PROCEEDINGS
of

1965 TURF CONFERENCE
Sponsored by the

and

PURDUE UNIVERSITY
LAFAYETTE, I N D I A N A
March 1 to 3, 1965

PROCEEDINGS OF THE
1965
MIDWEST REGIONAL TURF CONFERENCE

The 42 talks included in these Proceedings are condensations of talks by
speakers before sections and divisions of the 1965 M.R.T.F. Conference. We appreciated the willingness of the speakers to participate and prepare material for your
reading. See Table of Contents next page. Proceedings of each annual Conference
since 1948 have been prepared. A limited number of 1960, 1962, 1963 and 1964 Proceedings are available at price below.
A copy of these Proceedings were mailed to:
1.

The 576 attending the 1965 Midwest Turf Conference.

2.

One person of each member organization within the Midwest
Regional Turf Foundation not represented at the Conference.

3.

List of those in educational activities.

Additional copies are available at $ 1.00 each from:

W. H. Daniel, Executive Secretary
Midwest Regional Turf Foundation
Department of Agronomy, Purdue University
Lafayette, Indiana

Check below for special articles suggested for first reference as based on your
major interest.
For Lawns first see articles starting on pages 8, 10, 15, 32, 34, 44, 47, 53, 54, 60, 63, 65, 67, 73

For

Sod Production first see articles starting on pages

13, 15, 17, 24, 32, 34, 35, 36, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 51, 53, 54, 60, 61, 63, 65, 67,
69, 70, 73

For Golf Courses - all including
15. 17. 19. 21. 24 to 36. 38 to 44. 53. 65. 76

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
3
3
4
6

President's Report
The Size of the World Today...

The Particles of Soils - Clays
The Space Between Soil Particles

8
10
13
15
17

Soil Moisture Storage and Delivery.

Organizing Young Workers
Informing Golfers When Troubles Occur.....

19
21

Unwatered Fairways.
Manually Watered Fairways
Automatic Greens and Tees.....
A Modern Watering System for your Golf Course...

24
27
28
30
32
34
35

A. E. Robison
Lawn Watering Systems - Sales & Experiences.....
Automatic Sensing Controllers
Irrigation Installation Minimum Standards....... .Sprinkler Irrig. Ass'n.
and John Oldfield

36

Holding Poa annua Fairways......................
Fairway Improvement - 2nd Report
Developing Bentgrass Fairways
Protect Fairways from Competition

38
39
41
43
44

Soil Test Results and Interpretation
Turf Renovation

45
47

Busines Practices Emphasized
When Is Sod Ready to Cut?
Seeds Mixtures - A Review.
Bluegrasses Today & Tomorrow.
Progress in Bluegrass Research.....
Good Seed of Vegetative Varieties
Sales and Use of Zoysia
Midwest Zoysia - 2nd Report

48
51
53
54
60
61
63
65

. ..

Purdue-Stadium Progress Report.
Turf Research.
............W. H. Daniel
Experience with Glass Mat on New Seeding........
Mulches in Turf Establishment...................
Hydroseeding Turf Areas Over the World

66
66
67
69
70

Selling Material to Homeoxmers
.
..George J. ICoehler
Table of 25 Most Commonly Used Parliamentary Motions.......B. R. Kendall
Electrically Warmed Soils for Turf - 2nd Report.
J. R. Barrett, Jr.

73
76
77

BRIEF OF PRESIDENT'S REPORT
Richard B. Craig, Supt., Losantiville C. C.,
Cincinnati, Ohio

Another year has elapsed, the twenty-eighth Conference is well on its way to
being over- We are in a time period when our local professional organizations are as
numerous and as strong, through individual support, as ever before. We have had the
state turf organizations come into being and subsequently a greater interest is being
generated in the states for their own turf research and teaching programs. The
national superintendent's association has made many advances and accomplishments. Sod
producers have organized nationally. And yet, MRTF is as active and strong as ever.
This is indicated by the number of members and the high attendance we have had at this
educational Conference every year. This strength that p?TF has is only possible because of your individual enthusiasm and support, and for this we are very grateful.
It is only through active support and participation that we keep all these organizations active and growing, and thus we learn and grow.
As President I would like to express a most sincere thanks to the man who keeps
the organization going and makes this organization what it is today - Dr. Daniel.
And also a well deserved thanks to Bob Seager, technician, and to our ever faithful
Mrs. Kaye House.
It has been a privilege and a most appreciated honor to have served as President of p?TF for the past year.

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY'S REPORT
W. H. Daniel, Dept. of Agronomy, Purdue

The by-laws state that the Executive Secretary and Treasurer shall be members
of the Agronomy Department. This augments the agreement that Purdue University serves
as a home and the essence of work occurs within the University. For 20 years this
orientation has worked well, in fact, very well.
A regional educational program is only as good as its support. Our membership
has plateaued above 360. Attendance at these Conferences has plateaued near 600. My
trips to observe turf; to speak at meetings, and participate in programs averages 60
per year. Your individual interest in making these effective and meaningful facts is
most appreciated.
With research, teaching, student counseling and extension work, there are always things to do. Nevertheless, your individual questions and needs for information
certainly should be and are our major concern.
My thanks to many for your assistance and help in your local areas.
rent Board of Directors have been most helpful.

The cur-

THE SIZE OF THE WORLD TODAY
Earl L. Butz, £tan, School of Agriculture
Purdue University

The long-run outlook for international agriculture is essentially one of a race
against time and capital in an effort to meet the onslaught of a tremendous upsurge in
world population.
The man-food ratio around the world - never high enough to be very xciting to
two-thirds of the world's population - has actually been in a decline recently. Total
food output has increased, but at a slower rate than population.
Those of us in North America, who wrestle with perennial surpluses of both food
and feed grains, too frequently view our problem in the short run. While this may be
important, it is high time that we begin to fashion our domestic programs and policies
with a view toward the political and economic realities of the developing world food
crisis. Although I use the word "crisis," it need not develop in our lifetime if we can
apply the intelligence we possess to the twin areas of food production and international
trade.
At the beginning of the Christian E;..a, world population has been estimated at
around 250 million. In the next fifteen centuries it doubled, reaching 500 million by
1600. Three centuries later, by 1900, world population had tripled, and stood at about
1.5 billion. In less than two-thirds of a century since 1900, world population has
Reliable estimates indicate that in the little over oneapproximately doubled again.. .
third of a century remaining until the year 2,000, it will double again, and we will
stand at about 6.3 billion people.
During the first fifteen centuries after Christ, the rate of increase in world
population was estimated at .02 percent annually. By 1900 this was approximately 1 per
cent. As of I960, the annual rate was about 2 per cent, and it is expected to rise
even above this figure for the remainder of this century. Obviously, this rate of
growth cannot persist indefinitely, because of the sheer limitation of space and food.
However, such a rate is within the realm of possibility within our lifetime. Therefore,
face it we must.
The U.S.A. expects an increase of 60 per cent by the year 2000. Projected rates
of increase are approximately the same for Western Europe and Russia. However, population in Latin America is projected to increase 188 per cent. Likewise, the African
population increase is projected at 120 per cent, and Asia at 139 per cent.
Food Production Trends
From the beginning of history, man has always been in a struggle to feed himself, itfith the possible exception of the Western World in the last two or three decades.
From the beginning of the human race until now, man gradually developed the food production capacity required to sustain 3 billion people on the earth, although many persons have a very meager available food supply per capita. If the 6 billion plus people
predicted by the year 2000 are to be sustained, with no improvement in diet whatever,
ran will need to develop the capacity to feed another 3 billion people - and this must
be done in the short term of one-third of a century. This means that we must duplicate
in the next generation the production record that man has achieved since the dawn of
history. And we must do this at a time when nearly all of the virgin lands of the
world have been brought into production and when we face increasing inroads on arable

by the urban spi awl, developing highways, parks, recreation sites, and the like.
The challenge is great, but the situation is far from hopeless. The world's land
surface is currently estimated at 32.9 billion acres. Of this, 3.5 billion acres, about
11 per cent, is classified as arable land and land in tree crops. We actually plant to
crops considerably less in a given year, usually under 2.4 billion acres, about 8 per
cent of the earth's land surface. We have another 6.4 billion acres, or 19 per cent of
the earth's land surface, in permanent meadows and pastures. Thus, if we include this
wiih crop land and tree land, we account for about 30 per cent of the earth's land surface. It is possible that some of the remaining 70 per cent may someday be brought into
agricultural production, as capital becomes more plentiful, as cheaper sources of energy
are developed, and as more efficient means of converting sea water to usable water become available.
There are only two possible answers to the problem posed above: (1) increased agricultural production world-wide, with sufficient trade flexibility to permit effective
geographical distribution, and (2) a widespread and rapid increase in birth control practices. In the long run, say by the close of this century, birth control is the only solution. But this is developing extremely slowly in the population pressure areas of the
world, and probably will continue to develop slowly because of low levels of education
and living standards. Hence, the immediate need before us is to increase agricultural
production and to work out more effective means for distribution of our foodstuffs - just
the converse of some of the agricultural and trade policies currently popular in the
United States and Canada.
Individual countries vary markedly in the share of land suitable for cultivation.
Moreover, population and arable land are not at all evenly distributed. This accentuates the need for realistic trade policies. Asia, for example, has about 56 per cent
of the world's people, but only 31 per cent of the arable land. Western Europe, likewise, runs behind in arable land. In most of the rest of the world the inverse is true.
Perhaps the greatest variation among the nations in agricultural productivity lies
in capital inputs, particularly in the form of fertilizer, drainage, irrigation and
technology. In this respect North America leads the world. The record of increased
efficiency of production by North American farmers since the decade of the 1930's is
northing short of phenomenal. It is meaningful to use the trend in per capita grain production as an indicator of both agricultural progress and the quality of diet. A majority of all calories consumed cones from grains, either directly or indirectly, after
conversion into meat, milk or eggs. Thus a rising per capita output of grains in any
population makes possible either a rise in calorie intake or the production of additional
animal protein if this is needed or desired.
World grain output increased 47 per cent during the 25 years from 1934-38 to 1960-61.
During this time total harvested area increased by 15 per cent and average yield by 28
per cent. However, there was tremendous regional variation. During that quarter century
both North America and Oceania more than doubled total grain production. Eastern Europe
and the USSR gained only 24 per cent, Western Europe 31 per cent, Asia 41 per cent, Latin
America 42 per cent, and Africa, undisturbed by the war, 54 per cent. The latter increases did not keep up with population growth. North America expanded its share of world
grain output from 16.7 per cent in the years 1934-38 to 22.8 per cent in 1961. During
this same period the Soviet Bloc share of world output was steadily shrinking from 23.5 to
19.8 per cent. Or if we divide the world into the two dominant economic regions - developed and undeveloped - we discover that output in the developed regions increased 51 per
cent during this period, while that in the underdeveloped regions increased only 42 per
cent. This is significant when it is remembered that the rapid population growth is in
the undeveloped regionThe output of grain per capita of farm population in North
America, more than trebled in the twenty-five years from 1934 to 1961. During the same
interval it actually declined in Latin America and increased only modestly in Africa and
Asia.

The transposition of the advanced mid-20th century advanced agricultural technology of North America into the underdeveloped agricultural areas of the world is, at
the best, a very slow and arduous process. Yet, we must not despair in our efforts to
build up the agricultural economies of the underdeveloped nations. To the extent that
this can be done it will both promote economic and political stability within those
nations, and will in part alleviate the burden that must inevitably fall on North
American agriculture in the latter part of this century to prevent mass starvation in
large areas of the underdeveloped vjor1

Higher Production Needed
We thus face the prospect a decade hence that the great bread baskets of North
America will be called upon to supply food for large areas of the world until the
population-food ratio can again be brought into approximate equilibrium. The latter
cannot be accomplished quickly or painlessly. We, therefore, face the challenge, in
North America, to keep our food production machine in a healthy state, fueled for a
massive effort in the years ahead. We can add only a limited supply of additional
arable land. We can get some additional food from the sea - but here again we face
practical limits. The only practical alternative available to us is the accelerated
application of capital and technology to our own agricultural system in an effort substantially to increase output per acre and per man. This means accelerated application and use of fertilizers, irrigation, better seed varieties, more pesticides, and
extensive research inputs. We must not be lulled into a position of retreat on the
North American agricultural front, because of current selective surpluses within our
boundaries, because of uncertainties over the agricultural pplicies of the European
Common Market, because of our declining numbers of farms and farmers, or because of the
temporary rise of agricultural nationalism in many of the newer and undeveloped nations
of the world.
Rather, we must view the tremendously efficient agricultural plant of North
America as one of the most powerful tools in our kit of international diplomacy. And
then, having viewed it this i\ray, we must pursue more sensible internal price support
and production control programs than have persisted in recent decades. Likewise, we
must follow trade policies which are fitted more nearly to the economic realities of
our times.
To prepare for less than this will be to condemn a large part of the world to
widespread famine and political instability on a scale unprecedented in history. In
modern times, our own two nations could not remain insulated from such a catastrophe
on the other side of the globe, either east or south. Hence, there is no realistic
alternative for us except to gear up to meet this challenge.

SPACE AND TURF GROWTH:

AN INTRODUCTION

Dr. Fred V. Grau, Agronomist
College Park, Maryland

It is a rare opportunity to introduce various concepts of Space and Turf Growth.
Space is an interval between objects. Let us start to consider this by examining, in
your mind's eye, the particles of matter in nuclear material which are so tightly
packed that a so]:* '1, piece the size of my thumb would weigh 60 million tons. Here
space is at an absolute minimum.

Next, consider the atom, the building block of all chemical substances, which
consists essentially of a nucleus surrounded by orbiting electrons which are in constant motion within a fixed space. As electrons are shared or exchanged with other
atoms, we have molecules formed which maintain a certain space separating them from,
yet joining them to, other molecules.
Nov;, another concept of space. Let's say we have produced one pound of breeder
seed of a new superior bluegrass. (Breeder seed is the "MOTHER SEED" from which is
produced Foundation seed, which, in turn, produces Certified seed). We will give 8
ounces to each of two reputable growers for increase of Foundation Seed. Both growers
know how precious each seed is. Grower A has prepared a space of 8 acres of weed-free
soil. He mixes the seed with cornmeal to increase the bulk, then plants one ounce of
seed per acre in 3-foot rows with roughly one seed per inch of row. This sounds thinJ
ButGrower B handles his 8 ounches of seed (about 1.25 million seeds) differently.
He has a large farm, a large family, and lots of help. He plants his seed in a small
specially-prepared,sterilized bed. As the seedlings emerge, he transfers them to
small peat pots, one to a pot. Allowing for reasonable mortality, he develops one
million sturdy seedlings, each in an individual pot. How, what extent of space can
he plant with rows 3 feet apart (space to cultivate) and seedlings spaced one foot
apart in the row? Yes, he would plant 70 acres with plants developed from 8 ounches
of seed. The two concepts of space just illustrated are real. Both have been done.
Now, let's skip through time to the point where Blue Tag Certified seed is on
the market. You have bought 100 pounds of the seed. When planted too thick the seedlings would emerge so thick and so closely pressed together that there would not be
sufficient space for growth. Diseases may run unchecked because the space between
blades would be so small that the organisms would have a continuous growth medium. As
each seeding would start, then fail, you would be encouraged to overseed again.
Modern recommendations that recognize the need for space between plants for maximum
expansion would say to cover 2 acres, sometimes more, with the hundred pounds of seed.
With ample supplies of nutrients in the seedbed,each seedling quickly would occupy its
allotted space to provide the desired density of turf.
Many early
insisted on using
per square foot.
space in which to
seed per thousand

Penncross putting greens x\rere called failures because some architects
6 pounds of seed to 1,000 sg. ft. This figures out to 44,000 seeds
The space was so tightly packed with seeds that the seedlings had no
grow. Today no one would think of using more than 1/2 to 1 pound of
which is still plenty, but it does allow some space for growth.

Our concern is with the management of the space that turfgrasses now occupy on
earth and will occupy in the foreseeable future. No one to my knowledge has been able
to keep a record of the tremendous growth of turf as a product of our time and our way
of life.
All of us know how our open space (farm land, forests, coast lines) is being
gobbled up by urban sprawl, new shopping centers, highways, factories, and interchanges. A large part of the space is being devoted to turf for lawns, playgrounds,
golf courses, parks, cemeteries, and for protection from erosion on our highxvays. Now
we must add the term "Beautification" for highways in the Great Society. Some of us
tried to get that well underway 20 years ago.
Space on earth is finite and non-expandable. As
plode virtually unchecked, it is evident that the space
is shrinking. As more and more people use a given area
we develop the ways and means of producing turf that is
creased traffic.

the population continues to exavailable for each human being
of turf, it is essential that
capable of tolerating the in-

Twenty years ago there was no space for turf in most agricultural colleges and
Experiment Stations across the land. Turf was a luxury inconsistent with space vevoted
to animals and farm crops. In 1945 the Midwest Regional Turf Foundation was organized.
Also, in 1945 a small group of dedicated workers joined together for recognition so
that in 1946 the American Society of Agronomy made space for a Turfgrass Division.
Growth of Turf as an agricultural entity has advanced steadily ever since. Now nearly
every Agricultural Experiment Station devotes time and space to research, teaching and
extension in Turf, as do many industrial organizations.
This brings us to practical considerations of space in the micro-climate of the
turf itself, and within the soil x-jhere roots grow. What can we do to provide the most
effective space for turf grox\rth? What is the best way to remove old, unwanted grass
so that space is provided for the fresh, new, more disease-free growth? How can we
more effectively utilize the tremendous space deep in the soil where roots of turfgrasses have failed to penetrate? These are unexplored areas of space that should
challenge turfgrass scientists for years to come.
Where can we find the space to develop all our needed recreational facilities
for the expanding population? What sites are most favorable for turf growth and for
the people? Where is the fresh, new, uncontaminated space where we can grow in a pure
condition the new superior turfgrasses that are being developed?
It is easy to ask questions, but the answers come with greater difficulty. This
takes research which demands space in greenhouses, space for growth chambers, space in
field trials, and space for demonstrations under actual use. Beyond this we must have
space in laboratories, in classrooms and in libraries where students can learn. • Finally,
we must have space in lecture halls, such as this, where we learn from others. Now, I
propose to vacate this space so that Dr. White can occupy it.

THE PARTICLES OF SOILS —
Dr. Joe L. White, Dept. of
Purdue University

CLAYS
Agronomy

If one takes a chunk of soil and treats it in such a manner that it can be
sliced into sections sufficiently thin to permit examination in transmitted light under
a microscope, it can be seen that the soil is made up of particles cemented together by
organic matter and clay arranged in such a manner that there are many openings, or
pores. These pores may be small or large, depending upon.tthe proportion of different
particle sizes in the soil. The pores may or may not be connected in a continuous
manner; the size and distribution of pores control the movement of liquids and vapors
in the soil.
If we take a sample of well-aggregated soil, such as a Crosby silt loam, place
it in a container of water and agitate vigorously, we can break down the aggregates
and cause the soil to separate into individual particles. These particles range in
size from coarse sand, (2.0 to very fine sand, 0.2 mm), to clay, which is less than
0.002 mm.

When we examine the various particle-size fractions with an ordinary light
microscope, we can easily see the sane and silt particles, but the clay particles are
too small to be resolved by the light microscope. In order to examine the nature of
soil minerals in the clay fraction, the particles must be magnified thousands of times;
this can be readily done by the use of the electron microscope. It can be shown,
(Fig. 1) by micrographs of minerals, such as kaolinite, that minerals are well crystallized and occur as thin platelets, as laths, or as tubes.
The clay fraction is less than 0.002 millimeter in size. One millimeter is
equal to 0.04 inch; thus, clay particles are less than 1/12,000 inch in size. The individual clay particles consist of hundreds or thousands of thin sheets bound together. It would require from 25,000,000 to 30,000,000 individual sheets to make a
stack one inch in height. If we were to stack this many dollar bills into one pile, it
would be about two miles high.
When properties such as surface area, adsorbing power, swelling, plasticity and
cohesion, and heat of wetting are examined as functions of particle size, it can be
readily seen that they increase very rapidly as particle size decreases. Thus, the
surfaces, which surround the pore space, have properties which depend largely on the
kinds and amounts of clay minerals present.
Clay minerals may be divided into two general groups: (1) swelling clays, and
(2) non-swelling clays. An example of swelling clay is found in the montmorillonite
group—water and cations such as potassium and calcium can move into the space between
the individual sheets and force the layers apart. The kaolin group of minerals show
little or no swelling. The amount of surface area exposed by swelling clays in comparison with non-swelling clays might be likened to the surface area in a book of 600
pages—all of the surface is accessible, whereas only the back and front covers and
the edges are accessible if the pages are stuck together.
If your coffee cup had been filled with a rather common soil in the Midwest,
Crosby silt loam, at lunch, the soil would have about 8 acres of surface area exposed
in that small volume. At the wilting point, that soil would have about 5 teaspoonsful of water spread out over its 8 acres.
In addition to surface area of considerable magnitude, the clay minerals also
have negative electrical charges which must be neutralized by external cations, such
as potassium, calcium, magnesium, etc. The capacity to exchange positively charged
ions is called cation exchange capacity and is usually stated in terms of milliequivalents per 100 grams of soil. One mi H i equivalent per 100 grams xrould be equal
to 20 lbs. of hydrogen per acre furrow slice, or 780 lbs. of potassium per acre furrow slice. Values may range from 5 up to 25 milliequivalents per 100 grams for many
soils in the midwest.
The clay minerals have been studied in great detail, and the general features
of the structures and composition of many of the clay minerals have been well established. The silicate clay minerals consist primarily of two building blocks, namely,
four oxygens at the corners of a tetrahedron usually with a silicon atom in the center, and six oxygens and/or hydroxyls at the corners of an octahedron, often with an
aluminum ion at the center. (Fig. 2).
Layers of tetrahedra and octahedra may be combined in several ways, but two
general groups are generally recognized. In the first, one tetrahedral layer is
fused with one octahedral layer, giving a tetrahedral-octahedral layer ratio of 1:1.
This group is known as the kaolinite, or 1:1 group,, (Fig. 3); minerals of this group
are normally non-swelling. In the second major group, the montmorillonite group, one
octahedral layer is fused betx^een txjo tetrahedral layers to form a mineral having a
tetrahedral-octahedral layer ratio of 2:1. (Fig. 4).

