JANUARY 1974 a&K$REENSE6NM A Publication on Turf Management by the United States Golf Association USCA GREEN SECTION 'RECORD A Publication on Turf Management by the United States Golf Association ©1974 by United States Golf Association. Permission to reproduce articles or material in the USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD is granted to publishers of newspapers and periodicals (unless specifically noted otherwise), provided credit is given the USGA and copyright protection is afforded. To reprint material in other media, written permission must be obtained from the USGA. In pny case, neither articles nor other material may be copied or used for any advertising, promotion or commercial purposes. VOL. 12, No. 1 JANUARY 1974 Here Come the Metrics: The Liter and the Meter by William H. Bengeyfield............................................................................. 1 The Bentgrass Fairways of Sewickley Heights by Holman M. Griffin and George Ord................................................... 2 The Other Half by William H. Bengeyfield .............................................................................7 Mercury Levels in a Golf Green by William E. Knoop and George 0. Estes................................................11 Turf Twisters........................................................................................... Back Cover Published six times a year in January, March, May, July, September and November by the UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION, Golt House, Far Hills, N.J. 07931. Subscriptions: $2 a year. Single copies: 35c. Subscriptions and address changes should be sent to the above address. Articles, photographs, and correspondence relevant to published material should be addressed to: United States Golf Association Green Section, P.O. Box 567, Garden Grove, Calif. 92642. Second class postage paid at Far Hills, N.J. and other locations. Office of Publication, Golf House, Far Hills, N.J. 07931. Editor: William H. Bengeyfield Managing Editor: Robert Sommers Green Section Committee Chairman: Elbert S. Jemison, Jr., 909 Bank for Savings Bldg., Art Editor: Miss Janet Seagle Birmingham, Ala. 35203 Green Section Agronomists and Offices EASTERN REGION P.O. Box 1237 Highland Park, N. J. 08904 Alexander M. Radko, Director, Eastern Region and National Research Director William G. Buchanan, Eastern Agronomist Stanley J. Zontek, Eastern Agronomist (201) 572-0440 SOUTHERN REGION P.O. Box 4213 Campus Station, Athens, Ga. 30601 James B. Moncrief, Director, Southern Region (404) LI 8-2741 MID-CONTINENT REGION P.O. Box 592, Crystal Lake, III. 60014 F. Lee Record, Director, Mid-Continent Region Carl Schwartzkopf, Mid-Continent Agronomist (815) 459-3731 MID-ATLANTIC REGION P.O. Box 5563 Barracks Road Center, Charlottesville, Va. 22903 Holman M. Griffin, Mid-Atlantic Director (703) 973-8400 WESTERN REGION P.O. Box 567 Garden Grove, Calif. 92642 William H. Bengeyfield, Director, Western Region and Publications Editor (714) 638-0962 Here Come The Metrics: The Liter and the Meter by WILLIAM H. BENGEYFIELD, Western Director USGA Green Section FEr all of their obvious shortcomings, the inch and foot, the ounce and pound have been around an incredibly long time! They have confounded and confused us since grammar and high school mathematics. Even now, most of us would be hard pressed to recall how many firkins make a hogshead (seven) or how many gills in a pint (four). But once we have even partially mastered this old friend, we are reluctant to let him go. We feel comfortable with our customary, or English-language meas­ urements. Nevertheless, times are changing now and the rest of the world is passing us by. The metric system must finally come to the United States. On August 18, 1972, the United States Senate passed the Metric Conversion Bill by unanimous voice vote. It now rests with the House Committee on Science and Astronautics. The Bill is the result of a 3-year study on metrication by the National Bureau of Stan­ dards. Essentially it recommends a gradual conversion to the metric system over a 10-year span. The best guess is that by the early 1970s. the United States will be predominately, al­ though not exclusively metric. The conversion to metrics will not have been blazingly fast. John Quincy Adams seriously considered it in 1821 in his “Report Upon Weights and Mea­ sures.” Compared with the ease, simplicity and logic of the metric system, our "customary” or English scale is complex and inexact. For example, your height is still measured by the length