TIMELY TURF TOPICS Issued By The UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION GREEN SECTION ROOM 307, SOUTH BUILDING PLANT INDUSTRY STATION BELTSVILLE, MD. BETTER TURF FOR BETTER GOLF THE STAFF: Fred V. Grau, Director. George- E. Harrington, Assistant Director. F. H. Williams, Executive Secretary. Ian Forbes, Jr., Research Assistant. George E. Harrington returned to the staff of the U.S.G.A. Green Section on 16 April, 1946, as Agronomist. He will serve in the capacity of Assistant Director and also as Green Section representative for service in the Middle Atlantic region. George’s work with the Green Section from 1939 to 1941 will be remembered by many. He served with the A.A.F. in this country in connection with the grassing program, and in the Pacific theater as Chief of Supply for a B-29 Wing. He returned to the United States after V J Day and was discharged as a Lt. Colonel on 9 March, 1946. After two years in the Navy, Marvin H. Ferguson returned 4 April, 1946, to the Division of Forage Crops and Diseases, Soils, and Agricultural Engineering, as Assistant Agronomist, working cooperatively with the Green Section. He was stationed at U. S. Naval Hospital in San Diego and Corona, Calif., where he served as Pharmacist’s Mate 2/C. He was assigned to the hospital golf course during the last six months at Corona. TURF RESEARCH IN GEORGIA: Research, designed to answer some of the questions that have long plagued the growers of lawns and turf in the Southeast, is getting under way at the Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station at Tifton, Georgia, this year. Some of the problems receiving immediate attention are: 1. Seed production in turf grasses. Centipede grass, a superior grass for lawns and fairways, would be widely used if seed were available. 2. Insect control in turf. Mole crickets, earthworms, chinch bugs, and wireworms damage or destroy areas of turf annually throughout the Southeast. 3. Weed control in turf. Chemical treatments, management, and choice of strains and species will be considered. 4. The production and sterilization of organic topdressing materials. 5. The development of superior turf grasses. 6. The response of centipede grass to various nitrogen carriers. The United States Golf Association Green Section, the Bureau of Plant Industry, and the Southern Golf Association are assisting in the support of this research. FLORIDA COOPERATIVE WORK: Congratulations to the individuals of the Florida Greenkeeping Superintendents Association for the splendid cooperation which is being extended to Dr. R. A. Bair of the Everglades Experiment Station, Belle Glade, Florida. This attitude of cooperation conforms with the present Green Section policy of National Cooperative Turf Investigations. The Green Section has sent Dr. Bair a number of grasses from the nursery at Beltsville for trial under Florida conditions. The Green Section actively will assist and support such investigational setups which have the active backing of established super­ intendents* groups and golf associations. May-June, 1946 BERMUDA GRASS SELECTIONS: During the month of June letters have been sent to all member clubs in Florida, Georgia, South and Dorth Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Ar­ kansas, Louisiana and Texas, inviting their attention to the cooperative arrangements for turf investigations which have been established with the Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment jStation at Tifton, Georgia. The work will be conducted by Dr. G. W. Burton. One of the projects at Tifton is the collection and testing of the many naturally-occurring superior strains of Bermuda grass. All interested individuals were requested to select outstanding strains of Bermuda grass and send one cup-cutter plug of each to Dr. Burton. These selec­ tions will be planted out at Tifton, increased, and used in their breeding program and also for establishing plots for studying their turf-making qualities. Anyone interested is requested to send plugs of his better Bermuda strains to Dr. Burton. SOAP VS. OIL: A mixture widely used for backing-off mowers in the sharpening process con­ sists of emery and oil. Our army friends in the 7th Service Command tell us that liquid soap is used by many airfield superintendents instead of oil. The advantage claimed is that the use of a hose on the mower after sharpening removes all traces of the emery where­ as the oil mixture is difficult to remove. How many golf course superintendents use soap instead of oil? UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION GREEN SECTION COMMITTEE: The Green Section Committee met on 12 June, 1946, in Cleveland in connection with the National Open Championship. Twenty were in attendance at dinner and for the meeting. Besides Chairman Fielding Wallace there were United States Golf Association President Charles Littlefield; Tournament Chairmem Francis Ouimet; Public Links. Chairman James Standish; Sectional Affairs Committee Chairman Totten P. Heffelfinger; Greenkeeping Superintendents Association’s President Marshall E. Farnham and their Secretary-Treasurer, A. L. Brandon; Professional Golfers’ Association of Ameri­ ca’s President Ed Dudley; the Green Section’s Director, Fred V. Grau. Others present were Franklin P. Miller, Canterbury; Ed