Examples of this group include montmorillonite and the micas. The mica structure might be lil- ~ned to two Chinese checker boards— the marbles would represent the
potassium, ions. If the potassium ions in a mica were expanded until they were as
large as the marbles in the Chinese checker board, the clay size mica particle would
be approximately the size of a football field. As stated before, it would take
25,000,000 mica layers to make a stack 1 inch high.
As micas weather in the soil, the plates become "unglued," potassium becomes
available to plants, the layers swell and permit nutrient ions,such as calcium and
magnesium, and water to move between the layers. The surface area of the mineral also
increases as a result of the swelling produced by the weathering processes.
In conclusion, I have attempted to briefly outline the nature, properties, and
structure of the clay minerals and to point out the importance of the clay fraction in
influencing the chemical and physical properties of soils.

Figure Captions
Figure 1.

Electron micrograph of kaolinite (magnification 30,000X).

Figure 2.

Structural units of the silicate clay minerals: A. tetrahedron and B.
octahedron. Large open circles represent oxygen or hydroxyl; small
closed circles represent silicon (A) and aluminum (B).

Figure 3.

Geometrical model of kaolinite structure (1:1. type clay mineral) showing
the manner in which tetrahedral and octahedral layers are organized.

Figure 4.

Geometrical model of montmorillonite structure (2:1 type clay mineral).
A potassium ion and water molecules are shown schematically in the space
between adjacent plates of the mineral.

THE SPACE BETWEEN SOIL PARTICLES
Dr. H. Kohnke, Dept. of Agronomy,
Purdue University
As far as the plants are concerned, the space between the soil particles is
more important than are the particles themselves. That is where the plants live; betweer the particles. The roots need water, air and nutrients, and there has to be
space for them to enter. A soil microphotograph illustrates how complicated the
space between the particles is. Soil is made up of particles of many sizes, but even
the largest soil particle is less than a tenth of an inch in diameter. Many are so
small that they cannot be seen with an optical microscope.
There are many aspects of porosity we could study. In the short time allotted
let us concentrate on one item: the diameter of the pores. This varies from the
tiny space between two clay particles to a mouse hole. For our purposes we can classify soil pores into four size groups. Since we are considering very small openings,
we cannot use inches to describe them. Let us use microns! One-thousand microns
make one millimeter, 25,400 microns make an inch.

The reason we are so interested in pore space size is that the diameter determines the degree to which the pores attract water. The smaller the pores the more
they attract water. Pores larger than 60 microns in diameter quickly lose water.
Air can enter soon after rain or irrigation has stopped.
Medium-sized pores with diameters between 10 and 60 microns attract water to a
certain extent. Water actually is lifted several feet by "capillarity/7 but is
drained out in a few days, if soil, containing such medium pores, is deep enough, and
the excess ground water can drain away. Soil containing water in the medium pores is
too wet for tillage. In a farmer's field that is not irrigated, water remains too
short a time in the medium pores to be of much value to the plants. In the case of
an irrigated golf green, most of the water that the plants absorb comes from the
medium pores.
Small pores, those with diameters between 0.2 and 10 microns, have a great
attraction for water. Gravity cannot remove this water. The small pores store the
water that plants use in the farmer's field. Transpiration and evaporation are the
only ways in which water is removed from small pores.
In the very small pores - smaller than 0.2 micron in diameter - water is
largely held directly by the solid surfaces. The layer of water is 5 or less molecules thick (or thin). This water is held so tightly that plants cannot extract it.
It can only be lost by evaporation. As a matter of fact, very dry soil actually
absorbs moisture from the air.
The percentage distribution of the different sizes od pores in a soil depend
on soil texture (the relative amounts of sand, silt and clay), and on soil structure
(the arrangement of the individual soil particles). In a farmer's field even finetextured soil (soil with much clay and silt) may have many large pores, because the
particles are arranged in aggregates (clumps). In a golf green such aggregation is
soon destroyed because of traffic when the soil is wet. Since large and medium pores
are needed in a golf green soil, it is necessary to prepare it of predominantly
coarse textured material (sand and fine gravel).
A glance at the table shows that placing material of exclusively large pores
(pea gravel) underneath of a fine-textured soil, will result in excessive wetness in
the soil because the gravel does not attract the water. Then may be best to have a
soil with a high proportion of large and medium pores at the surface to avoid excess
wetness.

(Table follows)

The Space Between Soil Particles

Pore size &
diameter

Attraction
for water

:

; Drainage

| Air and Water
j for plants

; Root size

•

Large - larger
• than 60
microns

No attraction
for water

Medium - 10 60 microns

Water is
attracted.
"capillary"
climb.

•

Small - 0.2 10 microns

!

Great attraction for
water.
Water
I
!
retained
i against
1
gravity
i

Surfaces
i
-

;
*

!

Attract even
the moisture
in the air.
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only a few
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i
Fast drainage, Fast infiltration ] Equal to diameter.
of root tips
and fast air
water drains
supply
1
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Water drains
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couple of
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days
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water supply for j hairs
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i evaporation
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Figure 1. Electron micrograph of
kaolinite (magnification 30, 000X)

Figure 2 Structural units of the
silicate clay minerals: A. tetrahedron, and B. octahedron. Large
open circles represent oxygen or
hydroxyl; small closed circles represent silicon (A) and aluminim (B).

Figure 3. Geometrical model of kaolinite structure (1:1 clay mineral) showing the
manner in which tetrahedral and octahedral layers are organized

Figure 4. Geometrical model
of montmorillonite structure
(2:1 type clay mineral) A
potassium ion and water molecules are shown schematically
in the space between adjacent
plates of the mineral.

INFILTRATION AND SOIL SURFACES
J. V. Mannering, Research Soil Scientist,
Soil and Water Conservation Research Division,
Agricultural Research Service, USDA,
Lafayette, Indiana

One of the more important factors affecting the entry of water into soils is
the condition of the soil surface. Bare, unprotected soils are susceptible to surface
sealing when exposed to high-energy rainfall. Upon drying, a soil "crust" forms which
serves as a barrier to water entry, even though the soil beneath has sufficient pore
space for water transmission. Soil crusts are known to have the following properties:
(a) Reorientation of dispersed particles in the upper few millimeters of the surface;
(b) greater bulk density than in the underlying materials; (c) less pore space than in
the underlying material; and (d) higher percent of fine particles than in the underlying
material. All of these properties contribute to reduced infiltration and in many areas
are also the cause of poor seedling emergence.
The "rainulator" ,
a device for applying simulated rainfall to soils,has been
used the past several years in Indiana and surrounding states to study infiltration and
erosion on various soils and cultural conditions. This equipment has many of the characteristics (drop size, drop distribution, and kinetic energy) of a natural-highenergy storm that produces severe surface sealing and crusting on bare soils. The results are mostly oriented toward crop land, but the same principles apply to turf work,
especially turf establishment.
There are several factors that influence surface sealing, or crust production.
One of those is surface roughness. A three-year comparison of conventional tillage vs.
minimum tillage for corn production near Lafayette, Indiana, resulted in vast differences in surface roughness.
A micro-relief meter showed the random roughness index of
the conventional (smooth) tilled soil to be 4.54 as contrasted to a value of 8.47 for
the minimum tilled (rough) soil. The random roughness index is defined as the standard
error among logarithms of 400 height measurements taken in 40-inch-square area. This
greater surface roughness was partially responsible for a 35 percent increase in infiltration. Part of this increase resulted from less surface sealing on the rougher plot.
Another factor affecting surface sealing is soil structure. A soil recently
plowed out of sod seals or crusts less readily than one plowed out of continuous row
crop when exposed to intense rainfall. One measure of this difference in soil structure
is soil aggregation. In a crop rotation study conducted in Illinois, soil aggregation,
alone, accounted for 50 percent of the differences in infiltration attributed to treatments. As soil aggregation increased, surface sealing decreased, and infiltration increased.
Soil texture also has a significant influence on the crusting tendencies of soils.
Infiltration, used as an indicator of crust strength, was found to be the highest on the
coarse textured soils, and to decrease as the texture became finer until a reversal
occurred starting with the silty clay loam texture. Average infiltration values for
sands, loamy sands, sandy loams, loams, silt loams, silty clay loams and silty clays
were, respectively, 4.6-, 3.4-, 2.4-, 2.1-, 2.1-, 2.4- and 3.0- inches. Five inches of
simulated rainfall were applied over a two-hour period in this study. The medium textured soils (loams and silt loams) appear to be the most susceptible to surface sealing
and crusting. One might normally expect the heaviest textured soils (clays) to be the
most seriously affected. However, clay soils relatively high in organic matter are generally well aggregated and surface sealing doesn't readily occur on them. Soil properties such as organic matter, aggregation, and pore space also influence infiltration
differences within textural classes.

The cultural condition of the soil at the time rainfall occurs can have an
enormous influence on surface sealing. This is illustrated by the infiltration differences on three conditions tested with the rainulator. The three conditions were: (a)
Growing sod approximately four inches tall; (b) a plowed, bare soil recently disked;
and (c) a plowed soil recently disked with one ton per acre of straw mulch applied on
the surface. After two hours of rainfall at an intensity of 2-1/2 inches per hour, the
following infiltration rates were recorded: (a) Sod - 1.9 inches per hour; (b) bare
soil 0.5 inches per hour; and (c) mulched soil - 1.9 inches per hour. Little or no surface sealing occurred on either the sod or mulched plot as shown by the infiltration data.
Surface cover has a tremendous influence on surface sealing and crust formation.
This is illustrated by another rainulator test in which intense rainfall was applied to
one plot, which was protected with a double layer of screenwire suspended about four
inches above the soil surface, and to another plot that was completely void of surface
protection. This study was conducted on several soil types. In all comparisions the
screenwire was responsible for sizable increases in infiltration. The follox«ang results
are indicative of the importance of surface cover. Infiltration increases resulting from
the screen wire were 0.4-, 2.0-, 1.6-, and 1.0 inches, respectively, for an Oakville
sand, Warsaw sandy loam, Cincinnati silt loam and Markland silty clay. Five inches of
rainfall were applied over a two-hour period. The effect of the screen wire was to reduce drop size and velocity, and therefore, the kinetic energy of the rainfall which resulted in less surface sealing.
Still, another illustration of the effect of protective cover on infiltration
and surface sealing is a study which was conducted on a soil having various rates of
wheat straw mulch applied to the surface:
Mulch tons/acre
Coverage of surface %
Increased infiltration %
Soil loss %

0
0
0
100

.25
40
10
25

.50
60
35
10

1
87
75
0

2
97
80
0

4
100
82
0

The reduction in flow velocity of the runoff resulting from the barriers formed by the
straw on the surface was largely responsible for the significant soil loss reductions
by the lower mulch rates.
Once a soil crust has formed, it should be destroyed if increased infiltration is
desired. Destruction of surface crusts by cultivation resulted in an 80 percent infiltration increase during a 3-year study recently completed. If left unprotected, continued rainfall will again product crusts on cultivated soils.
Results from this
same study showed infiltration to be almost twice as great on cultivated-mulch soil as
on cultivated-no mulch soils. These were seasonal results in which 1 5 - 1 / 2 inches of
simulated rainfall were applied with more than 80 percent of the water entering the soil
on the mulched soil compared to less than 50 percent on the non-mulched soil.
In summary, infiltration is found to be greatly influenced by soil surfaces. The
extent of surface sealing regulates infiltration rates in many instances. Factors that
influence surface sealing include: (a) Surface roughness; (b) soil texture; (c) soil
structure, and (d) the amount of protective cover. The amount of surface protection
also influences the extent to which the first 3 factors affect infiltration. If a
large share of the surface is covered, surface sealing will not be a serious problem.

SOIL MOISTURE STORAGE AND DELIVERY
Dr. Dan Wiersma, Dept. of Agronomy
Purdue University

The water in the soil is in a continual dynamic state. It is constantly being
removed by the plants in a process we call transpiration and replaced by rainfall, or
the artificial means of irrigation. The soil serves then as a moisture reserve. The
amount of water used or required by the plants is independent of soil type or texture.
However, soils vary greatly in their capacities for holding water with some retaining
much more than others.
There are several soil factors which influences its i^ater-holding capacities.
The principal one is texture, or particle size. In general, the finer or smaller the
particle the more water is held for the plant to use. This does not hold true as the
particles become very fine, such as the clays, then the total amount of water available to the plants begins to lessen.
Table 1.

Ranges of Available Water-holding Capacities.

Soil Textures

Available water per foot of soil

Yery coarse textures very coarse sands _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Coarse textures coarse sands, fine sands & loamy sands - - - - - - - Moderately coarse textures sandy loams and fine sandy loams _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Medium textures - •
very fine sandy loams, loams 2: silt loams - - - - - - Moderately fine textures clay loams, silty clay loams, & sandy clay loams - - - Fine textures sandy clays, silty clays, °c clays - - - - - - - - - - Organic soils peats and mucks _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

inches
0.4-0.7
0.7-1.0
1.0-1.5
1.5-2.3
1.7-2.5
1.6-2.5
2.0-3.0

The "Available water" is that between two conditions commonly called "Field
capacity" and "Wilting point." Field capacity is defined as the water remaining in
the soil after gravity has removed the water out of the larger pores. This is
usually expressed as a per cent by weight and ranges from 7 to 30 per cent. At the
"Wilting point" the plant cannot get enough water from the soil to keep it from
wilting. Wilting point ranges from 2 to 15 per cent. "Field capacity" can be considered the upper limit of soil moisture, and "Wilting point" the lower limit, with
the difference between the two the "Available water." These terms serve as practical reference points; however, in reality with the moisture retention properties of
a soil there are not points, but is a continuous function. Further, studying these
retention properties of the soil gives us insight on relation of the plant in its
dynamic action of removing the water from the soil.
The plant in reality has two environments as far as its water relations is
concerned. The soil,or underground environment, and the atmospheric or above ground
environment. The soil serves basically as the "supply" for the water, and the atmospheric the "demand." The supply must be equal to the demand or the plant will
experience a moisture deficiency and will not function properly. The water supply is

more than simply an "amount" function, but also is a "rate" and is related to the soil
properties and to the plant root characteristics.
The roots of a plant may be referred to as its "plumbing" system. The deeper
and more dense the roots extend into the soil, the more readily can the water be
supplied to meet the plant demand. Water moves very slowly in soil, and as the soil
moisture decreases the rate of movement decreases very rapidly. Thus, the plant
roots should thoroughly proliferate throughout the soil to avail themselves of all
available water. As the soil moisture decreases the supply becomes more limited as
the moisture goes from "field capacity" to the "wilting point."
The development of the root system is an important factor as to the amount of
water available and as to the efficiency which water extraction takes place. The
deeper and denser the rooting, the greater the volume of water for the plant. Factors which influence the rooting include the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.

The genetic characteristics of the plant.
The internal drainage of the soil.
The fertility status of the soil.
Compaction, or layering of soils, from natural occurrence, or induced
by man's manipulations.

Again, the plant must be able to attain sufficient
system, to satisfy the atmospheric demand. If the demand
plants will have a moisture deficiency and will wilt. In
évapotranspiration rates for different months and weather
Table II.

water, through its root
exceeds the supply, the
Table II are general
conditions.

Estimated Values of Daily Evapotranspiration at 40° - 44° North Latitude.
Daily Evapotranspiration During
Dull Cloudy
Normal
Bright, hot
Weather
Weather
weather

£ ril and September
May and August
June and July

0.07
0 .09
0.13

These are only general estimates.
piration as high as 0.30 inch.

0 .10
0.13
0.17

0.14
0.19
0.23

There may be occasional days with an évapotrans-

In July on a bright sunny day, 1,000 sq. ft. will require as much as 140 gals,
per day. On a dull day the requirement will be about 80 gals, for 1,000 sq. ft.
The soil may be able to supply the 80 gallons, but not the 140 gallons per day.
Plants in the shade, or along side buildings, will have a different irrigation requirement than those in the sun. Irrigation needs can be closely estimated
by knowing the atmospheric conditions. Also, soil moisture readings, as direct
measurement, are to be encouraged wherever possible.

TURF —

THE INTEGRATOR OF SPACE AND WATER

J. R. Watson, Director, Agronomy Division
Toro Manufacturing Corporation, Minneapolis, Minn.

To fulfill its role as integrator of space and water, turf must bring these
two seemingly independent entities together, and, thereby, produce a workable and
acceptable whole satisfactory to the user.
Today's basic discussions have explored many aspects of each subject. Each
speaker has ably presented his topic and projected its particular role in the production of tur- fgrass.
We recognize turfgrass as an integrator — a most important one — because
it brings many things, including each of us, together. We must also recognize turfgrass as a summation or an end product of a number of factors. Its role as integrator of space and water needs to be examined in this light.
Turfgrass growth in a given location is a function of the climatic conditions,
soil properties and management practices to which the selected grass or grasses are
subjected.
Climate exerts its influence through temperature, rainfall, wind movement and
sunlight. The choice of an individual species or strain of a warm or a cool season
turfgrass for a particular use is largely determined by its adaptation to climatic
conditions — especially temperature.
Soil properties influence the kind and quality of turfgrass in a number of
ways. There are certain baar.c requirements which soil must provide for satisfactory
grass growth. These include support, moisture, air, nutrients and temperature. The
ability of a soil to meet these requirements is dependent upon its physical, chemical
and biological properties. Today's discussions have highlighted the physical properties of soils and the role porosity - the space between partices - plays in the growth
and development of turfgrass.
Management embodies the choice of gras?, fertilizing practices, watering practices, mowing, cultivation (aerification) and programs of disease, insect and weed
control, as well as all other actions that require a decision by the turfgrass manager.
Water and Turf
Water is essential to plant growth and activity and is involved either directly
or undirectly in all phases of the care and management of turfgrass. Water is necessary for germination, cellular development, tissue growth, food manufacture (photosynthesis), temperature control and resistance to pressure. It acts both as a solvent and
a carrier of plant food materials — nutrients dissolved in the soil are taken in
through the roots and then carried to all parts of the grass plant in water. The food
manufactured in the leaves is also distributed throughout the plant body in water.
Water transpired by the leaves serves as a temperature regulator for the plant.
The amount of water within the cells of the grass leaves plays a role in counteracting the effects of traffic. When the plant cells are filled with water, they are said
to be turgid, a condition that helps leaves resist traffic (foot and vehicular).
Hence, adequate water within the cells helps avoid the damage which may result when
pressure (traffic) is applied to grass in a state of wilting. Wilt is a condition that
exists when cells do not contain enough water and are said to be flaccid. For all

these functions, very large quantities of water are required and must be readily available to the plant if turfgrass is expected to grow at an optimum.
Space and Turf
Soil, as the medium for turfgrass growth, must provide support for the plant,
serve as a storehouse for nutrients, supply air (oxygen), and act as a reservoir for
moisture. The texture (size of soil particle), structure (arrangement of soil particles), and porosity (percentages of soil volume not occupied by solid particles) of
a soil are the basic physical factors which control the movement of water into the
soil (infiltration), through the soil (percolation) and out of the soil (drainage).
Texture, structure and porosity, along with organic matter content, determine the
water-holding capacity and control the air-water relationships of the soil.
Texture is a most important characteristic of soils because it describes, in
part, the physical qualities of soil with respect to porosity, coarseness, or fineness of the soil, ., soil aeration, speed of water movement in the soil, moisture storage capacity and, in a general way, the inherent fertility of the soil.
Sandy soils are loose, porous, drouthy and low in fertility; whereas, clay soils
may be hard when dry, or plastic when wet and poorly aerated, but high in moisture
retention and possibly high in fertility.
Clays have a higher total porosity than sands. Clays have a large number of
small pores which contribute to a high water-holding capacity and slow drainage. Sands
have a small number of small pores with, therefore, a low water-holcfteig Capacity. On
the other hand, the large number of large pores in sands contribute to rapid drainage.
For this reason, sands will resist compaction.
Spaeer Roots and Water
Roots must have water and air, as well as nutrients, to grow and develop. The
growing tip of the root grows through voids — spaces —
the roots extend into new
areas when conditions with respect to air, water and nutrients are favorable. Water
moves into soils through the large pores and as the excess water is drained away,
these pores are filled with air.
Drainage is of two types — surface and internal. Surface drainage is accomplished through grading and contouring of surface areas. Internal drainage is a
function of the physical soil properties — aggregation of clay (structural porosity)
or of sand content (textural porosity).
On most turfgrass areas, one is usually able to apply water if soil moisture
becomes limiting. In too many cases removal of water at a rate commensurate with
turfgrass requirements for air, does not take place. Unless soils are adequately
drained, many problems associated with saturated soils, disease and compaction will
arise.
Compaction squeezes or forces the soil particles together and thus reduces
space. A very thin layer of compacted soil at or near the surface will materially reduce the rate of infiltration. Most of the compaction on turfgrass areas occurs within the upper two-inch layer of soil; hence, may be alleviated by cultivation (aerification ).
In conclusion, healthy, vigorous turfgrass is the end product, the product that
has brought many factors together; hency, turfgrass is an integrator.