of the foot of an ancient king, and the acre, our most common measurement of land, is based on how large an area an ox could plow in a single day. The inch is about the length of the end joint of a human adult thumb. Later it was -^termined to be the space covered by three dried barley corns taken from the middle of the ear and laid end to end. The yard is the distance from one’s nose to the extended tip of one's fingers. A rod was originally the com­ bined length of left feet of 16 men lined up to go to church. The mile (from the Latin Milia Passuum) is about the distance traveled by a Roman soldier in a thousand 2-pace stride. But our measurement difficulties just begin here. What happens when we combine 12 thumb-end joints to a foot and find 3-foot lengths to a yard and 1,760 fingertip-to-nose lengths to a mile? We have built an advanced technical civilization from such measurements but only with great difficulty in making conversions through long-numbered multiplication and divi­ sion tables and our own memorization. We have invented ways to confuse ourselves even more. There is a long ton (2,240 pounds) and a short ton (2,000 pounds). There are register tons, measurement tons, wheat tons, timber tons and the English water ton. We have decided on 16 ounces to a pound avoirdupois but only 12 ounces to a pound troy; 32 ounces in a quart. In all, we have more than 80 units of measurements in our present confusing system. Against this tangle and maze, the metric system is unbelievably simple and consistent. In place of fractions to make units larger or smaller (1-inch equals 1/12 foot, etc.), the metric is a decimal system and the units are related to each other by powers of 10. For example, the meter, the basic unit of length in the metric system, is equal to 10 decimeters, or 100 centimeters, to 1,000 millimeters. There­ fore, to convert 53.74 meters to decimeters, merely move the decimal point one place to the right. Further, the terminology is easy to understand Latin-derived prefixes are assigned to the submultiples or divisions; “deci” equals JANUARY 1974 1 2 USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD country in 1866. But there were no pressing needs for change, and so the maze of gallons, inches and pounds endured. Indeed, they have endured from the days of our founding fathers. George Washington, in his first message to Congress announced that, “Uniformity in the currency, weights and measures of the United States is an object of great importance, and will, I am persuaded, be duly attended to.” Thomas Jefferson, then Secretary of State, proposed the establishment of a decimal system of weights and measures similar to the one already adopted for coinage. But politics and inertia, even then a way of life, prevented Congress from moving on this proposal. Numerous other proposals were developed and likewise expired. Between World War I and the Depression years alone, some 40 Congres­ sional bills on metrication were introduced and failed We generally liked our “customary units.” But not everyone. Certain sectors of industry started to convert to metrics on their own. The optical and photography industries (35 mm film) were leaders. The pharmaceutical industry changed over in 1955. It took four years for the drug companies to complete their conversion. In athletics, our Olympic Teams have always competed under the metric stan­ dards. The Russian Sputnik in 1957 again stirred general public interest and the Army converted to the metric system for weaponry about the same time. A 22 caliber rifle became a 5.56 mm rifle. But it was not until 1965, when the British Board of Trade announced that the United Kingdom would “go metric,” that the United States decided to act. It was then that the studies leading to the Metric Conversion Bill were undertaken. With the conversion of Great Britain to metrics, the United States was almost alone in the boat of “customary” measurements. Bar­ bados, Gambia, Liberia, and Tonga made up about half of the remaining passengers. Economics, however, is of far more importance. Failure to convert to metrics has started to take its toll, and it is already costing us money. According to Frank Kendig of the Saturday Review of Science, the United States exported $14 billion worth of measurement products and devices such as computers, vacuum pumps, typewriters, etc. in 1969. This figure would have increased an estimated $600 million in 1975 if we had converted to metrics during the early 1970s. In addition, other major industrial nations throughout the world are now at