with many great golf course and athletic field facilities across the United States. Many of those managers took on the philosophy to be data-driven because it removes the guesswork. The more data available at one’s fingertips the better decisions one can make. The key is not to become overwhelmed with the data, however, but to use the data to aid in improving your decisions or as a “tool in the toolbox”. Regarding irrigation, automated systems may become more widespread in the future and use sophisticated technology to control irrigation. Until then, we can use the current technology to establish our own automated irrigation decisions. I often like to think about two or three simple questions before I choose to irrigate. Specific questions and thresholds center around soil moisture data, turf canopy conditions, and future precipitation forecasts. Certain criteria must be met before the irrigation is turned on which has achieved significant water savings while maintaining turfgrass quality. As my research nears an end, I think it is time to schedule that service on my fuel level sensor.
K-State’s Sodcast: Interview with Ted Wilbur, Co-Owner of Sod Shops
The is the first edition of “K-State’s Sodcast,” which is a short interview with an individual to hear information about their involvement in the turf profession. Several of these will be put together each year. In this interview, Ted Wilbur, co-owner of Sod Shops in Wichita, KS, provides an overview of his experience in sod production. These interviews are done to highlight professionals who have been supportive of K-State, not to advertise their accomplishments or their business. I’d like to acknowledge the help of Gerry Snyder with K-State’s Division of Information Technology for helping put this together.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH! (about 7 minutes long)