ORGANIZING YOUNG WORKERS
Dudley Smith, Supt., Silver Lake C. C.,
Chicago, Illinois

When I was approached to speak on the subject, "Organizing Young Workers," I
was amused. Previously, "Fertilizer Practices," "Budget Organization," and "Putting
Green Construction" had been my meat. Why this topic? Why not? Labor management is
undoubtedly the biggest part of my job. My crew at peak season last year numbered 24
employees. Of this group.three were experienced, older men; the remaining 21 were
older high school and college youths. That means that 87% of my labor force was temporary help. In some cases, each of these boys was holding down his first job. The
problem was clear - either organize these lads into a working unit, or change my title
from superintendent to baby-sitter.
A few years ago when I came to Silver Lake Country Club, I was amazed that the
winter crew consisted of two men. I dreaded the thought of mowing 36 holes in April
with one helper. However, when Easter vacation came around, several high school boys
appeared and asked for their old jobs for the coming summer. The nucleus of a working crew was forming, and the impossible task was now only a challenge. Training and
disciplining this green help annually is a chore. Patience was an attribute that I
soon acquired. I realized that my former employers, Col. Red Reeder at West Point,
and Frank Tull at Hercules C. C. must be men of iron. Now the shoe was on the other
foot, and the boys were asking me for a chance.
In March I start accepting applications for summer work. At this time I try to
talk to each applicant and explain the scope of the work. I stress the point that we
work seven mornings each week. I limited the number of applications to about forty.
Usually about ten of this number will never show up. The other boys will start in
the spring, working Saturdays and evenings after school. When June 1 rolls around,
I have weeded out about ten more "gold bricks", and we have a solid crew of twenty
boys. I can usually depend on four or five college students returning to work also.
The "high paying" construction job they anticipated never materialized. This is a
benefit because I can use their experience, and make each one a crew leader to help
train the new boys.
On his first assignm nt the new boy usually gets to work with Phil, ray carpenter. Here he is subject to some philosophy, "No matter what job Dudley gives you,
they all pay the same. Today you are in the traps, but tomorrow you might be spraying greens. Don't be jealous of the other guy - do your job."
The second person the new boy works with is Ted, my mechanic. He tells them,
"Vie have one full-time mechanic here, that's me. I don't want any do-it-yourself
amateur, or stock car jockey souping up the greenmowers. Bring your sick machine into me for surgery, but keep your damn hands off." After these two quick blows to his
pride and enthusiasm, I get to the newcomer to tell him how important his job is, and
how I depend on him to do his best.
First-off the tenderfoot is taught the layout of the golf course. With 45
holes to maintain, I don't want him to waste 45 minutes deciding which No. 4 hole I'm
talking about. Visual aids: like the colored map on the wall, the bulletin board
with its progress charts:, the blackboard with its list of daily work instructions,
are of endless value in orienting the new boy to his assignment.
Most of our jobs are accomplished with crews: sandtrap crew, spray rig crews,
garbage run crew, rotary boys, etc. No crew ever consists of all new boys - one or

two experienced fellows are in charge. These leaders will be reprimanded if the job
is unsatisfactory. Buddies from the same school, or the same subdivision don't work
on the same crew,until I have observed their performance. We have too much to do in
a limited time to waste any effort clowning, or goofing-off.
My biggest challenge is to instill a sense of responsibility in the boys, such
as 1.

Get to work on time. I only want to give instructions once - at starting time-not every twenty minutes as stragglers show up for i^ork. Don't play hookey on
Sunday morning more than once if you want your job on Monday.

2.

The value of machinery. That nexx greenmower you are using cost $ 435.00, and the
new Professional with power steering is worth as much as your Dad's car home in
the driveway. Treat our equipment with care and respect.

3.

Carelessness, or willful destruction will not be tolerated. The machine will be
repaired, but the cost will be charged to the offender. One sad way to learn a
lesson is through your wallet, or to find that your paycheck has been docked.

4.

Avoid communication with the golfers. Do your job and get out of the golfer's
way. Do not mimic, or ridicule the golfers. Do not answer the golfer back with
abusive language. Even if the golfer is wrong, his green fee is paying our
salaries and we want him to come back next week.

5.

Lerrn the value of the dollar. On his first job it is hard to impress on this lad
that money saved for tuition and fraternity life next year is more important than
a Harley Davidson right now.

There are few jobs on the golf course I can trust my boys to do and do right
until they have been taught. Remember please, they possess strong young legs, vigor,
and enthusiasm. Mowing greens, mowing tees and banks, rotary work, fertilizing, fungiciding, operating the chain saw, laying new water pipe, and even sodding new bent
greens are some of the tasks the boys have handled well.
Likewise, there are jobs the folloxvs can't handle:
1.

All mechanical work is left for Ted. Then, no one can pass the buck about a
mower scalping, or a tractor engine missing.

2.

Mowing fairways is a monotonous job that I leave for an older man. He has the
patience to stop and let the golfer hit his shot instead of slicing the golf ball
in two. The older man doesn't think he is driving at Indianapolis either, and
have the seven-gang bouncing along behind him.

3.

We have two or three night itfatermen on duty at the same time. A boy is usually in
his second or third season before he makes the water crew. The waterman must know
the location of all the valves in the dark, how our watering routine is carried out,
and how to react in an emergency if the pump shuts off, or a pipeline bursts. The
responsibility of this job is just too great for inexperienced hands.

The wage scale at Silver Lake is based on seniority. The tenderfoot starts at
$ 1.25 per hour. Then in August, before he returns to school, I award him a ten or
fifteen cent an hour raise. This increase boosts his morale and encourages him to
return to Silver Lake the next season. Thus, I can expect one more experienced helper.
By the time the fellows are juniors in college and earning $ 1.80 per hour at Silver
Lake, they are killing my labor budget.

I manage to schedule several surprises for the crew throughout the season- A
few timers this year,when we started at 6 A.M. and quit early to avoid the heat, there
was cold watermelon at the barn before we left. Another treat is our annual trip to
the Western Open. My entire crew attends the tournament on Thursday for the opening
round. I want them to see Sam Snead and Jack Nicklaus, but I have an ulterior motive I want them to observe and criticize the golf course. I want a report on how the sandtraps were manicured, etc. The outing never fails to pay dividends.
In the fall we usually have a meeting of the superintendents at Silver Lake. In
1964 we were fortunate to have the Hichiana and Midwest groups visit us. The crew
wanted to create a favorable impression on our guests so they came in and worked Sunday
afternoon before the meeting. They policed the grounds, swept our the barns, waxed the
tractors, and groomed the sandtraps after the heavy weekend play. The boys knew I
would be shorthanded on Monday with most of them back in school. I certainly appreciated their efforts.
In conclusion, let me ask, "What kind of a crew do you desire?" I feel that I
get more work from a high school boy for $ 1.40 per hour than I would from an older,
slower man for $ 1.85. Hoi\r much work can I expect from MANPOWER labor that costs me
$ 1.90 an hour? After deductions the MANPOWER employee is taking home only $ 1.10.
I can't blame him for taking smoke breaks and leaning on his shovel. I feel that my
crew hustles for what they earn.
I am looking for boys who have an interest in golf. They might even be members
of their high school golf team. Then they have a golfers outlook on course maintenance. They know how to set tee markers correctly, and what it means to set the hole
cups fairly.
Working with boys, counseling them, answering their endless questions, keeps
me alert and on my toes. I try to encourage some of the boys to follow a turf curriculum in college, but insist that the decision be their own. In a few weeks my
1965 crew will make its appearance. Perhaps I might train one of them to be a successful superintendent —
then all past efforts will have been worthwhile.

INFORMING GOLFERS WHEN TROUBLES OCCUR
Ted Woehrle, Supt., Beverly Country Club
Chicago, Illinois

Since becoming a golf course superintendent some eight and a half years ago,
many problems have confronted me. Some of these are small enough to handle in everyday "decision making" or management. The golfers, or members, are not informed of
these relatively minor problems, which are too numerous to mention and often unimportant .
It is the BIG problem that often concerns the golfer, or member, as well as
the superintendent because it usually affects the playing condition of the course.
These problems fall into two categories - those that only concern your course, and
those that affect the entire area, or state that your course is in. The first category, those problems that affect your own course, are the most difficult to explain
to the golfer, especially if you are the only one in the area with this particular
problem.

Examples of some of the problems that may only affect your course are (these
are not necessarily in the order of their importance):
1.

Mechanical problems involving:
a- Equips nt - improper or lack of
b. Irrigation system - inadequate
c. Drainage system
d. Traffic - cart and foot
e. Vandalism

2.

Maintenance procedures, such as a- Fertilizing practices
b- Watering practices
c. Mowing habits
d. Spraying of pesticides

3.

Nature's influence on:
a. Disease - trees, flowers and turf
b. Weather - rainfall (too much as well as too little), snow, sleet,
ice, wind, low temperatures, high temperatures
c. Other pests - insects - weeds, etc.

4.

Management problems:
a. Labor
b. Budget
c. Poor public relations

5.

Just plain mistakes.

Notv we come to a listing of the problems that often concern an entire area of
state and these are:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Weather - rain, temperature, ice, snow and humidity
Common and uncommon plant diseases - pythium, etc.
Insects - grubs, Dutch elm bark beetle, 17-year locust.
Weeds

After placing your problem in the proper category and properly identifying the
problem, we must do a little research to understand the cause of the problem. Next
we ask ourselves, "What can'-be done, if anything, to help control this problem?"
"What can we do, if anything to help prevent the reoccurrence of the problem?"
Here is a chance to put your records to work. You probably have asked yourself if these records, and all the time it takes to keep records, are worth it. In
times of trouble they usually come to your aid. From your records you can determine if this problem has occurred before; if so what did you do about it. Did your
remedy work? What was the date of its last occurrence? Next get your reading material out, go to the library that you have been accumulating these past years. What
do you find?
If you still can't find satisfaction, then call up your neighboring superintendents and lunch with them. Discuss your problem. They, too, may be in the same
predicament. Or, you could call up somebody from the other side of town and quiz
him about conditions. And, for you younger superintendents, call up the so-called
"Old Timers" - you will be surprised how eager they are to offer some help if they
can. They may have faced this same problem sometime during their past and vast experiences .

You still have another area, or group of people to draw information from. Your
state universities, USGA Agronomists, Turf Foundations, and in some cases commercial
representatives will all be happy to assist you if possible.
Now, after you have gathered all the information that is available and you have
decided what you are going to do, how do we inform the golfer of your problem? Here
is where good Public Relations and/or Good Communications pay off. Isn't it amazing
hoxtf often these two terms are popping up these days - Public Relations and Communications? Let's list a few of the better known ways used to inform the golfers of our
problems :
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Pictures
News releases to papers and magazines
News letters, or special bulletins to the Club members
Bulletin board
Become friends, or perhaps I should say fetter friends
with the Pro and Manager
Word of mouth - while touring the course

The important thing is to let the golfer know that you are aware of the problem and
that you will do everything possible to alleviate the condition of the problem.
If you are capable of handling the problem with your own skills and ingenuity,
then by all means do it. It will be another feather in your hat. If the problem is
too large for you to handle, then for heaven's sake ask for help from others. Don't
be too proud to ask for help. If you do receive help - give credit to the people, or
agencies that provided the assistance. If you are successful in solving the problem,
spread the word to the rest of us. Brag a little and publish it.
Nov; I' would like to shoitf you a few slides and discuss with you how the golfers
were informed of the problem and what the results were. Slides will show: flood, ice
sheet damage, foot-printing on thawing greens, locust damage, ice damage to trees,
pythium and several others.
Whenever possible warn the members of the possibility of future problems. This
tends to get you off the hook when troubles occur. Mistakes are occasionally made by
all of us. Be big enough to recognize these mistakes. If necessary the golfer should
also be informed about these. Only if necessary.
Don't forget - we are still operating our courses on many theories, some of
which are known to be 907o fact and others which are theories and only theories, so
treat them accordingly. One of the most difficult problems to inform the golfer
about is himself. Tact is a must• We cannot offend the people that pay our salaries.
Remember 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Identify problem
Determine the cause of the problem
Solve, or control the problem
Prevent the problem from recccurring
Warn members, if possible,of approaching problems
Inform members of the problem and keep them informed. Progress reports are still worth the effort and time required to present them.

UNWATERED FAIRWAYS
James W. Brandt, Supt., Danville C. C.,
Danville, Illinois

My experience on the fairways at the Danville Country Club began in March of
1953. The fairways at that time were basically a good stand of Kentucky bluegrass.
Each year we had an invasion of chickweed, plantain, dandelions, and if sufficient
summer rainfall fell, it brought the bountiful crop of crabgrass. Broadleaf weeds
were controlled each year with 2,4-D.
You are well aware of the difficulty in mowing crabgrass. Because of the nature
of growth, as the fairways were mowed, the rear roller would flip the crabgrass up, and
golfers would complain that the fairways had not been mowed. Fairways were being
mowed 3 times per week, starting at 1 inch and gradually raising heighth of cut to one
and one-fourth inches by mid-summer.
Our first attempts at crabgrass control were purely mechanical. We would drag
a section of chain link fence at high speeds over the fairways. This would actually
pull some of the crabgrass, the remainder was raised or fluffed up in order that the
mowers did a half way job of cutting off the sterrmy growth.
In 1957 limited funds were available for fairway improvement. We had a soil analysis made. Fairways ranged in pH from 5.5 to 6.2. The soil is a thin layer of silty
loam over a dense clay subsoil. Organic matter content was low, phosphorous levels
very low, and potash levels adequate. Our fairways were extremely wide ranging from
60 to 100 yards in width. Fairways were cut down to an average of 42 yard width, reducing the acreage from 72 to 42 acres. In September of 1957, 600 lbs. per acre of
12-12-12 was applied in split applications. Our total budget in 1957 was $ 27,000.00
with less than $3,000.00 being spent on seed, chemicals and fertilizers. I point
this out in order that you might realize what we have done must not be construed as to
be the best program available, but an attempt was made to use the available funds most
wisely.
In 1957 at the fall Field Day at Purdue, we saw some excellent crabgrass control
using the arsenicals. Encouraged by these results, we put out 10 plots in the fairways, using 10 lbs./1,000 sq.ft. of tri-calcium arsenate 85% material. Vie chose calcium arsenate because of low initial cost and residual activity.
Fairways were fertilized in March using 120 lbs. in June, using 50 lbs., and
again in October with 100 lbs./A of urea, giving 2.7 lbs. N/1,000 sq.ft. for the season of 1958. 1958 was an excellent year for crabgrass. The test plots of calcium
arsenate came through beautifully with excellent bluegrass turf, and not a trace of
crabgrass or chickweed. In late August, when crabgrass was at the height of its
glory, signs were placed in the treated plots, giving the treatment and cost per acre.
After seeing the results, the membership demanded that a crabgrass control program be
put into effect.
In March of 1959 tri-calcium arsenate at 435 lbs. per acre was applied. This
was done by running the powdered material through a farm-type spreader. The applications were split going lengthwise and crosswise of the fairway. The scatter board on
the spreader was not used as the powder would build up and fall off in lumps. In
April we noticed some injury to plots that had received the calcium arsenate the previous spring, the injury being confined to areas of heavy concentration directly under
the portholes of the spreader. As soon as the bluegrass started to grow in the spring,
the areas filled in and the turf was excellent. Playing conditions remained excellent

throughout the season. Fertilization for the year consisted of 150 lbs. on April 6,
97 lbs./A on July 29 of urea, plus 396 lbs. per acre of 12-12-12 on September 26. A
total of over 3# N/l,000/yr.
Treatment for 1950 consisted of one fall application of Milorganite at 780 lbs/A.
This was a year of very limited rainfall and we did not wish to use urea on a dry soil.
Crabgrass in untreated areas did not survive the summer drouth. The fairways received
2 tons limestone per acre in July.
1961 was a banner year. We applied 80 lbs./A. of tri-calcium arsenate on a
prepared corncob carrier in March. No fertilizer was applied in the spring as the previous fall was so dry that we thought we had an adequate carryover of fertilizer. Rainfall in the spring was adequate. We had 15 inches of rain in July. This was to be a
great year for crabgrass, but not a sprig showed up in the treated fairways. These
were the finest bluegrass fairways that I had ever seen.
We attempted to control leafspot on bluegrass in 1962 by using two applications
of PMAS at one quart per acre in sprays on April 23 and May 3. Results were so erratic that this was discontinued. Fairways remained in very satisfactory condition
throughout the season. Fairways were fertilized with 455 lbs./A of 16-8-8 in September. Crabgrass control remained excellent throughout the season, although no arsenical s were applied.
1963 was an exceptional^ dry year. The sole application of fertilizer was
120 lbs.IA of urea following a rain on July 12. The fairways were in very good shape
for a tournament, then gradually deteriorated during the season due to lack of moisture.
1964 treatments consisted of 100 lbs./A. of Arsenate of Lead in March, 97 lbs./
acre of urea in May, 200 lbs./A. of 16-8-8 on June 16 and July 16. The fairways sent
through another season of prolonged drouth with no fall recovery. Tables I and II
show fertilizer and arsenic applications for an 8 year period.

Table 1 - Fertilizer Treatments for 8 year period
Amounts applied/1000 ft.2
Nitrogen
Phos.
Potash

Year

Date

Source

1957

9-12

10-10-10

600

1.4

1958

3-1
6-22
10-20

Urea
Urea
Urea

120
50
100

1.2
0.5
1.0

4-6
7-29
9-28

Urea
Urea
12-12-12

150
100
396

1.5
1.0
1.1

1.1

8-20

Milorganite

780

1.1

0.7

Urea
0-20-20

240
127

2.5

_
0.6

_
0.6

16-8-8
Urea
Urea
16-8-8
16-8-8

455
120
100
220
220

1.6
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.8

0.8
__
0.4
0.4

0.8
_
__
0.4
0.4

2.2

0.7

0.6

1959

1960
1961
1962
1963
1964

10-1
10-2
9-15
7-12
5-2
6-16
7-16

Rate/A

-

Average for 8 years
-25-

1 .4

1.4

—

-

-

-

_
-

-

1.1
-

Table II,

Arsenic Applications for Danville Country Club

Year

Date

Amt./A.

1959
1961
1964

March
March
March

435

80
100

Source of material
85% Tri-calcium arsenate
85% Tri-calcium arsenate
Arsenate of lead

The few following slides pictorally review our successes and failure with these
treatments.
Summary and Conclusions
1.

Bluegrass fairways were not good prior to crabgrass control. If sufficient moisture was present for good summer growth of bluegrass, then there was a severe infestation of crabgrass.

2.

It is possible to have excellent fairways of bluegrass provided moisture and fertilization is adequate and crabgrass is controlled. This has been observed at the
Danville Country Club, Champaign Country Club and the University courses at Purdue
and Illinois.

3.

Following the program that I have used, we had excellent fairways 2 out of 8 years;
good fairways 2 out of 8 years, and poor fairways 4 out of 8 years.

4.

Our chief source of nitrogen has been urea. This gives excellent results when
applied to a moist soi1. . No urea was applied on dry soils; thus, you see a variance in time and kinds of fertilizers applied in the fall.

5.

Although phosphorous content of fairway soils is low, only small amounts of phosphorous have been used in conjunction with our arsenicals for crabgrass control.
These applications are made in the fall only.

6.

Heavy cart traffic,when bluegrass fairways are in stress due to lack of moisture,
have been an important factor in the deterioration of good bluegrass fairways. The
past two seasons we have seen an invasion of knotweed in worn and compacted areas.

7.

Once you have established arsenic toxicity for crabgrass, one-fourth the original
amount applied on alternate years gives satisfactory control. I believe that this
can be extended to every third year.

8.

As a result of our experience over the past eight years, we find that 50% of the
time we have fairways that are undesirable for play even though they are fertilized
adequately and crabgrass is controlled.
The grounds committee, with my approval, have proposed that a fairway irrigation
system be: installed. A special membership meeting will be called in late spring
to ascertain if the membership is agreeable to continuing the present assessment
for a fairway watering system.

MANUALLY WATERED FAIRWAYS
Tom Sams, Supt., Audubon C. C.,
Loui svi11e, Ken tucky

At Audubon Country Club in Louisville, Kentucky, 1964 was a very interesting year
for us, for, you see, we went through our first year with watered fairways and we
couldn't have picked a better year. More rounds of golf were played last year at
Audubon than in any previous year. Cart revenue was at anall. time high,-guest fees
were" up considerably and other phases of country club operation were highly successful. Now I won't say that watered fairways were solely responsible for us having
one of our better years, but it certainly helped.
When I first discussed a new and complete water system about four or five years
ago with my greens committee, the biggest argument I got was - with watered fairways
we will have nothing but crabgrass and without going into a sound fairway program
including pre-emerge - this argument was part true. But, after a continuous series
of breaks in the old system, we finally got approval to contact various contractors
for designs and-bids, and here is where we were really fortunate. Because we were
one of the first in the Kentuckiana area to go to a complete water system, we received some very attractive proposals.
We decided on an asbestos cement and P.V.C. system, using a 4" and 6" asbestos
pipe as our mains, and 3", 2Jr", 2" and 1-|-" P.V.C. As for water pressure we were
very fortunate inasmuch as we had 62 lbs. city pressure combined with an approximate 76 lbs. pressure from a booster pump which gave us adequate pressure, plus adequate water volume. We used quick coupler swing joints spaced on 90 ft. centers on
our fairways and pop-ups on our tees and greens.
The system was designed for a maximum use of 12 fairway sprinklers and no more than
2 sprinklers on a given fairway, but we soon found out that we could go as high as 18
sprinklers with very little loss in efficiency, and as you can see, this was a tremendous time and labor saver.
And with the pop-up system around our greens, well, I just can't say enough about
it. Without using the pump we can water 9 - 1 0 greens at one time with a maximum of
20 minutes of watering. This compares with four to five hours of labor with the old
hose-sprinkler system that we had. And, if I were asked what I liked best of our
system, I would have to say it is the relative ease of syringing greens. For example, in the past, it took four to five men, syringing by hand 2 - 2-|- hours to go
over the course on a "hit and miss" basis, and many times antagonizing the players.
Now, two men can syringe 20 greens on a normal day in 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.
This, plus the fact that you know that all areas on all the greens were cooled, certainly can ease your mind, especially in the hot, humid days that we Lin -the
Ohio
Valley area get from June to September.
When our system was being installed, I was asked many times what type of grass I
was going to on my fairways. My answer to that was that during this first year I
would go along with what I had; namely, about 257o of winter-hardy, common Bermuda,
and the rest a combination of Poa annua, bluegrass and bent. Our fairway mowers were
set at 9/16" to favor the Bermuda, Poa and bent, and when the Poa started going out,
crabgrass; and let me tell you that soft, tender and lush crabgrass isn't too bad a
turf to play from. At least my members didn't mind it.
We cut fairways on the average of four times per week most of the season, mostly
in the late afternoon and evening.