work establishing trade agreements among themselves based on the metric system. Electronic stan­ dards have already been agreed upon by Great Britain, France and West Germany. The mar­ kets of China, Russia, and the developing A conversion scale, showing pounds on the bottom and grams on the top. One gram equals the weight of 1 cubic centimeter of pure water at 4° centigrade. division by 10, “centi” equals division by 100, “milli” equals division by 1,000, and then to “mega,” "giga,” and to “terra.” Easy to re­ member, not much to forget. It was the Vicar of St. Paul's Church in Lyons, France—Gabriel Mouton—in 1670 who first proposed what we know today as the metric system. He called for a comprehensive decimal system having as a basis a fraction of the length of the great circle measured along the meridian passing through Dunkirk, France, to Barcelona, Spain. The meter, the unit of length, was to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the north pole to the equator. Eventually the gram, the unit of mass, was to be equalled to the mass of a cubic centimeter of pure water at 4 degrees centigrade. The liter was defined as the volume equivalent to the volume of a cube each side of which has a length of one decimeter. The “are” was defined as the measure of area for land equal to 10 square meters. The “stere” was to be a measure of volume equal to a cubed meter. It may take the place of one cubic yard at some future date. It took over 100 years for Mouton’s pro­ posal to be officially accepted. In 1795 France adopted the “metric system.” In 1798, the French Foreign Minister invited representatives of all European countries and other friendly nations to learn of the new system. Slowly it gained acceptance. By the mid 1800s, Greece, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain adopted it. By 1880 nearly all of Europe and South America went metric. The only major holdouts by the turn of the century were Great Britain and the United States, even though Congress did make metric system units legal standards of measures in this JANUARY 1974 3 nations will be lost to us if we continue to ignore the metric system. The Yankee Trader will be out of business. This will not happen. Already some United States automobiles are being built to metric standards, and ever so gradually but ever so surely, we are moving toward conversion. To the golf course superintendent, this means learning a new but simpler language. The coming change will be gradual, probably over a period of 10 years. There will be retraining of personnel and a slow phasing out of old equipment and introduction of new. Metrics will become more prevalent in public education, and television will probably lead the way. We may even hear of "third down and two meters to go.” Even then, the cost for total transition is estimated at $10 to $200 billion. In 1906, Alexander Graham Bell, testifying before the Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures of the House of Representatives said, “Our forefathers legislated pretty well for the future in the adoption of the Con­ stitution; and later, Congress did well in abolishing the old system of pounds, shillings and pence and adopting a deci­ mal system for our money. We will do well for the future of our country if we provide the metric system for the whole of the United States.” Bell again had the right number—and we will soon be a part of the metric system. CONVERSION FACTORS FOR ENGLISH AND METRIC UNITS To convert column 1 into column 2, multiply by 0.621 1.094 0.394 0.386 247.1 2.471 0.00973 3.532 2.838 0.0284 1.057 1.102 220.5 2.205 0.0353 0.446 0.892 0.892 14.22 0 968 0.9807 9/5 C + 32 Column 1 Length: kilometer, km meter, m centimeter, cm Area: Kilometer2, km2 kilometer2, km2 hectare, ha Volume: meter3, m3 hectoliter, hl hectoliter, hl liter liter Mass: ton (metric) quintal, q kilogram, kg gram, g Yield or Rate: ton (metric)/hectare kg/ha quintal/hectare Pressure: kg/cm2 kb/cm2 kg/cm2 Temperature: Celsius, C -17.8° 0° 20° 100° Column 2 mile, mi yard, yd inch, in mile , mi acre, acre acre, acre acre-inch cubic foot, ft3 bushel, bu bushel, bu quart (liquid), qt ton (English) pound, lb pound, lb ounce (avdp), oz ton (English)/acre Ib/acre hundredweight/acre lb/inch2, psi atmospheres, atm bar To convert column 2 into column 1, multiply by 1.609 0.914 2.540 2.590 0.00405 0.405 102.8 0.2832 0.352 35.24 0.946 0.9072 0.00454 0.454 28.35 2.242 1.12 1.12 0.0703 1.033 (1.0197) Fahrenheit, F 5/9 (F—32) 0° 32° 68° 212° 4 USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD George Ord inspects