Landscape Architect Articles

The Grass is Always Greener . . . 09-16-13 | News

The Grass is Always Greener . . .

Attendees of Turfgrass Field Day examine plots of turf for the management of anthracnose, dollar spot and localized dry spots at UC Riverside Extension.

Droughts, crabgrass, broadleaf weeds, salinity stress and dollar spots. These are just a few of the issues that landscape maintenance professionals deal with on a weekly basis.

That's why many landscape professionals flocked to UC Riverside Extension's Turfgrass Field Day on Sept. 12 - to learn how to propagate healthy turf.

Due to a 1.5-inch rain episode over 45 minutes that happened in late August, some of the results were skewed, showing turf recovering from dryness. In an experiment on a plot of turf, dry spots, dollar spots and anthracnose was managed.

"There's no product that's a miracle worker, but if there was no stress on the turf, the products performed equally," said UC Riverside Extension's Jim Baird. "We applied the products in June to see how well they would bring the turf back. Revolution was the best treatment and Tri-Cure got second place."

In another seminar Baird talked about drought tolerant turfgrasses for Southern California. He said that water issues will always be at the forefront of the landscape industry and continue to be a hot topic.

"At UC Riverside, we're helping the industry prepare for a water shortage," said Baird. "Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has given us a grant for a turf breeding program and focusing on diversity.

Some of that diversity includes buffalograss, which has good drought tolerance, said Baird. Zoysia has the least shade tolerance among warm season grasses. Tall fescues are the king among lawn grasses.

What is the minimum amount of water necessary to maintain turf? Alea Miehls, UC Riverside Botany and Plant Sciences graduate assistant, evaluated products to alleviate salinity stress. Salinity gradient sensors recorded temperature and moistures in the soil. Plots of turf were set up for between 80 and 140 percent ET.

"Efficacy of the products was rated based on wetting agents, nutrients, calcium products and microbial products -- to see how they would alleviate salt stress," said Miehls.