J. Foley, West Virginia; 0. J. Noer, Milwaukee; J. Porte Henry, St. Louis; Richard T. Garlington, Atlanta; Richard Tufts, Pinehurst; Harold Pierce, Boston; Isaac B. Grainger, N. J.; E. B. Leisenring, Philadelphia; William A. Knight, Bilt­ more-Forest, N. C.; H. B. Musser, Pennsylvania. Chairman Wallace announced that there would be two regular meetings of the Green Section Committee each year; one in connection with the Open Championship, the other prior to the annual U.S.G.A. Executive Committee meeting in New York in January. Mr. Wallace’s next statements were a plea for more money to conduct the all- important Green Section activities by: 1. getting more members 2. holding turf tournaments 3. soliciting financial aid from State and District Golf Associations 4. publishing a magazine of wide interest. The need for close cooperation with the Greenkeeping Superintendents Association and the Professional Golfers’ Association of America was stressed. Dr. Grau’s financial report of Green Section activities revealed an increasing work load, expanded cooperative work with experiment stations, and a need for more funds to carry out the projected program. At present there are 802 United States Golf Associa­ tion member clubs, and 23 Green Section subscribers. Subjects of interest to member clubs were discussed, including: 1. publications 2. Green Section subscriptions 3. information to Green Chairmen 4. - service from public agencies to clubs as taxpayers 5. education 6. financial assistance from golf associations through the Green Section for better coordination 7. misuse of word ’’green” as in ’’greens committee," "greens chairman, " "greenskeeper. ’’ The word "green" is always singular in these usages. 8. relations of greenkeeping superintendents and green chairmen. | May-June, 1946 T.T.T. 2 Mr. Farnham pledged, support of Greenkeeping Superintendents Association and cited the value of the coordinated program under way. The value of this meeting lay in the harmony and understanding, which was built and strengthened among cooperating groups and individuals. ^RESERVE FUNDS: Now is the time for golf clubs to build reserves of 1. money to carry the golf course over difficult times 2. fertility to carry the turf over periods of possible shortages. Fairways which were fertilized adequately before the war came through in good condition. Starved turf needs complete renovation and reseeding in many cases. It is a wise plan to build the golf course to a high state of perfection first before utilizing all available money for other improvements. Good turf is basic to good golf. CARE OF CREEPING BENT NURSERIES: Most bent nurseries throw seed in July. Unless the seed heads are removed before the seeds mature, mixtures are likely to result because the plants produced from seed will be different from the parent material. This is most impor­ tant iji commercial nurseries but is also important in golf course nurseries if strain identity is to be maintained. FAIRWAY BENTGRASSES: The Green Section wants plugs of outstanding areas of bentgrass from fairways (both watered and unwatered). The grass should be upright and non-fluffy, and disease and drought-tolerant. Wrap the moist cup-cutter plug (taken 2” deep) in waxed pa­ per, then newspaper, then heavy wrapping paper. Address it to: U.S.G.A. Green Section, Plant Industry Station, Beltsville, Maryland. Enclose complete data on (1) name and address of club (2) number of fairway (3) selected by whom (4) outstanding features of the grass. These "fairway bents” will be increased and given preliminary tests under Beltsville con­ ditions. The superior stains will be distributed to cooperating experiment stations for further increase, breeding work, testing, and distribution. 2,4-D - FERTILIZER MIXTURES: Preliminary results at Beltsville are encouraging from 6 Nov., 1945, treatments of 2,4-D (acid) mixed with commercial grade 10-6-4 fertilizer, applied dry on mixed bluegrass-fescue-redtop turf infested with buckhorn, dandelion, sorrel, and clover. The mixtures were prepared and blended in a concrete mixer. Rates of 2,4-D (acid) were varied from 1^ pounds to 9 pounds to the acre; the 10-6-4 fertilizer was uniform on all plots at 600 pounds to the acre. Clippings were made 4 April, 1946, weeds separated from the grass, and fresh weights recorded. Percentage fresh weight of weeds from 50 sq. ft. Treatment No treatment Fertilizer only " « and 1^ lbs. 2,4r-D (acid) n ti ft n ft W ft ft W n 3 ft g ft g n n ft 85 83 13 7 4 3 The weeds in three highest rates were mostly sorrel. The grass was a darker green color at the two highest rates. It is considered that the two lowest rates are safest until more is known about cumulative affects of 2,4-D in the soil. Uniform distribution is es­ sential because there is little or no lateral movement of the materials. Note: These are preliminary results and do not constitute recommendations for large-scale treatments. Small-scale testing is urged until more data is available. This report is made by courtesy of Dr. Paul Marth and Dr. John Mitchell of the Bureau of Plant Industry so that small-scale trials under local conditions may be made this fall. The preen Section has encouraged this phase of 2,4-D investigations because so many turf areas 'lack proper spray equipment. May-.Tune, 1946 T.T.T. 3