the spiker he made for fairways, tees and greens. The Bentgrass Fairways of Sewickley Heights by HOLMAN M. GRIFFIN, Mid-Atlantic Director USGA Green Section and GEORGE ORD, Superintendent, Sewickley Heights Golf Club ^^ewickley Heights Golf Club, Sewickley Pa., is among the most beautifully turfed golf courses in the country, and George W. Ord is the golf course superintendent there. During our Green Section visit last summer, I recorded some of the experiences Ord has had in managing the fairway turf at this Penncross bentgrass covered course: Ord: The original planting of Sewickley Heights Golf Club consisted of 7 per cent Penncross, 73 per cent Highland Colonial bent, 7 per cent Seaside bent and 9 per cent redtop on tees and fairways. The greens were seeded with 100 per cent Penncross. As of now the course is, I would say, almost pure Penncross bentgrass. We do have some slight encroach­ ment of Poa annua on fairways and roughs, but the bent on the greens is vigorous enough to take care of Poa annua invasion. Griffin: What have you been using to treat and control Poa annua on your fairways? Ord: We have used the tricalcium arsenate program for Poa annua control and it has been very successful. We have used a total of 7Vz pounds of actual material on the fairways and will continue with the program on an “as needed” basis in the future. Griffin: George, on your test areas, haven’t you used about 24 pounds of tricalcium mater­ ial? JANUARY 1974 5 Ord: That’s right. When we started the program, we wanted to walk into the program slowly. We used our most severely infested spots as test areas, figuring if we did lose them, we weren’t losing anything but Poa annua. As the test plots proved successful, we went on to a complete fairway program, and now, four years later, I think we have the fairway Poa problem well under control. My guess is that only 5 to 10 per cent Poa annua remains in the worst areas. Griffin: On managing Penncross bentgrass fairways today, a lot of people fear its aggres­ sive tendencies and the buildup of thatch. What have you found in this respect? Ord: Well, the key to this is fertilization. In 1967, we verticut the fairways in the fall. That’s the last time we have had to do it, and this is 1973! If you watch your fertilization, you’ll not have to do too much verti-cutting. But this is only working at our golf course and I don’t know whether it will work at others. Griffin: Well, I’m glad to hear that some people are afraid of Penncross in the fairways. I think many of them are under the impression that dethatching and sweeping will be necessary at least twice a year to keep thatch under control. But with less nitrogen, you have not found that problem to be serious. Ord: That’s right. We aerify the fairways only once a year, in the fall. As far as fertilization is concerned, we try to stay some­ where in the neighborhood of 2 to 2lh pounds of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per year. At present, we’re using granular material and broadcasting it at 1/2 pound of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per application. This is done twice in the spring and twice in the fall. Griffin: And that's strictly a nitrogen and potash fertilizer? Ord: It’s a 28-0-14 material. With very light applications, we have avoided lush growth and I think this is another key factor. We use no phosphorus at all. Griffin: What is your mowing schedule on fairways? Ord: We mow Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. Originally, we crosscut fairways but now we try only to reverse our direction with every other cut. We find crosscutting unneces­ sary with the big mowers and the design of our course. We feel it is more beneficial to the fairways to make the straight run than try to turn with our big machines. We use 10-bladed reels on 7-gang hydraulic units. Up close and around the greens, we use a light triplex unit, speeding up the cut by 33-1/3 per cent to simulate the 10-blade fairway reel. This seems to work out very well and we don’t have to get in close with the big units. Griffin: Have you found any special time of the day that you feel is preferable for mowing fairways? Ord: Yes. I think the ideal time to mow turf is in the evening after the sun has gone down. The turf is dry and you get a much better cut. The only problem is, it takes us five hours to mow 18 fairways. Therefore, we start early in the morning, and by noon, the fairways are done. This leaves a problem of clumped clip­ pings on those fairways cut early in the morning. To alleviate the problem, we go