As for feeding, after the initial feeding in April of a complete fertilizer at
the rate of 500 lbs. per acre, we followed that monthly with a light application of
alternating one month straight "N" and next month with a complete, using a broadcasttype spreader, on a three-point hitch from a power take-off.
As for the type of turf I itfould like to have on my fairways, from the many
observations I've had at Purdue and one and one-half years in my own nursery, I xrould
say Midv/est zoysia. In September of 1963, I bought 10 sq. ft. of Midwest zoysia, and
after one year of planting and transplanting, I have over 1-acre for use next year.
I would like to show you a few slides at this time on what I have done with Midwest.
I cue^s you can see why I'm a little enthused with Midwest zoysia.
One observation I made last year in the Midwest zoysia nursery, we had some
common Bermuda come up in the nursery with the Zoysia and from what I saw the Bermuda's
rate of growth xvas about 20% faster than that of the Zoysia, so I think that with the
water that we have available in our fairways, and the new planting methods that are
available today, we should be able to grow Zoysia without too much trouble.
There were a few surprises also for us in 1964. One was the cost of water. For
the months of May, June, July, August and September our bill amounted to $2496.00, or
about $ 16.00 per day. When you consider that we used from l-§- million to 2 million
gallons of water each week, these figures are even more surprising.
In conclusion, to the question that was asked quite often of me as to whether
I would have preferred an automatic system over a manual system, such as we have, my
answer is a positive "yes"; if for no other reason than having a more firm control
over amounts of water on any given area.
I remember back in 1959 with my Greens Chairman and I played golf with Dr. Bill
Daniel at Audubon, on November 11, Bill asked me if I thought I could maintain a
better course if I had a very limited amount of rainfall, and I answered with a hesitant "yes". Well, adter going through 1964, if I were asked the same question, I
would have to answer with an emphatic "yes/' for I firmly believe that a sound, controlled watering program ranks at the top of the ladder in establishing and maintaining the fine turfs of today.

AUTOMATIC GREENS AND TEES MY

EXPEDIENCES

AS

A

USER

Dennis McCammon, Supt., Westbrook C. C.,
Muncie, Indiana

At Westbrook Country Club our operation is based on the idea that wherever
there is a particular place where a machine or any equipment can be used to speed
up a job or even simplify one, it will be purchased. Therefore, at Westbrook,
automation is a key word.
Constructing a new course can really be a task, especially to someone who has
had no experience along this line. We began in the spring of 1962 and opened for
play the first of June, 1963- Design was incorporated with construction so as to

allow for this automation and ease of maintenance. Approaches were built to allow almost complete coverage by the fairway units. Tees were built quite large, one being
80 yards long, so as to reduce injury due to intense traffic.
The water system was installed by W. E. Stephens, owner of Automatic Lawn
Sprinkler Company in Indianapolis. It was the first automatic system he had put in
and the problems he ran into could have made it the last.
The intake is through a 3" galvanized suction line from one of the creeks which
flows through the course. Then into a 250 gal. per min. pump powered by a 20 horsepower motor. The water then goes into a 3" on the course down to 1-;-" around the greens
and tees.
As the pipe, primarily PVC and ABS, was being laid, the electric wires for the
automatic controls were put in the trench. The wires were under the pipe in all cases,
so if digging the line up became necessary, the risk of cutting the wire would not be
as great as if they were on top. The wires cross our bridges enclosed in conduit.
The pipe system is a loop-type due to the layout of the course. This was the only plan
that could have worked out satisfactorily.
The automatic part of this system is based on two clocks in the pump-house; one
for greens and one for tees. These enable me to setthe length of time for the water
to be on any green or greens, at any time or as many times during the day as needed.
This also holds true for the tees as well.
The clocks also allow the system to be operated from the pump-house manually as
well, for occasional syringing when play permits, frost removal on low greens, line
checking, etc. When the system is on automatic, the pump first comes on, building up
a maximum of I25# and operating at 95 - 100#. The cycle is then repeated until the
greens are done. The tees then come on, and when they finish the sprinklers and pump
all shut down, ready for the next cycle.
Out on the course, the water really flows. On the greens, No. 41 Rainbird impulse pop-ups are used, usually 3 to a green, but on two of the larger ones, 4 heads
are used. Nozzle sizes are standard, 7/32 and 11/64. The crAy problem arising with
the placement is what I call the "overlap miss" outside of some green. Engineers
and experts all call it some other name, but this is what it amounts to - it is the
area where the sprinklers cannot water, where their spray pattern arcs miss each other.
However, this can be supplemented by the old hose and sprinkler standby when it gets
too dry.
The tees have Rainbird roto pop-ups which give fair coverage, but when the
weather gets really dry, the bad pattern really shows up. Larger sprinklers should
have been used and on a few of the larger tees they were utilized.
Out on the course each green and tee can be operated by hand at each electric
valve. Actuation is made by opening a petcock on the end of a plastic tube which is
attached to the valve. Opening this relieves down pressure on the valve cup, allowing
the water to pass and enter the sprinklers. There is also a snap valve outside this
manual control so that any time the automatic system at the green or tee is inoperable, a hose and sprinkler can be supplemented.
The valves were buried about two feet below the ground under inverted five gallon cans. Four inch holes were cut in the center of the bottoms and a piece of Orangeburg pipe running to the surface was inserted in the hole. This allows access to the
valve and the plastic tube.

The system is drained by means of french and manual line drains situated along
the various low places in the line.
The main advantage of this system is quite obvious - it eliminates one man entirely from the payroll. This in itself is a big selling point when presenting this
to your board. As to the ease of operation, it has a lot of variation on the course.
I am still learning the water requirements of some of my greens, and with this lec. ing, there is opportunity to over or under-water the greens. All in all, to set a
clock and push a switch is a lot easier than pulling a 100 foot length of hose around
a green at 3:30 in the morning, listening to the dogs howl at the moon and tripping
over people in the dark.
There are no ''disadvantages" as such to this type of system, but there are
problems which do arise on occasion. During rlubhouse construction electricity was
off for about 11 hours, causing the clocks to come on at 2:00 on Saturday afternoon
while my wife and I were gone into town.
However, the main problem we have encountered is with the suction intake on
the stream. Weeds, trash and leaves collect on the screen over the foot valve. We
will probably remedy this this summer by installing precast octagonal concrete tile,
one inside the other. These tile have holes in them and pea gravel between them.
With the intake in the center, the water is filtered by the time it seeps into this
area. Several of these have been installed and have all proven quite satisfactory.
One thing to keep in mind is that when this type of pipe is used, heavy machinery must be kept off. Normal maintenance equipment is not heavy enough to cause damage, but when we were paving the parking lot, the weight from packers and trucks
split one piece its entire length under the paving.
As to cost, the entire system at Westbrook ran in the neighborhood of ^46,000,
including time, materials and equipment. This included repairs to the three ditchers
that were practically destroyed digging in our rock garden during the first few hours
of ditching. By and large, however, this water system has proven itself to me and
has been well worth the cost. This seems to me to be the only satisfactory solution
on today's modern courses where play necessitates the modernization of all possible.

A MODERN WATERING SYSTEM FOR YOUR GCLF COURSE
Ed Shoemaker, Rainy Sprinkler Sales
Peoria, Illinois

The technique of applying water mechanically has greatly improved during the
last few years, but we still have much to learn about the agronomic aspect of watering turfgrass. However, we have a fairly good understanding of the basic soil-waterplant relationships and have developed workable manual systems of adding water to
this complex, which can promote good grass growth. As we begin to use the more sophisticated automatic systems, we have much better control over how much water we
apply and how often we apply it. This better control gives us much more flexibility
and will enable us to learn a lot more about how much and when we should apply water
to turfgrass.

This discussion will be primarily concerned with the types of sprinkler systems
that are available for your use today. The exact technique of how much and when to
water your golf course is something that I can't tell you and that you won't be able
to get from any reference book. You can study the basic principles of watering, then
you will have to apply them to your particular conditions. As you so well know, conditions not only vary greatly from one course to another, but they even vary greatly
from one green to another on the same course.
There are basically 4 mechanical methods of watering greens that are used in
the Midwest:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Hose and sprinkler.
Sod cup over valve.
Perimeter quick coupling multiple valves.
Perimeter rotor pop-ups.

For many years the most popular method has been the portable hose sprinkler
method. Normally, one or two quick coupling valves are located at the edge of the
green and at least 50' of hose is required in addition to a portable sprinkler. This
method requires the lowest initial capital investment, but it is subject to fairly
high annual maintenance cost in replacement of hose and portable sprinklers. This
method requires the greatest amount of labor, and skill is required in determining
the proper placement of the sprinkler and how long to leave it in each area.
This sod cup method is primarily a Chicago area practice, but has been used very
successfully in that area. This method utilizes a quick coupling valve buried in the
center of the green. This valve is protected by a heavy brass casing with a cup of
sod located in the top of the casing. The cup is removed and a sprinkler is inserted
for the sprinkling of the green. For both the portable hose method and the sod cup
method, the selection and proper adjustment of the sprinkler is very important. When
only one setting is to be made in the center of the green, it is important to have a
sprinkler that will give uniform distribution from this single setting. For several
years conventional 2-nozzle sprinklers were used and they deposited too much water in
the center of the greens. Newer sprinklers are now available that can do a good job
with a single center of the green setting.
A third method that was gaining a lot of favor until the last three or four
years, was the perimeter quick coupling valve system. Quick coupling valves are
spaced at regular intervals around the perimeter of the green and sprinklers are inserted directly into the valves. This method eliminates the hose used in the portable
sprinkler method and xvaters a much larger area than the sod cup method.
I would estimate that 80 to 90% of all the new systems that are now being installed are going in xvith rotor pop-ups around the perimeter of the greens. With
proper spacing and pressure this method can give you the most uniform coverage of the
greens and also will cover the important collar and approach areas. These rotor popups can be operated by a manual valve, or an automatic remote control valve. In
addition to regular watering, syringing or cooling of the greens is quick and easy
with the rotor pop-up system.
The design of a fairway watering system for the Midwest changed very little
for many years, until the last three or four years. The conventional system has been
a manual system using quick, coupling valves at regular intervals down the center of
the fairway. Sprinklers that would cover from 150' to 200' diameter have been inserted directly into the valves and moved at regular intervals down the fairway.
This sytem normally requires that the sprinklers be moved three times per night and
usually five nights of watering are required to cover the entire golf course.

Three years ago there were no* automatic golf course watering systems within a
250 mile radius of Purdue University that I knew of. Today, there are at least nine
completely automatic systems and at least eight more that have automatic tee and green
systems. This indicates that automation is moving into the Midwest at a fairly rapid
pace. Most of the automatic fairway systems in the Midwest to date have been single
row systems. Large diameter of coverage, rotor pop-up heads, with a remote control
valve under each head, are placed at regular intervals down the center of the fairways.
All of the Midwest systems to date are electric systems as opposed to the hydraulic
systems being used in the non-freezing climates of the south and west.
In some areas two rows of smaller diameter of coverage sprinklers are being
used down each fairway. This increases the cost of the system over the single row system, but has the advantage of requiring a lower operating pressure. In the more arid
areas, some 3-row systems are being used where wide fairivays are desired. Full coverage systems that cover all the rough in addition to tees, greens and fairways, are becoming common in the western part of the U. S. A full coverage system was installed
this last fall at Echo Woods Country Club at Commerce, Michigan near Detroit. It will
be in operation in a few months.
With automation you now have a choice of a single row system, double row system,
triple row system, or a full coverage system. Your system should be designed by someone who is up to date on the newest methods and someone who has had much experience in
this field. Be sure you aren't getting a 1940 type system when your course has 1965
needs.
In addition to the types of coverage available, there are many other important
considerations in the selection and design of a sprinkler system. The pumping plant,
the heart of the system, needs very careful selection and planning. Selection of the
contractor to install the system could be the single, most important decision that you
have to make in getting a good, modern irrigation system.

ECONOMICAL AUTOMATIC LAWN WATERING SYSTEMS
J. R. Watson, Director, Agronomy Division,
Toro Manufacturing Corporation, Minneapolis, Minnesota

The role of water in turfgrass growth and development is well known and has been
discussed on many occasions. Water is essential for satisfactory and successful turfgrass production. It is necessary for germination, for cellular development, for
tissue growth, for food manufacture and for temperature regulation. It is a solvent
and carrier of plant food materials.
The amount of supplemental water required to keep lawns green and healthy
throughout the growing season is dependent on several factors — the most important
being temperature, sunlight, wind movement, and, of course, rainfall. Based on average weather data for the Midwest over a 30-year period, it has been calculated that
supplemental x^ater will have to be applied in varying amounts for four to five months
to sustain growth and keep grass green during the growing season. July is the month
requiring the most supplemental water.
Techniques and devices available for applying water to the home lawn are flooding, subsurface watering and sprinkling. Flooding and subsurface irrigation are rather

inefficient from the standpoint of water distribution and use.
very widespread.

The practices are not

Hose end devices and underground sprinkling systems are the means by which lawns
are usually sprinkled. Of these two methods, hose end devices are, by far, the most
generally used. Hose end sprinklers are available in many sizes, types and prices.
Such sprinklers often deliver water at rates faster than the soil can absorb — often
at cloud-burst intensity (one or more inches per hour). Under such conditions they
need to be moved frequently; and since this must be done manually, there is a tendency
to over-water and to waste water — because of runoff.
Underground sprinkler systems are pre-planned for complete coverage of the lawn.
Such systems use tailored sprinkler heads, selected precipitation rates for the exact
needs of the grass, shrubs and floxters, and underground piping with sprinklers attached
at pre-determined locations. These systems may be manually controlled by a hand valve
or automatically controlled by a master clock.
Conventional underground sprinkler systems reduce the amount of hand work in
watering, but do not necessarily improve the efficiency of water use, or reduce wastage. If conventional systems are not pre-engineered, then they are merely a do-ityourself version of underground pipe with sprinklers either sticking up through the
ground for above ground sprinkling, or a series of small sprinklers mounted flush with
the ground.
Conventional undergound systems generally use many small sprinkler heads and a
great deal of pipe. When installed in an established lawn, there is considerable disturbance or "tear up" of the turf. In most cases, the services of a plumber and electrician are needed to hook the system up to the water supply and the controller to
electricity. Such systems require good pressure — greater than the average house
supply for best operation. Also, they require careful draining in the winter.
In most conventional systems the heads are matched to the water supply and laid
out in a circle-type pattern. They must be carefully overlapped to attain complete
and uniform coverage. Frequently they apply too much water and at too fast a rate.
No one manufacturer makes a complete set of components for conventional sprinkler systems and usually an assortment of manufactured products must be matched together in
order to complete a system. The conventional system requires rather careful engineering to be completely satisfactory.
Increased automatic control use now offers much to homeowners. The economical,
automatic, underground laivn watering system, which is the subject of this presentation,
represents a new development by Toro Manufacturing Corporation. This sytern has been
simplified through careful factory pre-engineering, i.e., components are completely
pre-matched to work together under a large variety of conditions. Installation is
relatively simple and instructions are printed in a manual. Only one size pipe and
two types of sprinklers are needed. A Wave Sprinkler for large areas, and small popup sprinklers for harder to reach areas, are included in the package. Both types may
be adjusted to sprinkle different shapes and sizes of areas. A standard electrical
hook-up completes the system. Other features of this new simplified approach to lawn
watering include simplicity of hook-up to hose faucet — no complicated plumbing is
required — yet it is designed to meet national sanitation codes.
The system operates on low water pressure and water supply. This, along with
fewer parts and ease of installation, make the system adaptable to the average home
lawn — at a price comparable to other popular appliances.
The Toro system is fully automatic. It utilizes a dock controller which may
be set once (as a clock radio) and then forgotten by the homeowner. The clock con-

troller may be programmed for light waterings up to five times per day, or may be set
for heavier waterings once every other day. Programming the clock to suit soil and
terrain features will result in more efficient watering for a healthier turf at reduced water costs. The precipitation rate is as low as .2 of an inch per hour - about
as fast as the soil will absorb. In addition, the clock permits the system to operate
unattended at periods when water pressure is not affected by other uses.
Caution should be exercised when dirty lake water, or sandy well water constitutes the source of supply. Fill rs that will help in these situations are available
and should be used if needed.
The Wave Sprinkler pattern will be affected by wind; however, the clock permits sprinkling at times when winds are at a minimum. Also, the system will run when
the homeowner is away on vacation — this may be a disadvantage in the event of rainfall. Although the pre-engineered package is designed for lawns of approximately
8,500 sq.ft., the use of several packages allows simplified installations as large as
30,000 sq.ft. Lawns over this size will usually require some custom designing.
A movie illustrating this system, its packaging, design and installation was
shown and is available through orders.

LATO WATERING SYSTEMS
SALES AND EXPERIENCES
A. E. Robison, Pres., A. E. Robison Company
Kansas City, Missouri

To discuss Sales and Experiences in regard to Lawn Watering Systems, the greatest sales getter is the beautiful lawn the neighbor has with his watering system. It
also means he has to use fertilizers, seed and good maintenance. When the neighbor
sees their results he becomes a real prospect for a sprinkler system. Another great
sales help is the recommendation that the sprinkler system owner gives as to his satisfactory dealing with the installer and the service the installer has given on his system. Service is the one thing where so many installers fail. We give one season's
free service as part of the installation, plus prompt and reasonable priced service
after the contract guarantee.
A good contract should be used on installations that are fair to both parties.
We do not furnish a plan and specifications on home installations before signing the
contractual agreement, as we spell out in the contract that a given area will be
covered evenly and efficiently with a certain make and size of sprinkler head and kind
of pipe and fittings to be used. If plans and specifications are desired, there is a
charge for measuring, laying-out and drawing these plans and specifications so the
owner can submit these for bids.
As to other sales aids the postcard with pictures of lawn sprinkler system is
excellent to be mailed to purchasers of new houses, builders, and etc. Newspaper advertising, mainly local community papers, radio and better homes shows. Yellow pages
of the telephone directory are a good advertising aid. Keeping close relations with
landscape architects, nurseries and lawn service people is good.

After 35 years arid approximately 5000 home, commercial arid golf course installations, I'm amazed at the advancement and improvement of sprinkling devices. Especially
in the last ten years, hydraulic and electric operated valves and moisture-sensing devices for turf sprinkler systems are tremendous labor and water saving devices. Automation on turf and agriculture systems will pay for itself in two to five seasons.
Mr. Van Thompson had an exhibit of lawn sprinklers at the 1933 World's Fair in
Chicago. Mainly they dis^la^ed small stationary lawn and shrub sprinkler heads. In
about 1936 the hydraulicfarici electric clocks controlling solenoid valves that actuated
the hydraulic valves came into first use. Electric valves with solenoid made as part
of the valves again came into use about ten years ago.
Commercial automoist sensing units were first used about 8 years ago with about
700 of them in service in the Midwest area. The turf and agriculture irrigation industry has a tremendous future.

AUTOMATIC SENSINS CONTROLLERS
FOR AGRICULTURE AND TURF WATERING

A. E. Robison, Pres., A. E. Robison Company
Kansas City, Missouri

The Automoist Automatic Controller is a patented, soil-sensing unit, which may
be attached to any Electric Controller. This Controller will operate only when the
soil dries to the desired amount of moisture that the owner wishes to maintain, set
the 24 hour dial to the time of day that water is desired, but it will not operate until soil moisture is dry to the point desired and set on soil-sensing dial. This is
similar to setting thermostat for heat. Through an adjustable resistance unit, the
soil moisture can be maintained from a range of dry, or approximately 257o moisture content, to 1007o completely saturated.
The advantages of a sensing unit over a straight electric 24 hr. dial controller with which desired amount of water applied is based on number of minutes set
for the system to run, which has to be determined by guess on the part of the operator
are:
1.

Eliminates this guesswork by operator,as system will run until moisture saturates
to moisture probe which is buried approximately 1/2 inch to 3 inches, depending
on the soil and type of grass.

2.

System will not operate again until soil drys to desired level wanted (depending
on natural moisture received, soil types and humidity). Spring and fall of year
in the Midwest may be 3 to 4 week periods between waterings.

o . Storm probe located on roof of property, or out in an open area, will not let the
system operate when mist or rain is falling and until storm probe dries.
4.

Turfed area will be watered properly without any attendant to turn on and off.
People on vacations will have their turf watered all the time they are away. Commercial properties will be x^atered at off-business hours to correct amount without
human element of guesswork.

5-

Sloping terraces and fairways can be watered by several short period applications,
recycling three or four times, giving moisture a chance to soak in, eliminating
runoff.

6.

Savings of water and labor will usually pay for adding sensing-unit in from two
to three seasons.

7.

Most manually operated sprinkler systems the tendency is to over-water,especially
lawns and commercial properties, forgetting after turning on and not knowing how
much water is needed.

8-

Automatic Controllers and sensing units are really just beginning to come into
more usage due to more efficient use and saving of water and labor both for turf
and agriculture irrigation.

University of Nebraska has started agriculture pump by remote control from soil
moisture sensing units the last five years.
There are many uses for automatic controls besides turf area, such as frost con
trol, plant cooling, and even dust control around buildings as is being used now in
Southwest Kansas and New Mexico. Automation is just in its infancy. The next five to
ten years will see a universal use of these improvements.

IRRIGATION INSTALLATION, MINIMUM STANDARDS
(As prepared by Sprinkler Irrigation

Association)

Index of items to be covered in Installation specification:
covered by this spec.)

(Design and materials not

These were discussed by John Oldfield of Oldfield Equipment Compnay, Cincinnati
He has put in approximately 10 watering systems recently.

