Turf Tips Archives
Sulfur is not Effective for Lowering pH of Turfed Soils
Soil testing is important in turf to help determine the soil pH and fertilization needs, especially for potassium and phosphorus. Acceptable soil pH for turf is between 6.0 and 7.5. Some distributors and soil testing labs will recommend applying sulfur to reduce the soil pH of turf when it is over 7.5. Unfortunately, you can […]
Prevention of Dog Urine Spots
We have received a ton of questions on dog urine spots this year, probably because it has been a very dry April. Dog urine will burn leaf blades because the high concentration of salts in the urine will pull water out of the leaf dehydrating the leaf. This problem is exaggerated by warm and/or dry […]
Bermudagrass for Southern IN Soccer and Football Fields
As stated in last year’s Turf Tips on 4/14/03, seeded Bermudagass is a great grass for southern IN athletic fields. We now have a brand new extension publication on our web page entitled AY-325-W: Bermudagrass for Southern Indiana Athletic Fields. It includes all of the latest research on seeding and post-seeding care and it can […]
Turf Science Program Awarded the School of Agriculture’s 2004 Team Award
Dean Vic Lechtenberg announced at the GCSAA Conference in San Diego that the Turfgrass Science Program has won the prestigious Team Award for the School of Agriculture. This award is given annually to a team of faculty and staff who have demonstrated outstanding cooperation and success as a team. Team members include Drs. Cale Bigelow, […]
Lee Schmidt (BS ’70) Recognized as Distinguished Ag Alumni last Weekend
Lee Schmidt was honored as a Distinguished Ag Alumni on April 2 on campus. Lee Schmidt has a distinguished career as a golf course designer and developer. Lee is a co-owner of Schmidt-Curley Golf Design and has been involved with the design and construction of over 70 golf courses throughout the world. Lee has developed […]
Jim Beard Awarded Honorary Doctorate from Purdue University
Dr. James B. Beard (MS ’59, PhD ’61) will be awarded Purdue Universities highest honor of Honorary Doctorate on May 15. Jim Beard has a distinguished career as a scientist, teacher, and a worldwide leader in the turfgrass industry. He has authored or coauthored 131 refereed papers, 216 research reports, 455 popular articles, and 7 […]
Seeding Lawns Around New Construction
Have you just moved into a new house with no lawn? Resist the urge to grade and quickly seed or sod this spring. The reason for this is that the soil must settle or be compacted after grading. Each foot of soil moved could settle up to two inches resulting in a rough lawn in […]
If You Must Seed, Do it Now
Late summer is the best time to seed, but sometimes turf must be seeded in the spring. The following points should help improve the success of spring seedings: Seed as soon as possible (now is not too early) so the seed is in the ground and ready to germinate as soon as the soil temperatures […]
Bumpy Lawn?
Lawn seem bumpier this spring when you first mowed it? Bumpy, difficult-to-mow lawns can be caused by either above-ground factors or below-ground soil factors. If the bumpiness is due to patches of incompatible species of coarse, bunch grasses like tall fescue or orchardgrass growing in a stand of predominantly Kentucky bluegrass or perennial ryegrass, apply […]
Dormant Sand Topdressing. Does it help Creeping Bentgrass Spring Green-up?
A research study was initiated at Purdue University to evaluate two sand topdressing products for their ability to enhance creeping bentgrass spring green-up. Treatments were applied at three application rates in the third week of January 2004 to a ‘Crenshaw’ creeping bentgrass stand being grown on a native soil rootzone. Observations to date indicate that […]
April 12-13 3b RT Workshop to complete requirements for pesticide licensing
Are you interested in making pesticide applications to your customers’ lawns? Indiana law says anyone who wants to apply turf pesticides (and that includes weed killers, weed and feed products, insecticides, and other over-the-counter pesticides) FOR HIRE must be licensed to do so. To obtain a commercial turf pesticide applicator FOR HIRE license, you’ll have […]
Calculating the pounds of fertilizer to apply
There are literally thousands of fertilizers and fertilizer/pesticide combinations available to homeowners and professionals. Therefore, we can’t recommend how many pounds of fertilizer to apply, but rather we must recommend fertilization rates in pounds of nitrogen per thousand square feet or lbs N/1000ft 2 . Calculating the amount of fertilizer to purchase and apply is […]
Why we don’t recommend specific fertilizer/herbicide combinations for homeowners
We’ve received a number of emails asking for specific product recommendations for XYZ town in IN or IL, or even as far away as NY. Its very difficult, OK impossible, for us to recommend specific fertilizer/herbicide combinations because there is a large number of brands and an even larger number of fertilizer/herbicide combinations available on […]
Timing of Preemergence Herbicides
If a preemergence herbicide is justified on a turf area, the timing of application is important. In theory, applying too early will expose the herbicide to soil microbes and processes in the soil that may break it down, allowing crabgrass to germinate during the latter part of the summer. Conversely, applying too late may miss […]
New Edition of Re-entry Precautions for Turf Fungicides – March 11, 2004
As a follow-up to earlier Turf Tips, we’ve made some changes to the earlier table of fungicide reentry statements because many of the statements changed in 2004 versus our information from 2003. Since some labeling may change without further notice, be sure to refer to the actual label of the product you use before application. […]
Spring N: Do-It-Yourselfers vs Professional Recommendations
We recommend waiting until mid-May to fertilize for the vast majority of do-it-yourselfers, while professional lawn care operators often apply fertilizer early in the spring with the preemergence herbicide. These two seem to contradict each other. We know that a very low rate of N applied in the spring will green up the turf quickly […]
To Fertilize Lawns or not to Fertilize: That is the Question
For the vast majority of homeowners, resist the urge to fertilize now. Fertilizing now can encourage too much growth and could lead to problems later this summer such as poor root growth and disease. Additionally, since spring rains play havoc with mowing schedules, nitrogen fertilization can further complicate your mowing schedule by causing grass plants […]
Follow-up to State Chemist Office BMP’s for Golf Courses
The Best Management Practices for Golf Course that was in an earlier version of Turf Tips provided ideas for using pesticides safely on golf courses. Though it wasn’t clearly stated, the BMP’s listed assumed that all pesticides must be used per label instructions as is the law. Also, one of the BMP’s included selecting pesticides […]
2004 Midwest Turf Expo
On behalf of the Turf Program and the Midwest Regional Turf Foundation (MRTF), I’d like to thank everyone who helped with and/or attended the 2004 Midwest Turf Expo last week at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. Some of the highlights of the Expo include • Almost 1600 professionals attended workshops and educational sessions covering […]