out in the afternoon and drag a hose between two turf trucksters to break up the clumps. It takes about a half-hour because we only have maybe five or six of the early-cut fairways with the clumped clippings. Griffin: Have you ever tried dragging the fairway with a hose before you mow, rather than after? Ord: Oh, we do that every morning, seven days a week. We find that getting the fairways dry early not only helps with the mowing, but also considerably reduces our disease problem. Griffin: Do you have any special advice on watering? Ord: With Penncross, I think you have to be very limited in the amount of water you apply. You can actually get rid of some of the Poa if you slack off on water a little bit and let the bent try to take over. Griffin: About what pwH do you try to maintain in the fairway soils? Ord: The fairways are between 6.3 and 6.8. Griffin: A few years ago, I recall that you built a spiker out of parts of other pieces of equip­ ment. Could this possibly help with some of the thatch eradication or control? Ord: I think it’s been a great help, especially on localized dry spots of which we had so many. We tried wetting agents and, though helpful, they didn’t solve the problem for us. We went to work and built a 15-foot wide hy­ draulic spiker and we can go out and spike all the fairways in about four hours. Griffin: You use this on greens too, don’t you? Ord: Yes, this is used on greens and tees and it takes about 2% hours to do all of them. During the summer, we do it about every two weeks. And that’s the way George Ord manages his bentgrass fairways at Sewickley Heights. 6 USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD The Other Half by WILLIAM H. BENGEYFIELD, Editor USGA Green Section Record ■ or 20 years now, golf superintendents and Green Committee Chairmen have had inex- pensive, direct, on-the-spot and authoritative turfgrass consultation services available through the USGA’s Green Section. With no axes to grind and no products to sell, the Green Section remains the only agency in the country devoted solely to the care of golfing turf and its management. It is a unique organization and available to all USGA Member Clubs. For the nominal fee of $300 per year (for an 18- to 27-hole course, for example), a club may take advantage of direct visits by a Green Section agronomist with years of experience and wide field exposure. Like all USGA activities, the Green Section operates for service to golf—not for profit. But direct golf course visits by regional staff members is only half of the story. Of equal importance (and far less widely known) is the substantial support given turfgrass research by the USGA Green Section. Through its Research & Education Fund, Inc., grants are placed at universities throughout the country supporting meaningful research projects. The program is coordinated by Alexander M. Radko, National Research Director for the Green Section. The support money comes from USGA Member Clubs, The National Golf Fund, Inc. (a portion of the money developed by National Golf Day is given to the USGA for turfgrass research purposes), regional golf associations, golf course superintendents associations and interested in­ dividuals. In 1973, $52,050, the largest single turfgrass research expenditure by any organization in history, went into the development of better turf for more enjoyable golf through the Green Section Research & Education Fund. The list included: University of Arizona Dr. William. R. Kneebone, Project Leader $2,000 University of California, Davis $2,000 Dr. John Madison, Project Leader University of California, Davis Dr. Richard R. Yeo, Project Leader $4,500 Regional, state and local golf associations are important sources of revenue for the Green Section Research and Education Fund, Inc. William R. Ireland, President of the Birmingham, Ala., Golf Association Foundation; Mrs. Samuel E. Upchurch, member of the USGA Women's Committee and Bob Phillips, retired Executive Sports Editor of The Birmingham Post Herald present Elbert S. Jemison, Jr., USGA Green Section Committee Chairman, with their Association's check in support of turfgrass research. Pennsylvania State University $2,000 Dr. Joseph M. Duich Project Leader University of Rhode Island Dr. C.R. Skogley, Project Leader $1,350 Rutgers, The State University Dr. C. Reed Funk, Project Leader $4,000 Rutgers, The State University Dr. Ralph E. Engel, Project Leader $ 500 Texas A & M University Dr. Richard L. Duble, Project Leader $6,500 Virginia Polytechnic Institute $2,500 Dr. Richard E. Schmidt, Project Leader