Ohio.
General

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Scope of work.
Time limits for completion.
Working days.
Weather?
Shop drawings. Mfg. sprinkler draicings - Mfg. Spec. Sheets
Bonds, to be paid by owner.
Codes and Permits. Contractor permits & codes

6.
7.

List of Plans and Contract Documents.
Protection of Utilities and other work -

9.
10.

Trees and shrubbery, drain tile
Owner to stake out
Insurance - Li 1 ility and Property Damage - Workmens Compensation
Substitution of material - Equal quality only upon approval by owner.
Water Source - On contract.

11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

Errors in Drawings and Design - Corrections to be negotiated.
Supervision by Contractor and Employees
Sub Contracting
Payments, Partial and Final
Claims for Extra Work - Authorized by Owner's Agent

8.

16.
17.
18.
19.

Progress of Work
Overtime work - authorized by over's agent.
Layout of Work. Where necessary owner's agent to assist and approve layout.
Working Area - supplies and storage.

Specifications
20.

Pipe Installation (covering various types, depth, handling of pipe, making of
joints, horizontal clearance, storage)

21.

Excavating (covering rock, wet conditions, shoring and bracing, width, overexcavation, etc.)
Closing area of work from other activities.
Rock and other unforeseen obstructions.
Notify agent, negotiate.

22.
23.
24.
25.

Drainage (covering drain valves, boxes, sumps, etc.)
Sod lifting and replacing - Whose responsibility?
Backfill (covering compaction, type of material, frost, unforeseen conditions)
Corrosion?

26.
27.
28.

30.

Clean-up of area. Erosion and weather damage.
Concrete and asphalt repair - Responsibility.
Sprinkler Installation (covering type of joint, height of sprinklers, lowering
to grade).
Loose equipment to be furnished (sprinkling equipment and valve keys).
Consideration of owner's equipment.
Valve installation.

31.
32.
33.
34.
35.

Automatic valve installation.
Control wire or control tube installation (covering, splicing and fitting).
Automatic controller - stands - mountings.
Pump type installation.
Pump Start-up and Che ' -out. - Responsibility.

36.
37.
38.
39.
40.

Electrical itfiring and controls.
Testing and flushing
Adjusting of System - Minor by owner.
Instruction to owner.
Make record drawings - As built, including drains.

41.
42.
43.

Owner's acceptance.
Guarantee (Procedures and time limts).
Owner's responsibility for maintenance.

29.

HOLDING POA ANNUA FAIRWAYS
Donald Likes, Supt., Hyde Park Golf 5c Country Club
Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, like several other cities, is located in the transition zone.
That "inbetween zone/' too far south for Northern grasses, and too far north for
Southern grasses. It's just right for crabgrass, goosegrass, clover, Poa annua, and
everything that a golf course superintendent doesn't want to be associated with.
Hyde Park Country Club is located in a bad zone, within a bad zone. We are at
one of the lower elevations, with a large hill blocking the prevailing summer winds.
We have many large trees, presenting a definite shade problem on greens, tees, and
even parts of fairways. Along with this, we have a wet clay soil.
Over the years we have tried different grasses with no satisfactory results.
First, bluegrass didn't have a chance. Our players insisted on a close-cut, watered
fairway. We have,in our area, several satisfactory Meyer zoysia lawns. We tried at
least three different methods of planting our fairways to Zoysia at different times of
the year. Each time we succeeded in getting it established, but each time it failed
to compete with Poa under our requirements of maintenance; namely, a close cut, green
watered "turf."
Next we tried Astoria bent. A renovation program of burning existing vegetation
with sodium arsenite, aerifying, and seeding was tried. A good stand of Astoria bent
was established in the fall. The next season it still looked good, although some Poa
had come in. In July, during a bad spell of weather, the Astoria was damaged severely,
and the result was such that when the turf recovered it was predominently Poa Annua.
We observed that the creeping types of bent were the only surviving bentgrasses.
We would like to point out at this time that, although our procedures, which we
are about to disclose, have been somewhat successful, this does not mean that it would
be so at another location. We have unusual conditions at our club; each golf course
is different with many factors involved. If you are having success with a certain
fairway grass, stay with it and try to improve upon it.
As we stated above, the creeping bents were the only surviving types of bentgrass from our previous renovation programs. In the fall of 1961 we overseeded our
fairways with Seaside bent. The existing turf was not burned off, but merely aerified
and cut with a disk. A good stand, of Seaside was established in the disk pattern; the
rest being about 50% Poa annua.
Our procedure during the 1962 season was to use PMAS and:.iron sulfate sprayed
periodically to encourage the craeping type bents. We also decided to start our fairway water program before the Poa started to burn out.
This being a new procedure
for us.
To our surprise, we were able to hold the Poa through the entire season. We
feel our success in holding Poa was due primarily to the application of fungicide and
the added attention with our i\rater system. We feel that dollarspot and iron chlorosis
are the big factors in the loss of Poa annua. A healthy Poa, like everything else, has
a much better chance to survive adverse weather conditions. We sprayed every 10 to 15
days at the rate of 1 qt. PMAS and 4 lbs. iron sulfate per acre. We used both major
brands of PMAS with the same results; however, we found a big difference in brands of
iron sulfate. We had best response with U. S. Steel "sugar of iron" delivered in a
400 lb. paper drum. We got absolutely no response from an iron sulfate purchased from
a fertilizer company in 80 lb. bags.

As for our program, we have had good response with 16-8-8.
Lbs./acre
Early spring
Late spring
Early fall
Late fall

300
200
200
300

Actual N

P

48
32 . 32
48
160
4

-

2°5
24
16
16
24
80
2

Our program is;
-

-

M
24
16
16
24
80 ;
2

This must be applied only with a roto-whirl type spreader, and if the weather is hot,
the sprinklers must go on immediately, or no later than the same evening. We have had
good response with Armour's 16-8-8 and practically no response when we switched to
another brand of 16-8-8. This, too, could work just in reverse at some other location.
One thing we feel is important, and that is that the source of nitrogen be mostly from
sulfate of ammonia. We can't give you a good reason other than it is an old-time grass
grower.
As we said before, a fair turf of Poa held very well through the 1962 season.
In 1963 an improved turf of Poa again held almost 100% through the season. By early
1964 we had an excellent turf of predominantly Poa and a small percentage of bent.
This was a very difficult season with adverse weather conditions. However, our Poa
fairways survived with only about 5% loss.
To summarize, we feel that the use of a fungicide is a must. Poa must be disease
free to survive the hot weather. Water management must be precise. It is very obvious where the water man neglected the turf. Poa is lost and goosegrass takes over.
We don't recommend that you try to hold Poa fairways.
The chances are, your conditions are much different than ours. However, if you are in a location of poor air
movement, with many shaded areas, and you have had difficulty growing other grasses,
you might try holding Poa fairways.
If you do, be prepared for a real careful
battle in July and August.

FAIRWAY IMPROVEMENT - SECOND REPORT
Norman Kramer, Supt., Point O'Woods C. C.J*
Benton Harbor, Michigan

I would like to begin this year by giving you a brief outline of what we did to
our fairways during 1964, on January 29 with applying 2000 lbs. dolament lime per acre
on frozen soil. On March 23 I called three men of the summer crew back to work to
start cleaning up the fairways, and on April 15 the fairways were cut for the first
time, and three or four times thereafter as needed. All dew is removed from fairways
and tees whenever there is a noticeable amount on the grass in the morning by dragging
hose behind tractors. We fertilized fairways for the first time on April 17 with
250 lbs. of 12-6-6 per acre. During the season we sprayed fairways with iron 6 times;
with PMA 7 times, and Thiram 6 times.

Date

Per/1000 sq.ft.

June 23

2 oz. Zineb
2 oz. PMA
3 oz. Iron sulphate

June 29

2
1
1
2
l
2

oz.
oz.
oz.
oz.
lb.

Dyrene
PMA
Thiram
Z. neb
Urea 45%

1
3
1
2

oz.
oz.
oz.
oz.

PMA
Dyrene
Thiram
Iron sulphate

1
4
1
2

oz.
oz.
oz.
oz.

PMA
Thiram
Iron sulphate
Minerals (ES-Mim~U)

July 3

Date

Per 1 000 sq.ft.

July 21

1
2
5
Ì

oz.
oz.
oz.
lb.

July 31

1 oz. PMA
4 oz. Urea 45%
1 oz. Iron sulphate
li oz .Dyrene
li oz .Thiram

Aug. 4

1 oz. PMA
oi. f/ Zineb
¿2
1 OZ . Thiram
lì // Iron sulphate
2

PMA
Iron sulphate
Thiram
Urea 45%

1

July 16

On August 17, Monday, the major part of our improvement program began. We
aero-bladed tees, seeded with Seaside bent, dragmated, swept, and watered all the tees
on the course. Also, we aerified all fairways, using 1/2" thatch spoons. The next
day we started aero-blading fairways, using the same process here as we did on the tees
of aero-blading, seeding with 8 0 7 o Seaside and 20% Penncross at the rate of 20 lbs. per
acre (note the 20% Penncross - since it is a very vigorous grass we felt we xjould give
it a itry). We continued to dragmat, sx-jeep and water through August 20 until all fairways were completed. Germination was excellent. On Monday, August 24, we fertilized
fairways with 20-10-5 at the rate of 120 lbs. per acre. This played a big part in helping the young grass do so well.
It was now time to put in motion a program which I had set up on the greens and
tees - the program of trying to overcome the consistent inroads of Poa annua in the
fairways. This meant applying calcium arsenate at the rate of 5 lbs. per 1,000 sq.ft.
spring and fall, as warly as is possible both in the spring and fall. This was done
on a trial basis on #5, #6, #7, #8P> and #15 fairways. May I add right here to make
certain your board and club members know what you are doing, and why; otherwise, you
may be looking at browner pastures I This is where I slipped up. After applying the
calcium and it was obvious the results were going to be very good, the phone began to
ring and I don't have to tell you what some of my members said!! Believe me when I
say I did not waste any time in getting a letter off to the entire membership with the
most gratifying results.
The Poa annua was gone - now what next? I decided to reseed on Tuesday, September 15. I used the same process as in the past with excellent results and very good
germination. On Wednesday, September 16, the fairways were fertilized with 100 lbs. of
45% Urea to the acre. This would be the last fertilizing for the fairways except #5,
#6, #7, #8 and #15, which were given a light application of 20-10-5 on October 12,
along with a light seeding broadcast over the area. This concluded our program for
1964.

Date
April 17
May 25
June 6
July 17
Aug. 24
Sept. 16

Material
12-6-6
12-6-6
45-0-0
45-0-0
20-10-5
45-0-0

K£

Lbs./A.

Actual N

250
250
90
10
120
100

30
30
40
4
24
45

15
15
0
0
12
0

-

15
15
0
0
6
0

153

42

-

36

1 arsenate

1

per 1,000 sq. ft.

4

more aerifying with 1/2 inch coring spoons, and, last but not least, I pray for help
from the man above.

DEVELOPING BLTJEGRASS FAIRWAYS - MY PROGRAM?
Don Clemans, Supt., Norwood Hills C.C.,
St. Louis, Missouri

When I arrived at Norwood Hills Country Club during the winter of 1963-64,
weeds were nearly 60% of the total cover in the fairway. Norwood has 36 holes, and
therefore I will refer to a particular 18 hole golf course from here on as the West
or East Course. It was decided to maintain the desirable turf and selectively eliminate the undesirable weeds. The fairways were badly infested with knotweed, crabgrass and. goosegrass. Of minor importance, dandelion, buckhorn plantain, common plantain and chickweed were all present.
The West Course was in the worst shape. Some years ago an attempt was made to
plant U-3 Bermuda. Weed competition and the lack of an irrigation system hindered any
progress by the bermudagrass. And the annual weeds took over rapidly.
The East
there was not a
brought to mind
weeds took over
bluegrass.

Course was 30 to 6 0 7 o weed infested, but the encouraging part was that
general weed infestation, but a patch here and a patch there. This
grub damage pattern, and in the places where grubs had damaged the turf,
the area. Right next to the weed patch was a dense, healthy sod of

So, the Club decided to take the plunge and go all out on a weed control program,
knowing full well that bare ground was inevitable and unsightly fairways were probable. The West Course received only broadleaf weed control for two reasons. First,
the West Course had the least amount of desirable turfgrass, and had I killed all the
weeds and the crabgrass and goosegrass, there would have been too much bare ground.
Secondly, without an irrigation system I could not guarantee any germination of a temporary turf. So, I killed the broadleaf weeds and prayed for the crabgrass to cover!
I started my spray program by purchasing a 30 feet spray boom. This proved to be too
long, so skids were added to support the boom ends to maintain the desired height of
the spray nozzles above the ground.
I started spraying with 1 lb. of actual 2,4-D amine, 1 lb. actual Banvel-D, and
12 oz. of wetting agent in 25 gallons of water. This was sprayed through a nylon

roller pump at 60 psi. With the 30 foot spray boom, I was able to spray about 15
acres an hour. The initial rate proved to be a little too strong. In the overlap
areas the actual application rate was 2 lbs. of material per acre. This produced
some tip burning of the desirable grasses due to a drouth stress condition. I,
therefore, cut the rate to 1/2 lb. 2,4-D Amine, 1/2 lb. Banvel-D, and 12 oz. wetting
agent in 25 gallons of water per acre. This combination produced excellent results,
but took a little longer to kill the weeds. This application to the West Course was
sprayed the last week in April. I wanted to spray earlier, but strong surface winds
caused the delay. Within three days time the knotweed and all other weeds were
bleached yellow and were limp. The affected weeds were so dramatically killed that a
string line could be laid between the sprayed areas and the unsprayed ones. One appli
cation was all that was necessary for the West Course.
One section of a fairxvay, or approximately 1 acre in area, had been plugged
on 2 foot centers with Meyer zoysia, and the competition from weeds had been so great
for two years that the Zoysia plugs were ;still 2-3/8 inches in diameter. When the
weeds were killed the area was just too barren to hold a ball and the golf balls
rolled back down the hill. On June 8, 1964 I removed every other knife from an aeroblade so that the knives were then on 4 inch centers. I ran the aeroblacle two directions across the fairway and the net results were slits in the ground 1 inch deep in
a diamond shaped pattern. I then applied 50 lbs. of Hulled Common Bermuda grass,
320 lbs. of 5-20-20, and 100 lbs. of a Urea formaldehyde type 3870 N fertilizer, and
dragged the area in two directions with a chain-link mat. By dragging hose 200 yards
and watering small areas at a time, we were able to water this acre once. On June 15,
1964 the Bermuda was up and going strong. The impressive point was, that the only
place any Bermuda germinated was in the slits mechanically made in the soil. The
seed was broadcast and I know that plenty of the seed was on the surface of the ground
The diamond shaped pattern was quite pronounced. The players wer as amazed as I at
the seemingly "over-night" change that occurred.
The East Course had a much ?irger per cent of desirable turf. For this reason,
a complete broad-leaf weed control program, plus a crabgrass-goosegrass control program, were decided upon. On April 15 forty acres of fairway on the East Course received 450 lbs. of powdered tri-calcium arsenate per acre. This material was applied
through a bin-type spreader. On April 16 a gentle rain removed the material from the
leaves and then stopped. At the time of application crabgradd had germinated, chickweed and knotweed were present. The tri-calcium arsenate killed all the weeds included above. All the weeds mentioned, except knotweed, failed to reoccur in these
fairways. The crabgrass and goosegrass on the East Course fairways were completely
controlled. By the latter part of June the knotweed was again competing in the fairways. The East Course fairx^ays had only tri-calcium arsenate applied in April, and
no further xveed control was necessary at that time. So, on July 3, 1964, with the
temperature at 90°, I sprayed 1/2 lb. Eanvel-D, 1/2 lb. 2,4-D, and 12 oz. wetting
agent in 25 gallons of water per acre at 60 psi. In three days time the weeds yellowed, wilted and began to die just as effectively as in the spring application on
the West Course. Rhizome activity of the bluegrass turf was good most of the summer.
During the last week in August and the first week in September, all fairways
on both courses were thatched with the aeroblade, and 50 lbs. of Common Kentucky bluegrass was applied with a bin-type spreader. Urea was applied at the rate of 100 lbs.
per acre, and the chain-link mat dragged the fertilizer into the slits. Since soil
tests had shox-ci a phosphorus and potash content quite adequate, straight nitrogen was
used all year to help obtain maximum control from the tri-calcium arsenate. The seed
germinated well, but had difficulty surviving the long dry fall.
Currently a completely automatic irrigation system is being installed on all 36
holes. I hope in the future to be able to show you the "after" effects of the program
now started.

PROTECT FAIRWAYS FROM COMPETITION
Dr. Fred V. Grau, Agronomist,
College Park, Maryland

Competition is a contest between rivals. Considered in the light of fairways,
we may assume first that we are dealing with a mixed population where, let us way,
two grasses are growing. One may dominate the other to the detriment of the turf.
An example could be common Kentucky bluegrass and annual bluegrass where the aim is
to discourage competition from the annual bluegrass. Devices that we can use to protect common bluegrass from the competition of annual bluegrass include:
1.

Let soils become so dry that annual bluegrass will wiIt and die.
The difficulty here is that we cannot control the rainfall.

2.

Reduce or prevent seed production. If no seeds are produced, annual bluegrass
will be unable to reproduce itself. Chemical sprays can reduce seed formation.
Sodium arsenite at one to two pounds per acre has been used. Maleic hydrazide
has potential, but I've seen no recommendations for this purpose. There is
hope ahead for some of the pre-emergence chemicals.

3.

Assist the bluegrass to overcome weaknesses, such as susceptibility to
Helminthosporium leafspot disease. Fungicide sprays may help, but one is still
stuck with a week grass that is still susceptible.

4.

Fertilizer to strengthen the common bluegrass at a time when annual bluegrass
cannot take full advantage of the nutrients. Use fertilizers that tend to discourage annual bluegrass, if such a thing is possible.
In bluegrass areas it would be more to the point to introduce Merion bluegrass,
which could help keep Poa out by stronger growth, greater resistance to leafspot in spring and greater tolerance to close mowing,i\jhich is demanded. There
are newer bluegrasses under test now that give promise of even greater success
in protecting from competition.

Then there is the competition from weeds. In this field there are several materials which show great promise. I have here the most recent recommendations from
Penn State. With vigilance, close attention to developing good soil conditions, adequate balanced fertility and good management, it is unlikely that weeds ever again
will be a serious threat to any turfgrass area.
Competition from insects can hardly be considered a serious threat. Our entomologists and the chemists have teamed up to give us near-perfect controls. We
need not elaborate at this time.
It would appear that our greatest trials come when we attempt to develop fairxiay turf from weak, undependable, unadapted grasses. One hears the familiar refrain,
"Once you have Poa annua you've got to live with it/' This means fungicidal treatments when diseases threaten, constant watering and cooling to hold it during hot
weather.
Those who have bentgrass fairways and mow them closely, as they should be
mowed, can look for competition to come from: 1) clover, 2) knotweed, 3) insects,
4) diseases, 5) annual bluegrass. These are the major ones - there are other. The
watchword is, r'Go easy on the phenoxys."

The man who plants Highland and Astoria in the belief that he will have a noncreeping colonial bent turf can look for competition from the bastard creeping strains
that are poor turf types, but are vigorous and will dominate the turf compktely. One
approach is, since the turf eventually will be composed of creepers, why not discourage competition right at the start and plant Penncross.
Of course it will develop thatch. All creeping bentgrasses will. Considering that thatch is a form of
competition, how would be hold thatch to a minimum? First, reduce N fertilizer to
promote minimal growth consistent with divot healing. ~";xt, lengthen intervals between irrigations so as to avoid stimulation of excess growth. Keep pH valuve of
soil at optimum for thatch-consuming micro-organisms (6.5 to 7.0). Mow closely,
under 1/2 inch, and use thatching machine and trash removal unit when needed. Soil
cultivation with cores spread for topdressing will encourage thatch breakdown. Regardless of the new chemicals, let us keep in touch with the arsenates for the several things it does for high-quality turf.
Those who operate close to the crabgrass belt and who are planting Zoysia have
started to solve nearly all problems of competition. True, the billbug may threaten
and the desert termite mig1 t invade, but they are no match for modern insecticides.
The annual bluegrass that will invade during fell and winter months is desired and need
not be considered competition.
In this discussion I have introduced nothing new - only evaluated some of the
tools available to us for reducing competition from any source. The job is infinitely
more difficult when we start with weak, soft grasses that have invasion stamina only
during a short period of the year. We must continue to work for the perfection of
grasses so sturdy that all these artificial guards against competition will become
virtually unnecessary.

KEEP BLUEGRASS GROWING
James M. Latham, Jr., Agronomist, Milorganite Turf Service,
Milwauke e, Wi s con sin

For golf course fairways through most of the Midwest, I think bluegrass is
almost impossible. The pressure by golfers for lush, green, closely-cut grass eliminates present bluegrass varieties from consideration. Re-education may be possible,
but is not probable under current conditions. Why is bluegrass so condemned?
Height of cut is a primary factor in bluegrass utilization. In general, the
lower the cut the more rapidly will an established stand degenerate. Various minimum heights have been quoted that largely vary, according to climate and other management programs. A current procedure is to cut fairways under an inch in the spring
and fall, then raise the height during hot weather to 1-J" or so. In 1933, however,
the Green Section recommended higher cut in the spring and fall with closer cut during the summer.
When the reversal took place we don't know, but the two schools of thought
are widely divergent. Brown's work in Missouri substantiates the 1933 opinion, since
the spring and fall periods produce maximum growth and storage of reserves in rhizomes.
During hot summer weather, this is slowed drastically.