Washington State University Dr. Roy L. Goss, Project Leader Washington State University Dr. C.J. Gould, Project Leader $1,000 $1,000 Thus, the Green Section’s Turfgrass Service is a balance between direct golf course visits backed by the coordinated research efforts. To anyone concerned with better golfing turf for tomorrow and interested in better playing conditions today, the total Green Section oper­ ation can be an invaluable tool. In thousands of University of California, Riverside $3,000 Dr. V.B. Youngner, Project Leader Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment $2,000 Station Dr. Glenn W. Burton, Project Leader University of Georgia Dr. R. H. Brown, Project Leader University of Illinois Dr. L. Arthur Spomer, Project Leader Kansas State University Dr. Ray A. Keen, Project Leader Michigan State University Dr James B. Beard, Project Leader Mississippie Sate Unversity Dr. Coleman Y. Ward, Project Leader $4,000 $2,000 $1,000 $4,500 $4,000 North Carolina State University $1,500 Dr. Wm. B. Gilbert, Project Leader North Carolina State University Dr. Leon Lucas, Project Leader Oklahoma State University Dr. Wayne W. Huffine, Project Leader $ 200 $1,000 Dr. J.L. Starling, head of the Agronomy Department, Penn State University, receives the 1973 Green Section Turf grass Breeding Research Grant from Alexander M. Radko, Research Director of the USGA Green Section. James B. Moncrief, left, Southern Director, USGA Green Section, presents the first of three parts of a $19,500 grant to the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. Accepting the check is Dr. Richard Duble. cases, it has helped and supported the super­ intendent and the Green Committee Chairman in their turf management responsibilities. The nearest Regional Office of the Green Section is listed inside the front cover. Look into it now for the sake of yourself and your club in 1974. It would be one way to start the year out right! Dr. Victor B. Youngner, right, University of California, Riverside, Calif., shows Western Green Section Director William Bengeyfield, left, part of the research work he is accom­ plishing with 1973 USGA funds. Dr. Youngner's work has been supported by the Green Section for over 12 years. At the Western Washington Research and Experiment Center, Puyallup, Wash., Super­ intendent Sam Zook, Overtake Country Club (left), and Milt Bauman, Seattle Golf Club, assist in rating the Fusarium Research Plots. At the University of Arizona, John Riggle, Executive Director of the Arizona Golf Association (left) and Ed Keating, USGA Green Section Committeeman (center) present the USGA Green Section's 1973 research check to Dr. Bob Kneebone (right) for heat tolerant bentgrass studies. Dr. Roy Goss, Turfgrass Researcher and Extension Specialist at Washington State, discusses one of his research projects. His work is supported in part by Green Section funds. Dr. James B. Beard, Associate Professor of Turfgrass Culture, Michigan State University, receives a 1973 Green Section Research Grant from former student and now Green Section staff member Carl Schwartzkopf. Dr. Beard's work is concerned with causes and prevention of turf grass wear. James B. Montcrief, Glenn W. Burton and Alexander M. Radko, (left to right) at the Tifton Conference in April, 1973. Dr. Burton's bermudagrass breeding work, en­ couraged by USGA Green Section funds since 1946, resulted in the great Tifton series of bermudagrasses that has made play so enjoyable throughout the South. Mercury Levels in a Golf Green by WILLIAM E. KNOOP, and GEORGE O. ESTES Extension Turf Specialist University of New Hampshire , Assistant Professor, Plant Science University of New Hampshire The levels of mercury in the environment and its effect on biological activity are of concern to both ecologists and agriculturists. One source of environmental mercury is fungicides used for turf disease control. Our objectives in this study were to de­ termine, under field conditions, the degree of mercury accumulation in soil after repeated organomercurial fungicide applications over a 15-year-span, the vertical and horizontal move­ ment of mercury in a soil and the uptake of mercury by turf plants growing in a mercury treated soil. Soil samples were obtained from a green and adjacent fairway area of a commercial golf course in southeastern New Hampshire. The green had received an annual application of approximately 0.69 ounces of metallic mercury per 1,000 square feet derived from organo­ mercurial fungicides, principally phenyl­ mercuric acetate, mercuric acetate, and mer­ curic