Golfers are often said to be color blind — if it's green it's good, if not
. The normal hot weather dormancy is no longer permitted because of irrigation capabilities, and the reserves are further depleted.
If sod density can be increased and ragged appearance decreased, we may be able
to achieve the higher cuts. This will mean better timing of fertilizer applications
and reconsideration of nitrogen sources. It will mean use of irrigation for the sake
of the grass and not to make the fairways more comfortable to walk upon. It also
means more frequent cutting to provide a smoother upper surface we hope the ball will
be resting upon - not within.
To make the most of what we have to work with calls for careful programming of
good management when permitted. Spring and fall fertilization are musts to provide
adequate nutrition during these preferred periods. Fall irrigation, when needed, is
also extremely important to healthy growth. These applications of fertilizer should
provide ample supplies of phosphorus when needed. Juska's test applications of P2O5
up to 4,000 lbs. per acre continually improved bluegrass top growth and had no deleterious effect on roots.
Much is made of disease invasions into pure stands of bluegrass. Perhaps more
thought and testing should be given to mixtures of bluegrass varieties to lessen this
tendency. The key, however, remains height of cut and over-use of water. As new
varieties of bluegrass appear, these limiting fac^c.rs may be reduced. Today, though,
unless cutting heights are up to 1-1/8" or 1-1/4", little comfort can be given those
who remember the good bluegrass fairways of yesteryear.
Midwest Turf leaflet No. 29 "Bluegrass Fairways, Yes, If?" is available from ¥. H.
Daniel, Dept. of Agronomy/ Puldue_Universit;£._ It_summarizes current thinking on maximum turf care.

SOIL TEST RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION
James M. Latham, Jr., Agronomist, Milorganite Turf Service
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Soil testing is far from being a completely exact science, but it is a very
usable tool to approximate nutrient deficiences in soils. Modern tests do not
measure the total amount of nutrients in a soil. They estimate the amount of a nutrient that is available to plants.
Soil tests are meaningless unless the numerical results are correlated to plant response. We must "ask the crass" if additions of a
certain nutrient will benefit its growth. From field testing of laboratory results,
limits are set on deficiencias and excesses of various elements.
There are three critical steps that must be carefully taken to make a soil
test meaningful. The first is PROPER SAMPLING. For turfgrasses, we feel that an
0 to 2" depth is best. Although the root system may be deeper, this depth is a measure of the feeding zone and more recent additions of nutrients. It is also the
depth for phosphorus accumulation, as well as calcium and magnesium, following a surface application of dolomitic limestone. Deeper samples dilute these elements and
can give a misleading result.
The second critical area in soil testing is the CHEMICAL ANALYSIS, Procedures
are based on using chemicals to approximate uptake by plant roots. Extraction must
be rapid and not remove the fractions of nutrients unavailable to plants. Analysis
procedures must be worked out on a routine basis and carried out bv experienced per-

sonnel . Newer devices are now being used to provide extremely accurate measurements
of available nutrients. Small errors in adding reagents, unclean apparatus and poor
judgment can be a direct source of error.
The third critical phase is RECOMMENDATIONS for treatment based on soil test results. To make these recommendations, one must have some knowledge of the physical
properties of the soil tested. He must know the type of grass to be grown and the purpose to which it will be put. He must know field correlations to the laboratory results. In the latter case, it is almost impossible to pick up any soil test report and
make recommendations unless one knows what nutrient levels are considered low, and" the
point at which additions of a given nutrient no longer produce growth responses.
Liming recommendations are based on acidity, calcium and magnesium readings, but
are very dependent on the texture of soils. Sandy soils need less lime to raise the pH
than those with high clay content. Recent research at Wisconsin has also shown that
calcium and magnesium should be present in a ratio of not more than 10 to 1. If calcium
content is above this, a magr-sium deficiency can be produced even though there may be
an adequate total amount in the soil.
The maintenance practices are also important. If clippings are to be removed
from the area, significant potash losses can be expected through harvesting. These
losses must be periodically replaced. On the other hand, if clippings fall back into
the sod, normal decomposition will return this nutrient to the soil solution. Florida
research has shown that, contrary to popular belief, potash losses due to leaching are
not as great as once thought.
High phosphorus levels have been condemned for a long period of time. This condemnation has been based on tie-up of iron and the need for higher arsenical application for pre-emergence control of crabgrass. Recent U.S.D.A. research by Juska shows,
however, that no damage was done to bluegrass or creeping red fescue at rates up to
4,000 lbs. of P2O5 P e r acre. This is the equivalent of 10 tons of 207o superphosphate
per acre. His test used 46% material, a low sulfur source of P. In fact, top growth
increased with increased P and no root reduction was noted.
Salinity tests may become necessary in some midwestern areas because of the increased use of salt for ice removal on streets and sidewalks. Many cities are already
facing a crabgrass and knotweed problem along streets due to the inability of bluegrass
to tolerate high salt content.
With new, high analysis fertilizers, minor element deficiencies are becoming
definite problems. Sulfur deficiencies are alreadh well known in Florida. Boron has
been shown deficient in many areas, as has Molybdenum.
Some of these minor or trace elements are as detrimental in excess as they are
when deficient. Manganese, zinc, copper, and boron are among them. For this reason,
it may be necessary to set minimum and maximum limits when suitable soil tests are devised and in use. Copper toxicity has already occurred in some of the citrus areas in
Florida, although it is needed in small amounts. This shows the hazard of a shotgun
minor element application to remedy the deficiencies of only one nutrient. If iron is
thought to be deficient, apply only iron. If this fails to work, check only one element at a time to avoid excess amounts of others.
The 0. J. Noer Research Foundation has established a grant for long time research on soil testing techniques at the University of Wisconsin. This is especially
aimed at soils on which turf is to be grown. Through continued research, both in laboratory and field, soil testing will become more accurate, and hence, a much more useful tool than it is today.

TURF RENOVATION
J. R. Watson, Director, Agronomy Division,
Toro Manufacturing Corporation, Minneapolis, Minnesota

To renovate means to restore to life, vigor or activity; to renew, make over,
or repair. Renovation is the technique or procedure involved in the restoration, or
renewal process. Renovation of turfgrass areas is generally undertaken when some
basic factor or condition — which cannot be corrected by proper management practices causes turf quality to deteriorate to the point where it is unacceptable from the
standpoint of play or appearance. The degree of renovation required to produce satisfactory and acceptable turf can be determined only if the basic cause of the poor turf
can be ascertained.
For
renovation
terms used
techniques

purposes of clarity, and in keeping with the general concepts of the title,
should be distinguished from rebuilding. The grouping of practices and the
to describe each category is necessarily arbitrary and an overlapping of
is recognized.

Renovation. A term used to classify those practices, which lie beyond the scope
of rout?r' maintenance, and which, if performed, will (1) produce a satisfactory response from the current management program,, or (2) reduce an abnormal expenditure of
management efforts (time, materials, equipment and supervision) required to maintain
satisfactory turfgrass. Practices that would be included in this category are (1)
the introduction of a new strain of grass, (2) elimination of excessive thatch and
mat accumulations, (3) correction of faulty surface drainage, (4) replacement of tile
or installation of "dry" or "french wells" to restore proper subsoil drainage, (5)
incorporation of amendments, or severe cultivation to alleviate soil compaction, and
(6) elimination of tree roots.
Rebuilding. A term which refers to those practices involving complete changes.
A modification of soil texture, corrective subgrade contouring — with or without installation of tile, reshaping of surface grades and contours — crowning of football
fields — and relocation of a specialized turfgrass site, would be included in the
rebuilding category.
Management. Practices such as fertilizing, watering, aerating, mowing — including vertical to control thatch — and the control or elimination of disease,
insects, and weeds are normally performed in a routine maintenance program. Failure
to perform satisfactorily or adequately, one or more of these practices, could lead
to a decline in the turf quality. If such is allowed to persist, renovation may be
required to restore the turf.
Planning. Once the decision to renovate a turf area has been made, a plan for
the job needs to be developed. The plan should include:
1.
2.

A definition of the problem. This would show why the turf decline.
Proposed solution. This section should show when the job will be done (when
the permanent grass is actively growing), what will be required to restore
the turf site to suitable conditions and who will do the job — contractor,
sub-contractor, or individual.

3.

Alternate solution — including leaving it alone. Always keep in mind that
status quo may be the most satisfactory answer, at least acceptable, to a
problem.

4.

Costs. Cost schedule should include equipment costs (buy, lease, rent, or borroitf
any specialized units required), materials — the kind and amount of soil
sterilants, or other weed control chemicals, fertilizers, soil conditions,(peat,
calcined clay, sand, etc.) and seed. Finally, the cost schedule should show
labor costs.

5.

Advise officials and other concerned as to when the job will be done, etc. This
is a most important consideration when dealing with playing fields of other
sites that may be needed for practice or special events.

Finally, when the work is completed, remind the manager of the site why the job was
necessary and caution him to avoid, insofar as possible, similar conditions or situations on the newly renovated area.

BUSINESS PRACTICES EMPHASIZED
AS ESSENTIAL FOR A GOOD SOD OPERATION
Victor Keigley, Red Hen Turf Farm
Berrien Springs, Michigan

A.

BUSINESS PRINCIPLES
1.
2.
3.

Have as much or more concern for your customer as you have for yourself.
Make sure that a customer receives a dollar's value for a dollar spent.
Honesty always pays in the long run.
a. It pays not only in dollars, but most important in personal satisfaction which is the real true value of anything. "For what good
is it for a man to gain the whole world and looseth his soul/'
b.

4.

B.

If a man cannot feel] proud of the product he is selling, and proud of
the service that he is giving this customer, then I don't think he
should be in business. In most cases he won't be in business too
long if he doesn't feel this way.
Now that we have our values in the right place, let's talk about some of
the things that we will want to do to fulfill these values of good business .

MARKET
1.

It is important that the farm be located in such a place that one can serve
as large a market as possible in all directions. I would think that a
market in one direction only wouldbe very vulnerable. Where there are markets in all directions, one need only to get his share of the business and
still have a good business. This gives the good grower with high principles a chance to sort out the good business from all markets, and maintain
a profitable business. A good grower has something to say about the class
of clientele that he wishes to serve.

C. ORGANIZATION
1.

We have learned the importance of dividing and delegating the responsibilities
for an efficient operation. These responsibilities are divided into three

parts for best results.
a.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF GROWING AND;.PRODUCING AMPLE QUALITY SOD
1. If a business has set its principles high and has the welfare of
his customers at heart, there is no question but what the best
of quality is none too good- The man that buys the cheapest seed
(not thinking of his customer nor himself) to save a dollar, is
not thinking of quality sod.
A grower who plants many acres of sod without the irrigation
facilities to properly irrigate the seedings and sod, is not '
thinking of his customers nor himself in the future. Whenever
one puts every effort forth to better serve this customer, he is
also going to be equally rewarded dollar-wise over the years.
Irrigation facilities are a must in order to insure good seedings,
and to insure the proper amount of moisture before cutting. Poor
quality sod not only hurts the man that is growing the sod, but
the customer who is buying, as well as the industry itself. But,
be assured that the man who continually has nothing but the best
quality of sod will always remain in business. Vie find that the
greatest per cent of the customers want nothing but the best.
Too many growers are afraid to lose a sale when a customer wants
to buy a cheaper product for less money. Quality sod growers
only hurt themselves when they meet the low quality sod prices.
2.

Following are the responsibilities of growing and producing ample
quality sod:
a.
b.

b.

Know the number of acres required to meet the needs of the
business.
Prepare the seedbed, soil treatment for insect control,
fertilization, planting seed, irrigation of seedbeds,
weed control, mowing, fertilizing and irrigating until
ready for cutting.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF SERVICE
1.

We place service second to quality product and ahead of sales
in importance, because you don't have anything to sell until
you have a quality product and the service to serve the customer efficiently.
Service responsibilities are very closely coordinated with sales
and consist of cutting and loading in the field for pick-up customers, as well as cutting and loading of all orders to be delivered by our trucks. No excuses and few reasons are tolerated
for being late on a delivery, or for a customer to x^ait over 10
minutes before his truck is to be loaded.
a.

This is accomplished by a constant educational program
whereby the customer always calls in advance to make
arrangements on the time for his pick-up or delivery.
Once he is scheduled for a time to be loaded at the
farm, or a delivery date at the job, he can expect this
commitment to be met. Anyone coming in without an appointment must wait until all other commitments are met. Customer soon learns that it is to their advantage to

schedule in advance. This sytem also helps to eliminate
frustrations at the farm by keeping the customer happy and
keeps things running smoothly at the farm. No truck
driver is expected to help load his own truck. We x^ant the
truck driver to want to come to our place of business for
prompt and courteous service. How many of you have gone
to a barber shop to get a haircut only to find that there
are six or seven people ahead of you? Irritating isn't it?
There are many barber shops that operate by appointment
only. This day and age time is of greater importance, and
a certain clientele will patronize this kind of service.
b.

c.

If a customer calls in for a load of sod and the schedule is
filled completely for that day, he is politely informed
that we cannot serve him at that particular time, but can
give him prompt service at a specific time and date. When
a customer is irritated at this and goes to your competitor's place of business and waits for several hours to be
loaded, he soon appreciates the appointment service and
calls several days in advance for his orders. He may be
irritated at not getting an appointment at his convenience,
but he is irritated more if he comes in and waits several
hours before being loaded.

c.

One of the greatest services that has contributed to customer satisfaction is the pallet fork-lift service. All
sod is delivered to the customer's job on pallets and is
unloaded with a fork-lift and placed on the job at the
customer's desire.

d.

There is nothing that gives us greater satisfaction in our
business than the satisfaction expressed by our customers
in regard to prompt service and quality product. We maintain these two things to be of the highest of importance
and will result in a profitable business.

SALES AND COLLECTIONS
1.

We have placed sales in the third spot of importance, for without
the quality product and the prompt service, you have nothing to sell.
There is nothing like satisfied customers to make sales. We have
one man whose responsibilities are sales and collections, and he
works very closely with the service man coordinating delivery and
pick-up dates. The schedules are always set up to allow plenty of
time to meet commitments, for our most important slogan is "better
early than late." Our pallet service is of great value in this respect. If we run ahead of schedule, our man goes right ahead and
unloads the sod with the fork-lift-pallet service, and no time is
wasted waiting for the customer. In many cases the sod is unladed
and placed at the desired location by the time the customer arrives.

2.

It is an absolute must that the man in charge of sales be available
at the sales office so that any customer calling in, or stopping by
can be given definite appointments, or any other desired information. There is nothing more disgusting than to call a place of
business and not be able to get the information desired because a
certain party is not available to give the proper information.

Peronal selling is of great importance- A new customer not familiar with our quality and service is always informed of these facts,
as well as the price.

D.

Advertising also is of great importance and consists of yellow page
advertising, brochures, sod installation and lawn care instructions,
and radio and newspaper advertising.

5.

In regard to collections which is handled by the man in charge of
sales, we have one slogan - "a sale is not a sale until the money has
besn received for that sale." In other words, it is better to lose a
sale than to tie up money on a questionable sale. Anyone can sell,
but selling and collecting for that sale means the difference between
success or failure. When your quality and service is at its best,
one need not be reluctant in demanding his money for his product and
service.

EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP
1.

E.

4.

A book could be written on this subject, so we will leave this subject with
one thought - Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Abide by
this rule and allow the responsible key men to prosper x^ith you, and you
will have a team that can't be beat.

SUMMARY, OR LAST THOUGHT
1.

The greatest asset of any busines is HIGH BUSINESS PRINCIPLES. If one's
business principles are right, everything else will automatically be at
its best - "For what good is it for a man to gain the whole world and
looseth his soul."

WHEN IS SOD READY TO CUT
L. Mueller, Mueller Sod Farms,
Ontarioville, Illinois

My discussion will not be a pedantic or academic report - jurst a gicwer's
viewpoint pertaining to the finished turf product, which we call sod. I would like to
ask various growers to participate in this discussion.
Forty years ago when we were selling pasture grass for sod, my Dad and myself
would scour the countryside looking for sod in pastures that had some quality and a
very small percentage of weeds. This, of course, took time and patience, but we always seemed to come up with enough acreage to renovate for the season. When we found
a pasture that looked good enough to strip, the first thing we would do xvas toop down
and grasp two handsful of grass leaves and lift upward. If the grass parted from the
roots, without the roots being disturbed, we knew we had a potential supply of sod.
One can still rely upon this old-fashioned test to a great degree. Of course, it is
not entirely fool-proof, but it has some merit.

The only fool-proof was to determine if sod will hold or is ready to cut is
to place a sod cutter in the field and cut a few yards; then test it for holding ability
by rolling it in rolls, or lifting a six-foot length by one end and holding it aloft.
Some purchasers will set their own specifications. Park districts, or some
states, counties, or cities will demand the rolling and unrolling of a yard of sod 4
or 5 times before they will approve or accept an order of sod. I believe we ought to
list the characteristics of sod ready to cut in the order of their importance:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Should
Should
Should
Have a
Should

appear to be disease-free
be weed-free
have heavy root and rhizome growth (holding ability)
thick top growth
have a lush green color.

We could go on to relate how sod grown from quality seed can be obtained in
the shortest possible time and costing as little as possible. Let us select a peat
field of moderate fertility that has been in sod production before. One could seed
this field dormant, or in early spring (in the northern part of Illinois, southern
part of Wisconsin, and other areas in the same zone).
Twenty to 50 pounds of seed per acre is used by most growers. We prefer 35
lbs., at the same time an application of a 1-4-2 fertilizer may be applied. If it is
a dry spring, water will have to be supplemented by irrigation. If we would seed a
little later when the weather is warm, we prefer a solid set of irrigation pipe. By
solid set I mean a field of 10, 20, or 40 acres would be covered entirely by 2 inch
pipe and sprinklers, which are left in place until the seedlings are growing.
Four to 6 weeks later, depending upon water, temperature and grass growth,
apply 300 lbs. of a 1-1-1 fertilizer ratio. In peat fields a solid growth of weeds
may cover the grass in a very short time if temperatures are high. When this weed
growth reaches a height of six or eight inches, we would apply 1 pint of 2,4-D (weed
killer) in 15 gals, of water per acre. If the temperature is below 75°, 1-1/2 pints
of 2,4-D should be applied. We have experimented with this practice for years and have
not had any noticeable setback in the growth of the grass seedlings. On the other hand,
if the weeds continued to grow,a greater part of the seedlings would die or become
elongated and spindley due to the shade of the weeds.
The next application of fertilizer a 2:1:1 ratio would be applied approximately
4 to 6 weeks later, again depending upon the growth of the grass and the water applied.
All other fertilizer applications would be of the 2:1:1 ratio. (One might use a urea
45% nitrogen also). When the sod or grass has completely covered the ground in its
entirety and has developed a sod sufficiently strong enough to withstand extensive handling, harvesting can begin.
We have a very short film taken 2 years ago to illustrate the finished product being harvested, cut by machine, rolled by machine, and loaded on trucks.

SEEDS MIXTURES - A REVIEW
Dr. A. S. Carter, Director, Seed Control
Purdue University

Turf is big business in Indiana and grass seeds for turf purposss are handled
in carload lots. Seed Law enforcement plays an important part in the distribution of
seed for turf purposes. The intelligent buying of grass seeds, as well as other seeds,
involves buying on the basis of analysis, which inevitably leads us to considering the
seed label as the key to an intelligent purchase.
Seed labeling is somewhat complicated, but everything on the prescribed label is
important. When seed is purchased the purchaser should be especially interested in the
percent of pure seed, which, for an item like bluegrass seed, may vary from 75% to 98%.
The pure seed content can be too low and you will be paying for a lot of dirt, trash,
and other forms of inert matter, or it can be too high and you may be paying an undue
amount for processing necessary to achieve such a high percentage. The goal should be
obtaining your money's worth. If the material in the bag is not pure seed, it may be
either weed seeds, other crop seeds in which you may or may not have an interest, or
inert matter.
One of the most important items on the seed label is the kind and variety. We
must recognize that new varieties of turf seeds are being developed and becoming available, and the success of the turf enterprise may depend upon the variety of seed. The
statement of pure seed on the label refers to the pure seed of the kind and variety,
but unfortunately it is not possible to make varietal determination of all turf seeds
by examination of the seed. 7cr exai pie, the seeds of Merion bluegrass can be differentiated from commercial Kentucky bluegrass, but many of the other varieties are indistinguishable. This means that if you are interested in a specific variety, it may
be necessary to buy certified seed of this variety, do the mixing yourself, or have
the mixing done on a custom basis.
As with all seeds, germination of grasses is important, but, for some species,
it becomes very difficult. Certain grass species must be tested for as long as 28
days at alternating temperatures to simulate night and day temperatures. Some require
light, or chemical treatment to break dormancy, and some must be pre-chilled to break
dormancy. In other words, the testing of turf seeds is a very complicated and involved matter. You are professionals and we recommend that you leave the analysis of
turf seeds to professional seed analysts who are better able to evaluate seed lots.
Reference above was made to seed certifications. Seed certification,conducted
by Crop Improvement Associations in the various states, has as its primary assignment
to assure that the varietal identity of the seed is trictly maintained through the
multiplication processes. Seed certification also provides for certain quality standards so that the seed labeled as certified will be good seed, as well as seed of the
variety claimed.
One question that may be raised is whether or not seed mixtures can be accurately
tested. The ansx-jer is yes, if the sample is properly drawn, properly subdivided, and
tested. A report on a seed mixture will give the percentage of each kind of seed present of each identifiable variety. As for all seeds, it m i l give the percentage of
weed seeds, the percentage of other crop seeds, the percentage of inert matter, percentage of germination, and the number of noxious weed seeds per pound. However, as stated
above, if you have serious interests in specific varieties that cannot be distinguished
by visual examination, we cannot make this determination on the basis of a seed laboratory test. Here you must depend on certified seed.

We realize that many turf men are interested in avoiding seed lots containing
Poa annua, Certainly Poa annua is not desirable in turf seeds and turf mixtures, and
we anticipate that eventually a list of noxious weed seeds, especially designed for
turf seeds, will be developed^rhat Poa annua will be aprime candidate for such a list.
The control laboratory in this state, as well as in many other states, can offer
a distinct service to those interested in turf seeds. In the first place, continued
sampling of lots of seeds as they appear on the market will give you strong assurance
that the seed you buy will be as guaranteed on the label. We are proud to point out
that in the year 1963 only 1.87o of all seed samples were found to be seriously mislabeled. The percentage was a little higher than this in 1964, but the label is accurate to a high degree.
Furthermore, if you live and operate in Indiana, and if you will let us know
when you buy seed, we will be glad to have an inspector call on you, draw an official
sample of the seed, make an official test, and report the results to you. In fact, we
would like to get 25, 50 or more samples of seed sold to golf course operators and
other turf handlers and would prefer to get official samples after the seed has been
sold so that we can report results directly to you. Furthermore, if you have carryover
lots of seed about which the germination is in question, we will be glad to run a germination test for you without charge if you will send us a representative sample during
the months of November and December so as to avoid our rush season.

BLUEGRASSES - TODAY & TOMORROW
Dr. J. A. Long, Director, Biochemical Research
0. M. Scott & Sons Ccmpany, Marysville, Ohio.

Histori~al
John James Ingalls, a Senator from Kansas, paid quite a tribute to the bluegrasses
in an address of his, printed in the Kansas Magazine in 1872. To provide us with a starting point on "Bluegrasses - Today and Tomorrow," a couple of sections of Senator Ingalls
paper are presented.
"One grass differs from another grass in glory. One is vulgar and another patrician. There are grades in its vegetable nobility. Some varieties are useful. Some
are beautiful. Others combine utility and ornament. The sour, reedy herbage of swamps
is baseborn. Timothy is a valuable servant. Redtop and clover are a degree higher in
this social scale. But, the kind of them all, with genuine blood royal, is Bluegrass."
"The primary form of food is grass. Grass feeds the ox; the ox nourishes man; man
dies and goes to grass again, and so the tide of life, with everlasting repetition, in
continuous circles, moves endlessly on and upx/ard, and in more senses than one, all
flesh is grass. But all flesh is not bluegrass. If it were, the devil's occupation
would be gone."
Before reviewing the status of bluegrasses at the present time and for the future,
there are a couple of additional historical points that would, perhaps, be of interest
to you. As early as 1665, the term English grass was used to describe both bluegrass
and white clover originating in a report from Rhode Island (1948 Yearbook of Agriculture).

In 1785, Thomas Jefferson, in his Notes on the State of Virginia, stated: Our
grasses are Lucerne, St. Foin, Burnet, Timothy, ray (rye) and orchard grass; red,
white and yellow clover; greensward, bluegrass and crabgrass."
Recent Seed Production Statistics
Seed production figures on bluegrass are of interest since the production and
movement figures provide some insight to the scope of the industry from year to year.
Disappearance figures, which indicate market consumption, show that the bluegrass seed
industry is substantial.
Some Bluegrass Seed Production Statistics (USDA)
I-Ieri on

Pounds

Carryover (1962

1,900,000

U. S. production in 1963
Imports during 1963

3,300,000
800,000
4,100,000

Disappearances during 1963

4,600,000

Other bluegrasses
Carryover 1962

11,000,000

U. S. production in 1963
Imports during 1963

15,000,000
16,500,000
31,500,000

Disappearance during 1963

32,400,000
1963 total use

37,000,000

Bluegrass Varieties
Currently available in the Midwest
The varieties belox«; are generally available today. Currently several companies
are blending these for best disease tolerance, longer vigor periods and wider adaptation .
1.

Common - The total of all unnamed material reaching the market, whether produced in midwest, northwest, or imported. Also that harvested from surviving
stands in old pastures and fields. Generally considered leaf spot susceptible,
medium in vigor and leaf width.

2.

Merion - Selected in 1935, released by Pennsylvania in 1948. Has good leafspot
resistance, but susceptible to stem rust in fall and powdery mildew, feeds good
fertility.

3.

Newport - Selected in Oregon in 1937 - released in 1948 - medium in leafspot
tolerance, resistant to stem rust, susceptible to leaf rust. Blends well and
supplements Merion. Needs good fertility.

4.

Delta - Selected in Canada in 1935, released in 1958, but little grown until
1951, then expanded production. Looks like Common, but more vigorous - only
medium in disease tolerance.

5.

Park - A collection was started in 1937 - from these a blend of 16 preferred individual clones was released by Thomas of Minnesota in 1957. Turf appears similar to Common, with leafspot susceptibility.

6.

Windsor - Selected in 1949 by Renner of Scotts in Ohio - released as private
variety by Scotts Seed Co. in 1962 - color and disease resistance similar to
Merion. Heeds good fertility.

7.

Arboretum - An early selection by Shai\r's Arboretum in St. Louis, Mo. - quite
susceptible to leaf spot - texture is similar to Common. Very little grown.

8.

Beaumont - Selected by Scotts - uniform and stable apomictic with growth habit
and texture similar to Park - blended with other bluegrasses.

European Sources
European grox-jers are well organized through seed houses that control their individual varieties. Imports of all grass seed, particularly bluegrass, indicates increased supplies will be available. The several varieties are listed only for your
information.
1.

Prato - Selected by Van der Have in Holland and widely sold in Europe. Now marketed by Northrup,King (started in 1963) as part of their Golf Brand - Appears
to be finer than Merion or Windsor - produces a dense turf, medium tolerance to
rust.

2.

Delft - Formerly called C. B. - recently released by Centraal Bureau of
Holland - blue-green color, medium density, leafspot susceptible.

3.

Campus - Selection of Van Engelen's of Holland - mod. susceptibility to leafrust .

4.

Golf - Selected and increased in Sweden - Highly susceptible to leafspot.
ture and growth similar to Common.

5.

Cambridge -

6.

Kenon - Similar selection to Delta, from Canada - little developmental work.

7.

Primo - Selected by Weibull's in Sweden - currently considered one of the better
varieties in Europe - little information here.

8.

Atlas, Melle, etc. - are other selections.

Tex-

Older selection from England, coarse-textured, little used.

Experimental Stations
Several experimental stations (Purdue, Pa., Minn., Washington, Ky., and Kansas
are example) and several companies (Scotts, Rudy-Patrick, Ferry-Morse, and Northrup,
King are examples) are actively selecting and testing potential new varieties. Some
are listed below for current information:
1.

K-5(47) - (experimental Penn. - Musser) rust tolerant, leafspot tolerant, currently being tested at numerous stations. Duich feels it would best be blended
with other bluegrasses. Not released by 1965.

2.

K-l(61) - (experimental discarded by Penn.) leafspot resistant, very rust susceptible .

3.

Anheuser dwarf - Selected in 1952 by Daniel of Purdue from Anheuser lawn in St.
Louis, compact growth and relatively good leafspot tolerance. Makes open, thin
turf (and not considered worthy turf type by Daniel).

4.

Troy - Selected in Montana, heavy seed producer, but open, coarse turf, and not
desirable fine turf, very little sold.

5.

HuDwarf - Selection during 1950 7 s by R. H. Rassmussen in Nebraska based on its
shorter growth and green color, very limited observations elsewhere as yet.

6.

Cougar - Several selections were made by Washington Agri . Exp. Sta., and labeled
PNW's (205, 402, 602). These are moderately susceptible to leafrust, resistant
to leafspot and good turf formers. In 1964 three best were equally blended and
released as Cougar.

7.

A-10 - A vegetative propagated (sexual) selection on which vegetative patent has
been requested by Warren's Turf Nursery of Palos Park, Illinois.

8.

S-21 - Geary, etc., are used to produce small amounts of seed. These ana more
may reach the market blended together and sold as Common bluegrass.
Present Plant Breeding Methods

The general procedures presently being used in research for generating source
material from which new bluegrasses are being developed include:
Method

Probability of Success

A. Natural Occurring Off-types
1. Lawns, golf courses, etc. - survival
2. Pastures - adaptation
3. Mass space plantings - differences

Good

B.

Hybridization
1. Single cross
2. Polycross

Limited

C.

Induced Mutants
1« Radiation
2. Chemicals

Fair

Of the three general methods, the selection of abberant, or off-type plants
occurring in large space plantings, lax-ms, etc., has been by far the most effective
and productive in this country. In fact, all of the improved bluegrass varieties
that x\re are presently using have been developed by this method. It is recognized
here that some of the desirable abberant of off-type plants eventually selected and
released may have been a product of natural hybridization in addition to sexual seed
formation. Controlled hybridization has yet to be established as a means of improvement for bluegrasses. Inducing mutant types with chemicals and radiation is being
used with some success in breeding programs in Europe. Limited research in this area
is being carried out at Beltsville, and in some private breeding programs.
Not being able to utilize hubridization imposes rather severe limitations and
restricts flexibility in plant breeding programs. For example, if one selected an out-

standing accession of bluegrass possessing very desirable turf characteristic, except
that it is highly susceptible to stripe smut, it would be possible, in plants where
crossing can be carried out, to incorporate genetic resistance. Desirable plant type
could then be restored, if necessary, by a backcrossing program. The procedure for
all practical purposes would not be feasible for bluegrasses at this time because of
a predominant seed forming process called Apomixis.
Apomixis
In grasses where the normal sexual reproduction process occurs, one nucleus fuses
with the egg cell, the other with the two polar nuclei following pollination. The fertilized egg cell differentiates to form the new embryo plant; the triple nuclei form
the endosperm. The major deviation in the process in bluegrasses occurs when the egg
nucleus begins to divide and with subsequent divisions forms an embryo before fertilization can take place. When this happens it is not possible for the male nucleus to
fuse with the egg nucleus. This process is called apomixis. The significant point
here is that if we wanted to combine a male nucleus, containing hereditary factors
from bluegrass plants resistant to a disease, with the egg nucleus of a bluegrass plant
susceptible to the same disease, it could not be done because of apomixis. Popular
terms refer to this as asexual seed formation or agamospermy. It certainly would be a
major contribution if someone would develop a procedure to prevent the spontaneous development of the egg cell into an embryo without fertilization. As you can see, we
understand what the problem is, but to date we do not know how to correct it.

Future Prospects
Considerations in Improvement Programs
After one has developed some scheme to isolate or collect new sources of plant material as potential new bluegrass varieties, several other factors enter into the picture in the total program for developing better varieties of bluegrass. Selection^for
disease resistance certainly should be a major consideration in all lawngrass breeding
programs. Controlled artificial inoculation procedures under greenhouse conditions to
determine status of genetic resistance to various plant diseases has not been too effective. Recent research conducted at the University of Minnesota indicated that Merion
possessed no greater degree of resistance to Helminthosporium sativum, than common or
other bluegrass varieties when employing disease inoculation procedures under greenhouse conditions. In Central Ohio we do not see much leafspot development on even the
most susceptible varieties until the second and third years after planting. Again the
degree of infestation from year to year will vary under field conditions.
What does this mean to those conducting an improvement program? Careful planning
must be done to obtain information on levels of resistance to the disease organism early
in a breeding program. A procedure that is used now by several groups, is to locate
selection material in regions of the U. S. where disease activity is know to be most
prevalent. We find it quite effective.
For example, it is possible to obtain information rapidly on selections reactions to leafrust along the West Coast. The same
is true for screening of selections for leafspot tolerance. This procedure not only
assures that more accurate information is obtained on diseases resistance, but also
provides data on general adaptability of bluegrasses to different climates.
Another aspect of improvement of bluegrasses is again related to apomixis stability as effected by different environments. It is possible to find high levels of
asexual seed formation at one location; yet, when moving the same selection to another
region, apomictic stability is lost to a great degree. This can have a marked effect
on uniformity of a selection. Abberant or offtype plants resulting from sexual seed

formation are characterized by textural difference, disease resistance variation and
generally reduced vigor.
Blends for the Future
The use of varietal mixtures in lawn seed products has been a widely accepted
practice for a number of years. Several beneficial factors have generally been claimed
for varietal mixtures as follows:
1.

Wider adaptation to varying climate conditions such as temperature, moisture,
light, humidity, and air movement.

2.

Wider adaptation to varying soil conditions.

3.

Less likely to be completely decimated by one or more disease and insect pests.

4.

Very costly, highly desirable selection or varieties can be made available at a
lower price when less expensive varieties are blended.

Sufficient attention has not been given to the compatability of varietal mixtures. For example, the benefit of less vertical growth would not be realized for a
given variety that possessed a growth profile at the opposite extreme. If, however,
the blending of varieties with very similar growth profiles was used, then this benefit of fine turf would be more realistic. We have observed a striking example of cornpa tabilities in regard to leafspot disease activity. An increase of 20 per cent in
susceptibility to leafspot was noted when Common Kentucky bluegrass was used in place
of Newport in a varietal mixture with Merion and Windsor.
Further research on varietal mixtures would appear to have merit and should
find immediate use for fine turf applications.

The Status of Research and What Next?
Future prospects for the development of improved bluegrasses looks promising,
even though some rather difficult problems exist. The reasons for anticipating developments of improved bluegrasses are:
1.

More specialists with better training are working in the area now.

2.

Increase in financial support of both private and public turf research.

3.

Improvement in techniques, methods and equipment.

4.

Competition in the market place has increased tending ro force more concentrated
efforts.

5.

Varietal protection through patenting to provide a limited monopoly for industry.

It is anticipated that improvements will be forthcoming for some of the following characteristics of bluegrasses:
1.
2.
3.

Increase resistance to major diseases
Low profile of growth and improved turf forming ability
Better regional adaptation.

The intent here has been to provide a brief status report on what is available
today in bluegrass varieties, some general limitations of the present grasses, the size
-59-

of the industry as reflected in seed production and consumption, the problems involved
in programs to develop better grasses, and last the probability of success in continuing to envelop better bluegrass.

PROGRESS IN BLUEGRASS RESEARCH
Charles D. Berry, Graduate Stuent
Purdue University

Progress is a rather optomistic word when referring to any research program,
for we all know the pitfalls of a research scientist- Yet, let us explore this bluegrass program.
Any research problem must have reasons for the initiation of the research. To
determine the genetic variability inherited within Poa pratensis, Kentucky bluegrass,
population, this experiment was designed to contribute information about the genetic
variance, heritability values, and the correlations among characters. In order to
obtain data that would be worthy of such conclusions a representative sample of the
Poa pratensis population was needed. Fifteen entries from some exotic plant introductions and from selections within the United States were chosen.
Individual plants of these selections were space-planted on two-foot centers, in
eight replicates of a randomized, complete block design. From these plants individual
data was taken on several turf characteristics:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

A measurement of scoring of leaf width in millimeters.
"
"
" growth habit as a visual rating
"
"
" prostrate to upright
"
"
" leaf angle - a visual rating from 90° to 10°
"
"
" total spread as a relative measurement of the maximum to the
minimum
Extension of the shoots measured twice during the growing season
Sod spread - a relative measurement
Total spread dense enough to be considered sod
Rust resistance - a visual score of the per cent leaf coverage by pustules.

This data was then transferred to computer cards for the statistical analyses. From
these analyses on variance components, it \\ras determined that significant genotpyic
differences exist within these selections. This conclusion indicated that although
the environment contributes significantly to the appearance of the grass, the genotype is a major component, and that the genotypes vary widely for the characters
studied within these slections.
By the use of the Duncan's mutiple range test, which is a method fod etermining
differences between means in a ranked array, groups of entries superior for each character were determined. From these analyses (based on one year's records) four selections were found to be superior for the characters measured. These were:

1.
2.
3.
4.

A selection from the Chicago Golf Club, 16-F.
An introduction from Yugoslavia, PI-25 1429
Plants from seed harvested from Merion bluegrass surrounded by C-l bluegrass
Plants of seed harvested from Merion bluegrass surrounded by rust-free dwarf.

Heritability values, the fraction of total variance attributable to genotypic
variance, was computed for each character. It ranged from 0.91 for total spread to
0.98 for leaf width. The values are higher than expected, but indicate that the variance found in bluegrass is highly attributable to genotypic differences.
The expcted gain in percent of the mean from selection of the superior 5% of
the entries was computed on each of the characters studied. These values ranged from
21% for sod spread to 59% for total spread. Both values indicate that significant improvement can be made just by selection of the superior individuals.
The last analyses were the determination of intercharacter correlation coefficients, a statistic which allows us to determine, which, if any, characters tend
to be associated in a non-random manner. The following characters were found to be
significantly correlated with one another:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Narrow leaf angle with narrow leaf with.
Total spread with rust resistance
Wide leaf angle with prostrate growth habit
Extensive sod spread with prostrate growth habit

These associations indicate that effective, simultaneous selection
characters studied would be possible.

for several of the

In conclusion, sufficient genetopic variance exists to allow significant progress
by selection for the characters studied. Slowly, such progress shall provide new varieties for your use.

GOOD SEED OR VEGETATIVE VARIETIES
Ben Warren,Warren's Turf Nursery
Palos Park, Illinois
There have been times when it seemed to me that we would be better off to have
complete control of our planting stock. There is nothing more discouraging than to
find serious contamination in a clean field after much effort in bringing a crop to
near salable condition.
Some improvement has developed in seed quality in the past several years. The
reputable seed companies offer seed free of Poa annua< and bent. The accuracy of these
claims are subject to question as there has been no change in the methods used in determining the presence or absence of contaminants. Laboratory analysis is the backing
for such statements and in most cases is reliable, but this reliability is not 1 0 0 7 o .
Knowledge of location in which the seed is grown and processed can be a help in
avoiding contamination. Bluegrass is marketed from moist areas in which bent and Poa
annua occur as naturalized plants. The chance of occurrence of these in seed fields
is much greater than in dryer areas. Locations where bent seed is processed can be a

source of trouble when bluegrass is processed in the same plant. This condition
would have to become very much more serious than it is for any of us to consider vegetative planting of any commercial bluegrass strains on the market today. This method
would, of course, eliminate any outside source as a cause for contamination, but maintaining a clean and genetically true source of planting meterial would be no small
task.
Those of us in the north that grow bent or Zoysia have some experience in vegetative planting on rather small acreage. The southern growers have demonstrated that
this method is practical on a large scale. It is a practical method if there are
sufficiently good reasons for doing so.
Before discussing the reasons for vegetative planting of bluegrass, it might be
well to point out reasons for not going this route. Cost of planting is considerably
higher than seeding, and the much greater time per acre involved would make timing of
plantings difficult. Growing uniform blends would be very difficult, if not impossible. There are several conditions, some practical and others somewhat hypothetical
which would warrant this method of planting.
We have, at present, about ten acres of bluegrass that have been established
without seed. These are experimentáis which rate high in our plot evaluation work,
that we have increased so as to have material for further testing under practical use.
Increasing in this manner enables us to accumulate much information prior to going
into extensive seed production if seed propagation is possible. Two of the varieties
that are performing well are at least 50% sexual, which means that it may never be
possible to grow these from seed.
Lack of apomixis in a superior strain is an illustration of a situation which
could make vegetative increase a widespread practice. We are seeing some selections,
which are apomitic, but are such poor seed yielders that it is questionable whether
seed production would be practical.
In this method of planting we have an advantage in weed control. The plant
material used is mature and better able to tolerate herbicides than are germinating
seedlings. This is of interest in spring and summer planting when annual weeds cause
such serious competition. Fields planted in this manner, if handled carefully when
removing sod, may be allowed to regrow with assurance of succeeding crops being relatively true. Most bluegrass strains considered apomictic have a percentage of offtypes. Some of these are more vigorous than the parent and in regrowing tend to develop patches of dissimilar grasses.
We have tried several methods of planting, but still have plenty to learn. The
various broadcast means that have been satisfactory with the stoloniferous bents have
not produced as good results with bluegrass rhizomes. We, at present, are now planting with a transplanting machine, which uses several laborers,but, intend to continue
experimenting.

SALES AND USE OF ZOYSIA
R. P. Freeborg, Consultant-Agronomist,
Link's Nursery, St. Louis,Missouri

In the sales and uses of Meyer zoysia grass there are two distinct markets; the
homeowner market, and the large volume market. The latter includes athletic fields,
golf courses and large estates. For each market different sales and planting techniques are used. Local interest in Zoysia has taken many years to develop. We have had
Zoysia grass in St. Louis since early 1940, but only in the last three hears has the
homeowner really begun to accept it.
The homeowner, or primarily retail market, is reached through advertising on
radio and in local newspapers, as well as through articles on the maintenance and
uses of Zoysia grass, which are published in local papers and garden newsletters. We
prepare and distribute literature concerning Zoysia grass performance, planting procedures and maintenance, and in addition we are available to speak to garden clubs
and to participate in city and county sponsored turf field days.
Zoysia grass planting material available to the homeowner includes:
2-3/8"
plugs; sod in 3 sq. ft. sections; and sprigs from shredded sod. Use of the latter
by the non-professional is discouraged. The 2" plug is preferred, because it is easy
for the homeowner to plant, and will yield better results with little loss.
We encourage sales of the plugs by making rental pluggers available to the customer and by offering price discounts as quantity purchases increase. By saving and
submitting sales slips as he makes additional purchases, the customer realizes a reduced cost per plug.
In St. Louis the performance of Meyer zoysia grass in adapted areas, such as
open, sunny locations, has been superior to anything else. It is widely accepted because after an initial establishment period it is relatively maintenance-free. Thsre
is no insect damage and no disease.
As turf cover is realize, fertility requirements are a minimum:
1.
2.
3.

20 lbs. - 30 lbs./I,000 sq.ft. 10-6-4, part organic, in spring to force growth
and early greenup.
1 - 2 lbs. Urea/l,000 sq.ft. as desired to deepen green color in summer.
Fall feeding with 10-6-4 at 20 lbs./I,000 sq.ft. will prolong green color and
encourage earlier spring recovery.