chloride, over a period of 15 years. The time of sampling was August, 1971, and an arbitrary maximum sampling depth of 12 inches was established. A photograph of the major sample area is shown in Figure 1 while the specific sample sites and depth profile are shown in Figure 2. On the same date, an off-site soil and turf sample was obtained from the fairway approximately 1,000 feet from the primary sample area. Since the fairway was involved, the turf species was Merion Kentucky bluegrass. The golf green section of the sample area planted to velvet bentgrass has a slope of approximately three-to-four degrees. The fair­ way portion that collected drainage water from the green had a slope of about 10 degrees (Figure 1). During peak rainfall periods con­ siderable drainage occurred across the area sampled (Figure 1 dotted line). The total rainfall for the site was 40 inches annually with approximately 10 inches of water applied via irrigation. In commercial practice, the fungicide applications would be made during June-Sept­ ember for the control of turfgrass diseases such as brown patch (Rhizoctonia solani) and dollar spot {Sderotinia homoecarpa). The green which was sampled in this in­ vestigation was developed on a prepared soil, a usual practice in golf green construction. The soil was a loam with a pH of 6.4 and an organic matter content of 3.6 per cent. The cation exchange capacity of the soil was 12.1 megs/100 g soil. The results depicted in Figure 2 show an accumulation of mercury at the soil surface, a diminished Hg concentration with increasing soil depth, and little, if any, movement of mercury downslope from the site of applica­ tion. Specific cultural practices used in turf management such as aerification and irrigation Figure 1. would enhance downward migration rate of fertilizers, lime, or fungicides. The prepared topsoil, enriched in organic matter, retained significant amounts of mercury. In this regard, other research has also shown soil organic matter content to be highly correlated with the soil’s adsorptive capacity for mercury. Further­ more, sorption of mercury compounds from water is effectively performed by polyphenolic materials (e.g., tannins) and proteins, both of which are common constituents of soil organic matter. Mercury is a member of the zine subgroup of the Periodic Table of Elements. Thus, the partial immobilization of mercury in topsoil may be similar to that noted with zinc following surface applications of zinc sulfate. Sample site D received no intentional ap­ plication of fungicide although this area repre­ sents the path of the sprayer to and from the green and the edge of the green may have occasionally been inadvertently sprayed over the 14-year-period. Clippings were also fre­ quently deposited there following mowing op­ erations. No explanation is readily available for the low Hg value at the 10-12 inch depth at sample site A other than a difference due to inhomogeneity in soil characteristics or topsoil depth which may have altered downward move­ ment of mercury at this location. The mercury content of a soil sample taken to a 6-inch depth at the fairway site was 0.24 ppm and the turf sample (Merion Kentucky bluegrass) collected at this site showed a mer­ cury level of 0.10 ppm. The turf sample (Velvet bentgrass) composited to represent the entire green showed a Hg level of 1.68 ppm. The heavy metals zinc, iron, copper, and manganese occurred in the turf tissue from the green at levels of 75 ppm 326 ppm, 15 ppm, and 250 ppm, respectively. Levels of these same ele­ ments in turf tissue from the fairway site were 50 ppm, 190 ppm, 13 ppm, and 170 ppm, respectively. Fundamental differences in soil character­ istics, turf species, fertilization and manage­ ment practices between a golf green and a fairway area prevent definite conclusions re­ garding the specific impact of mercury on plant performance at this time. The above levels of essential elements are within limits commonly observed in turf specimens grown under New Hampshire conditions. While additional re­ search is warranted in this area, visual observa­ tion showed no adverse effects from the rather substantial soil Hg levels. Thus, the soil com­ plex or the action of higher plants may in­ activate the toxic influence of mercury. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: William E. Knoop has been the Extension Turf Specialist at the University of New Hamp­ shire since 1969. He has a wide educational background, receiving his Bachelor of Science from Iowa State and his Masters at the Univer­ sity of Florida. F igure 2. DISTANCE FROM EDGE OF GREEN (FEET) A TURF TIP FROM JOHN: John Dunlop, golf course superintendent at the Oakwood Club, Cleveland, Ohio, suggests using an air blow-out fitting installed adjacent to the irrigation water pumps for easy winter drainage of the irrigation lines. In northern climates, the irrigation lines must be thoroughly drained for winter protection. The old gravity drains are usually hard to find each fall and costly to install. But with a rotary screw-type air compressor of 160 CFM capacity, the entire system can be blown out from the fitting at the pump. An automatic system is particularly easy since you can program the clocks to run through two or three cycles and each head and valve is completely blown out. It is suggested on the last cycle, a visual inspection be made as each head operates, to make sure all water has been flushed out. If not, any head which shuts off still spouting water can be manually operated to clear it. The entire operation takes just six hours for an 18-hole course and is a highly recommended procedure for retiring your system in the winter. STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION (Act of October 23, 1962; Section 4369, Title 39, United States Code). 1. Date of Filing—October 1, 1973. 2. Title of Publication—USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD. 3. Frequency of issues—Six issues a year in January, March, May, July, September and November. 4. Location of known office of publication—Golf House, Far Hills, N.J. 07931. 5. Location of the headquarters or general business offices of the publishers—Golf House, Far Hills, N.J. 07931. 6. Names and addresses of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: Publisher—United States Golf Association, Golf House, Far Hills, N.J. 07931. Editor—William H. Bengeyfield, Golf House, Far Hills, N.J. 07931. Managing Editor—Robert Sommers, Golf House, Far Hills, N.J. 07931. 7. Owner (if owned by a corporation, its name and address must be stated and also immediately thereunder the names and addresses of stockholders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of stock. If not owned by a corporation, the names and addresses of individual owners must be given.) If owned by a partnership or other addresses—United States Golf Association, Golf House, Far Hills, N.J. 07931; President—Lynford Lardner, Jr., Golf House, Far Hills, N.J. 07931; Vice-Presidents—Harton S. Semple and Lynn A. Smith, Golf House, Far Hills, N.J. 07931, Secretary—Edward L. Emerson, Golf House, Far Hills, N.J. 07931, Treasurer—Harry W. Easterly, Jr., Golf House, Far Hills, N.J. 07931. 8. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages or other securities—None. 9. Paragraphs 7 and 8 include, in cases where the stockholder or security holder appears upon the books of the company as trustee or in any other fiduciary relation, the name of the person or corporation for whom such trustee is acting, also the statements in the two paragraphs show the affiant’s full knowledge and belief as to the circumstances and conditions under which stockholders and security holders who do not appear upon the books of the company as trustees, hold stock and securities in a capacity other than that of a bona fide owner. Names and addresses of individuals who are stockholders of a corporation which itself is a stockholder or holder of bonds, mortgages or other securities of the publishing corporation have been included in paragraphs 7 and 8 when the interests of such individuals are equivalent to 1 percent or more the total amount of the stock or securities of the publishing corporation. 10. This item must be completed for all publications except those which do not carry advertising other than the publisher’s own and which are named in sections 132.232, and 132.233 Postal Manual (Sections 4355a, 4344b, and 4356 of Title 39, United States Code.) A. Total No. Copies Printed (Net Press Run) B. Paid Circulation 1. Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors and Counter Sales 2. Mail Subscription C. Total Paid Circulation D. Free Distribution (including samples) by Mail, Carrier and Other Means E. Total Distribution (Sum of C and D) F. Office Use, Left-Over, Unaccounted, Spoiled After Printing G. Total (Sum of E and F) 1 certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete. Robert Sommers, Managing Editor Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months Single Issue Nearest to Filing Date 6,807 6,706 none 5,800 5,127 673 5,800 1,007 6,807 none 5,715 5,042 673 5,715 991 6,706 JANUARY 1974 13