Maximum management requirements are in spring. This includes thinning, close
cutting (1/2"), and fertilizing with balanced fertilizer. After this, the major management program consists primarily of mowing no more than 2 times a week and no less
than once each week.
A good deal of our early work with Zoysia has been in the golf course market
and other large areas, such as athletic fields where we feel it will do a better job.
We have experimented with fairway planting of Zoysia on several golf courses in the
St. Louis area.
Planting procedures have included small triangular pluts, 2" sod strips on
12" centers, and 2" plugs on 1 foot centers.
We cut the triangular pluts with a
Rogers fairway slicer with blades were 1-1/2" to 2". The area is triple-cut, leaving
small, triangular plugs cut at a depth of about 1-1/2". This area is then stripped to

a depth of about 1" with either a sod cutter, or a bucket on the front end of a tractor.
We plant the triangular plugs in slits made by a Link's Sprig Planter with a
1-3/4" slicing blade. Care is taken not to make the slit too eeep because Zoysia
leaves require sunlight. This procedure has been used at the Algonquin Country Club
without interrupting play on the course. Grass planted by the Link's Sprig Planter on
approximately 16" centers requires about three years to become well-established.
We have also used the Bray Planter after having modified it to include a wider
slicing blade that will slit rather than tear the soil. Sod strips are placed in the
hopper of planter, shredded and fed to the planting unit as sprigs. We get better
coverage from the same amount of planting material with the Bray Planter, but it must be
pointed out that with sprig planting, moisture is/much more crucial factor than with
plug planting.
Sprigs planted with the Bray Planter on 12" center will probably take, about 2
years or better
give good turf. We have not followed this program long enough to
determine the best rates of planting, or length of time from planting to good turf
cover.
The procedures involving use of the Bray Planter and Link's Sprig Planter are especially suited to the planting of golf courses because they do not interfere with play.
There is, however, another method which we have used on other area such as athletic
fields and sod nursery establishment. It consists of spreading the small triangular
plugs either by hand or with a manure spreader over a previously prepared planting bed.
This procedure was employed recently on the football field of Maplewood High
School in the St. Louis area. The field was subsoiled to break severe compaction. The
next step was to roto-till, harrow and drag the soil with an earth scraper to establish
a finish grade. We then planned to spread Zoysia over the area, one section at a time,
to .permit immediate watering.
At first we tried spreading with a blower-type spreader. This proved unsatisfactory. Because of the action of the hammers and the blower, most of the soil was removed
from the plugs. This, as well as the blowing, encouraged undesirable, rapid drying of
the Zoysia plugs. We finally decided to spread the plugs by hand, after which we
tilled them in lightly with a Rogers 548 tiller-roller assembly. The last step was to
roll and water the area.
Our nursery was planted in approximately the same manner, except for one minor
change. This involved the use of a manure spreader instead of planting the plugs by
hand. When using the manure spreader, we found it necessary to disengage the auger and
use only the conveyors to throw the planting material. Zoysia planted as triangular
plugs at about 6 bushels per 1,000 sq.ft.,spread either by hand or by a manure spreader,
will produce sod in about 1-1/2 years to two years at the most.
We recommend watering immediately following the planting of Zoysia. Frequently
Zoysia grass has been lost because of a lapse in time between planting and watering.
It is also extremely important that moisture be available until the grass has shown
signs of recovering from transplanting. To reduce extreme, rapid loss of moisture, it
is advisable to plant Zoysia on a cloudy day, late in the day, or even at night.
One should avoid fertilizing until the Zoysia has recovered from transplanting,
and is ready to respond to fertilization. At that time an application of a balanced
fertilizer, such as 10-6-4, should be applied at 20 to 30 lbs. per 1,000 sq.ft. This
should be followed with applications approximately every 2 - 3 weeks of nitrogen, such
as Urea, at about 40 - 80 lbs/acre and watered in.
Weed controls are also necessary.

This can be accomplished either with the post-emergent AMA with some 2,4-D added, or
with a pre-emergent such as Pre-San, or Tupersan, as soon as possible after planting.
It is essential that some kind of weed control be established to reduce severe weed competition .
With the Midwest zoysia grass now on the market, we are anticipating better results, especially in larger athletic areas. At present, we are recommending blends of
Zoysias and Bluegrasses. This, for example, is our current recommendation for turf in
the new Downtown Stadium in St. Louis. We feel that such a heavily used athletic field
will give superior service if established with blends of Zoysia and bluegrass and maintained with good soil blends, controlled irrigation, electric soil heating cables, and
the improved grades of fertilizer now available.
Past experience and success with Zoysia has so far justified our high hopes for
its future in the St. Louis area.

MIDWEST ZOYSIA - SECOND REPORT
Dr. W. H. Daniel, Turf Specialist, Dept. of Agronomy
Purdue University

Zoysia is a relatively new grass compared to many other turfgrasses. It was
first used in turf work after 1940 and released as a variety in 1950. Meyer has become rather widely distributed since that time in its adapted zone. In the more southern areas Emerald and Matrella have been distributed.
After ten years of research, Purdue University released a coarser, more open,
faster-spreading Zoysia called Midwest. As with other crops, it is released through
the Agricultural Alumni Seed Improvement Association, 2336 Northwestern, West Lafayette,
Indiana. In 1963 approximately 50 purchases were made; in 1964 approximately 40. These
went to nurseries, golf courses, individuals - no requests were turned down.
In 1965 ample foundation material is available from the above organization.
Midwest Turf leaflet No. 10, "How Does Zoysia Look for Midwestern Lawns - fourth revision/7 available upon request from W. H. Daniel, Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, describes both Meyer and Midwest, and gives current known sources in the Midwest area. Supplies from nurseries should be available for the first time during 1965.
Based on our research at Purdue, I feel Midxvest zoysia can be blended with blugrass, and with adjustments in the height of cut, fertilization and vertical mowing, a
partial blend of these two species can be maintained.

PURDUE STADIUM PROGRESS REPORT
Dr. ¥. H. Daniel, Turf Specialist, Dept. of Agronomy
Purdue University

The Purdue statium was first built in 1924. The field was extensively revised
in 1948 . At that time it was sprigged with U-3 Bermuda, overseeded with Merion bluegrass and Kentucky 31 tall fescue. The Bermuda was killed except in one small area
where it persited for ten years. The tall fescue failed under high fertility and
good management, so Merion bluegrass made the entire turf.
In 1961 extensive modification was accomplished to rebuild the rootzone and improve the porCsity. During this renovation vertical slits filled with calcined clay
were used to increase surface water removal. This was reported earlier, in the 1963
Proceedings.
During the winter of 1963 the field x^as lowered 8 feet, and during the spring
and summer of 1964 the field was re-established.
The subsoil is a heavy, silty clay with no aggregation. Tiles were cut into
this on 30 feet intervals. Gravel was placed around the tile and up to the surface of
the subgrade; then the gravel was capped with 2"of sand. Above the subgrade 6" of soil
was placed, then subsoiled and loosened; then a second 6 inches of soil was placed,
which was also subsoiled and loosened; then 1,000 lbs. of 16-8-8 fertilizer, 3/4" of
calcined clay (80 tons on 80,000 sq.ft.) plus 1" of loose peat (300 cu.yds.) wax
mixed into the top 3". After leveling and heavy watering to settle soil, the field
was sodded; the field itself being completed by July 2, and the perimeter sodded by
August 1.
It was readily observed that water penetration was inadequate; therefore, we
used vertical slits 1/2" wide and 10" deep to improve water penetration. Currently
the soils used have proved so heavy that water penetration is not fast enough, and
additional work is needed to remove surface water. This will be accomplished by making a narrow trench above each tile line, then filling this with calcined clay and
sand; then resod. In my opinion on athletic fields the priority of conditions are:
1.
2.
3.

No surface water at any time - must get through soil
Stable soils for uniformity - so stable underfoot
Grass cover is desired, but not necessary.

TURF RESEARCH
Dr. ¥. H.

Daniel

It has been the aim of the turf research program at Purdue University to work
closely with all ideas and products possible towards turf improvement. Much has been
said on the cooperation of institution with industry. I can assure you we have tried
to remain alert and have good contact and close coordination with company representatives. Nebertheless, the intent of our work has been to work towards problem solving,
using company products, when applicable, as a means toward that end.

Currently we are testing wilt reducers from five companies to see if wilting can
be reduced on putting greens during hot, summer days.
We are also checking TIBA, an anti-auxin, to observe its effects on roots under
stress of high nitrogen and close mowing.
Our work with calcined clays, in providing more porous rootzones, continues
after five years.
Our greatest current effort is in bluegrass selection. Reports of graduate students, Lobenstein, Melkerson and Berry, have given you information on this work. Now
we are looking for two types: those that could be closely mowed and have good disease
resistance; also those that are vigorous and aggressive, have maximum wear tolerance.
We are also continuing our research on trying to selectively kill bentgrass, tall
fescue, or nimblewill in bluegrass turf. Currently potassium azide looks encouraging.
Always we keep abreast of the crabgrass control materials and the possible expansion of their uses for Poa annua control, nimblewill control, other selective features.
We count on all possible coming to the Field Days, which are scheduled August
15; repeated August 16, 1965.

EXPERIENCE WITH GLASS 1IAT ON NEW SEEDING
Gordon Duguid, Supt., Big SpringsC. C.,
Loui svi11e, Kentucky

During the fall of 1964, while in the process of relocating and completely rebuilding three greens at Big Springs C., I had the opportunity to try and test glass
mat on one of the greens.
While contemplating the use of glass mat, I talked with
men from the State of Kentucky, who have used the material as seed cover on steep
slopes. They were having trouble with washes and had been most successful with the
use of glass mat. Thus, the decision to try this new method on the last green to be
rebuilt, which was #17.
The 17th green was built with 8,000 sq.ft. of putting surface,
al 1,000 sq. ft. of collar. In accordance with our building plans, a
trolled, automatic perimeter watering system was installed around the
lieve this to be a great advantage when using glass mat, or any other
was not necessary to walk on the green until the mat was taken up.

and. an additionmanually congreen. I bematerial, as it

On October 24 the green was prepared by applying 30 lbs. of 10-6-4 with UF;
then .75 lb. of Penncross creeping bentgrass seed per 1,000 sq.ft. was applied. This
was .25 lb. heavier than we used on the other two greens, for because of the lateness
it seemed wiser to seed a little heavier. After a light raking and rolling, the green
was sprayed with a wetting agent, using 8 oz. of material with 8 gals, of water per
1,000 sq.ft. The green was then completely covered, including the collar, with glass
mat.

The glass mat is a weaved fiber glass, green in color, which was at the time
available only in rolls 3/8" thick. Believing this too thick to suit our purpose, we
divided the mat in half. This was done very simply by three men as the mat is manufactured in layers. These split sections 85 ft. long and 5 ft. wide were laid side by "
side across the green and collar. They were then held in place by using #9 wire cut 1
ft. long and bent into a U shape. These hoops were put through the mat and into the
soil, three on the ends and four along each side. This proved most successful as the
mat stayed in place, even with heavy winds.
The three mornings following completion of the green, white frost was quite
heavy. By turning on the sprinklers, for three minutes, this was quickly dissipated.
The green was watered once more during the day, for three minutes, and as long as the
mat was in place it never dried out. By the afternoon of the fourth day, germination
of the seed was visable to the eye. The temperature during this four-day period ranged
from a high of 73° to a low of 27°. The temperature under the mat as checked during
the day and four times at night, and it never dropped below 62°.
After ten days, on November 3, we found it necessary to remove the mat to enable
us to cut the green. As you can see in the slide, the grass had reached a height of
approximately 3/4". This was done simply by removing the metal hoops and re-rolling
the mat and then storing it away for future use.
The green was cut and lightly rolled
following removal of the mat. Before the green stopped growing, it was cut three additional times, and thus far has come through the winter in good shape.
The second opportunity to use glass mat came during the last week in November
when we received 1-6/10" of rain. This caused a lot of washing on a hill in back of
#6 green. As soon as it was possible, the washes were re-filled, then the entire area
was again fertilized, seeded with a 70% - 30?o mixture of Kentucky blue and ryegrasses,
sprayed with wetting agent and covered with glass mat. Since then the grass has germinated and completely grown through the mat, and even with additional heavy rains
there has been no evidence of washing. We intend to leave the mat in place and continue to observe its effects on grass conditions and its ability to help retain moisture .
Glass mat, in place on a green, gives a very surprising effect, because of its
color. During the ten days #17 was covered with mat, I received many calls from people
who had watched the building progress, x^anting to know the source of that instant
grass.
There has been a change made in the manufacturing of glass mat during the winter, and it is now available in 3/16" thickness which eliminates the necessity for
splitting the mat. It is also available in tx^o lengths, 85 ft. and 250 ft., and has
a standard width of 5 ft.
I intend to continue my work with glass mat in the spring and again next fall
when we will rebuild three more greens.

MULCHES IN TURF ESTABLISHMENT
C. 0. Finn, Finn Equipment Company
Cincinnati, Ohio

The acceptance in the use of mulch for the establishment of turf has reached
an all time high in erosion control by living turf. You gentlemen are faimilar with
the use of mulch; however, too few of us have understood just what mulch does in
relation to the germination and the root growth of seedlings.
Mul ch
A. Dissipates the kenetic energy of falling raindrops so 1. Reduces crusting and surface sealing
2. Increases infiltration
3. Reduces run-off
4. Increases supply of moisture in soil
5. Reduces erosion and soil displacement
B.

Holds seed in place until germination
1. Reduces stress on young root system
2. Permits seedlings to better survive adversity

C.

Reduces drouth stress
1. Less surface evaporation
2. Less complete drying at surface
3. Slower surface drying

D.

Modifies soil temperature
1. Reduces freeze and thaw - by insulation
2. Reduces high temperatures by shading
3. Reduces low temperatures by insulation
4. Modifies daily variation

E.

Mulch favors the growth of bacteria, micro-organisms and insects so necessary
for plant life.

F.

Mulch cuts to a minimum the necessity for soil preparation

Starting with vegetative mulches, straw and hay are the most widely used.
Using baled straw, 1 - 1/2 to 2 tons per acre, is usually spread unless there are
special problems. The mulch spreading machines used today consist of a blower, a
feeder, and a beater which breaks up the bales and blows the straw over the area to
be covered. Uniform application is important. Thus, the use of good clean straw is
to be preferred over wet, rotted, lumpy materials. This will produce more uniform
growth. Clean straw usually has fewer weed seed present.
Holding straw or hay in place is done with the application of a small amount
of water soluble asphalt emulsion. Seventy-five to 150 gals, per acre does a good
job of holding the straw in place until germination and growth have started. In climates where prolonged drouth can be expected before seed germination, the straw mulch
is usually pressed into the seed bed with a compactor, or disk. With straw mulch
areas covered even on the hardest, driest slopes, insect life will be present after a
few weeks. This proves the need of the micro-organisms to condition the soil for
rapid growth. The use of Mulching and HydroSeeding is practiced on Interstate Highways in 45 of the 50 states.

During the past few years, the use of wood cellulose fiber has found its place
in the Turf Establihsment field. This fiber is produced by the paper making industry,
which is dried and pressed into handy packages.
The paper fiber bale is put in the
HydroSeeder where it is mixed to a slurry with seed and fertilizer. Approximately
1500 lbs./A. of wood fiber is used on an average mulching job. With the use of the
HydroSeeder, seeding, fertilizing and mulching are accomplished with one operation.
This method produces a mulch that has fair holding power and does retain the moisture
in the soil.
A wide variety of other materials are now being machine applied either hydraulically, or in the Mulch Spreader. Their use is usually on a local basis where the
transportation is not a factor. A few of these materials are corncobs, sawdust, peanut hulls, coffee grounds, composts from wood products, pine needles, as well as sugar
cane bagasse. Most of these can be applied with the Mulch Spreader for low cost coverage .
Water soluble Asphalt Emulsion is also being used in Turf Establishment. This
material is being spread over an area after it has been HydroSeeded with water, seed
and fertilizer. The soil is wet to a depth of approximately 1 a n d from 400 to 800
gals, of non-toxic asphalt spread to make a crust on the surface. One of the factors
in this method is that the asphalt lifts off during growth, leaving the soil exposed
to erosion. We trust that these remarks will encourage more people to experiment with
the use of mulch on any Turf Establishment work.

T-

HYDROSEEDING TURF AREAS OVER THE WORLD
C. 0. Finn, Finn Equipment Company
Cincinnati, Ohio

Perhaps at the start we had better define HYDROSEEDING to find out what it is.
HYDROSEEDING is a method where the seed, fertilizer and other nutrients are mixed with
water and this slurry is spread under pressure through a nozzle over the area to be
seeded. This method has been widely accepted as an important factor in turf establishment and erosion control work, as well as for decorative turf seeding.
The advantages of the HYDROSEEDING method appear to be these:
1.

The seed and fertilizer are spread in one operation.
to take advantage of moisture and weather conditions.

This makes a fast method

2.

We get faster germination and growth due, we feel, to the nutrients in the fertilizer made available in a soluble form for the seed to use as it germinates
and establishes root growth.

3.

The HYDROSEEDER can spread a seed mix slurry to a distance of over 150 ft. without traveling over the seed bed.

4.

HYDROSEEDING minimizes soil preparation, and, when mulch is used, a large amount
of gamble is taken from the planting.

The use of large grading equipment has caused a need for quick establishment of
turf for the control of erosion both in the United States and in foreign countries.

Each one of these larger jobs presents problems. It has been my privilege to visit a
number of countries installing HYDROSEEDING and MULCHING equipment and I cannot help
but be enthusiastic over the results.
In GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK, east of New Found Gap on State Route
#70 going to Asheville, the grade was cut through virgin territory with high cuts and
steep fills. Low soil fertility and high altitudes were also factors. The seeding
work had to follow grading closely to get a turf cover established quickly to control
erosion. To reach some of the high cuts the HYDROSEEDER, in the lower right hand corner, mixes the slurry of seed and fertilizer, which is pumped through 250 ft. of hose.
The top of the slope is approximately 100 ft. vertical from the roadway. They had
good results at 4 weeks and at 6 weeks.
The people of Japan are dedicated horticulturists.
arrangements were grown on a single stem.

Each of these chrysanthemum

Our HYDROSEEDING work started on a large irrigation project. This area was
HYDROSEEDED and asphalt emulsion was used as mulch. This equipment is now being used
on a made land area at Hachirogata. The University of Kyota is conducting some very
interesting experiments in erosion control work. I must admit that we did have some
communication problems due to the language barrier.
Switzerland is a fantastic country. In agricultural know-how they rank high.
Their verision of the HYDROSEEDER is quite old for the use of liquid manure is corrmon.
They are very proud that there is no unemployment in Switzerland, but they seem to
have forgotten to measure how much a man should produce. Picture a 6 ft. drill starting on the north 40 in Indiana with a man leading the horse, one following the drill,
and a third helper.
Our job was to do the impossible. To get turf established on this bank without
the use of dungen and topsoil. HYDROSEEDING worked again. This is GRASS ON THE ROCKS
in 6 weeks. Their roadway seeding specifications were changed to HYDROSEEDING and
MULCHING only 3 weeks after this demonstration.
Turf establishment along the Trans-Canacla Highway through Eanff National Park
presented some problems. With 90 days from frost to frost, excellent turf has been established by Mr. Walter Johnstone, Landscape Supervisor, on gravel slopes and fills,
using HYDROSEEDING and MULCH. The new grass is quite attractive for the wildlife in
the park. Incidentally, HYDROSEEDING is being used on this Highway from Nova Scotia
to Vancouver. This Canadian National Railway job was even further north. It ran from
Edmonton to Wainwright. The quipment was mounted on a work train and the slopes and
fills were seeded from the tracks. One of our customers at Durban, South Africa, has
just completed 40 miles using this method.
We spent a few days at the Hawaiian Village in Waikiki making wildlife studies.
Land is so valuable in Hawaii that it is not sold. It is rented for 99 years. A new
subdivision is being carved out of a mountain side. They have rain nearly every day
which helps plant growth, but it also causes plenty of water damage.
Australia
Our first installation in the country down-under was at Yallern near Melbourne.
This is a brown coal mine with a seam of coal running up 100 ft. thick. The clay overburden slopes when wet would run doxm covering the coal. Turf establishment cured
this. We had good germination after only two weeks.

England
Perhaps some of you gentlemen met Mr. Francis Bellingham of Rochester, England,
while at the Ohio Roadside Development Short Course last October. He is doing outstanding turf establishment work in England, Scotland and Ireland, especially on chalk
cuts and fly ash. He is so enthused over this work that he came to the United States
last fall to tell us what he has been doing.

Bethlehem Steel
After the success of turf establishment on ordinary areas, it is only natural
that one x^ould come along that was outstanding. Bethlehem Steel Company of Lebanon,
Pennsylvania, had deposited sludge from steel making on this area for 50 years. This
area was an eye sore and a hazard for the community. Mr. Jim Francis, Chief Forester
for the Bethlehem Steel Company, had visions of getting turf established on this area.
It looked impossible, even to us. The sludge was so unstable that the equipment was
mounted on a stone boat and pulled with a tractor. At times as much as 850 ft. of
hose was used to spread the seed, fertilizer and Turfiber over this rea. Here are the
results.
In our travels, we have found that there is no end of problem areas that can be
cured by living vegetation. This is a shot of a typical Interstate Highway Interchange. Areas such as this, as well as cut and fill slopes, are being mulched and
seeded with our equipment. This makes the highway more beautiful and erosion is held
under control.
Peabody Coal Mine
We are now engaged in experimental work on coal strip mine areas. This is the
Peabody Coal Mine at Paradise, Kentucky. This shovel scoops up 105 cu. yds. of earth
at one bite and leaves problem areas in its wake.
We are cooperating in the development of a low-cost method of seeding that may
be of some help here. We call this glob seeding. With the HYDROSEEDER we are able to
make globs consisting of wood fiber, fertilizer, nurse crop and tree seeds. These
globs can be shot from the HYDROSEEDER at a distance of 150 ft. They are spread on
about 3 ft. centers. We hope to get growth started that will multiply as time goes on.
Here are some of the early results of these experiments.
A large amount of experimental and research work must be done in seed selection
and preparation and in fertilizer requirements, as well as other materials to promote
growth. If this can be made to workf it will open up an entirely new field in HYDROSEEDER work.
In closing, I do not want to fail to mention that the HYDROSEEDERS are being used
more and more in fine turf establishment. This is one of our smaller HYDROSEEDERS,with
the high floatation wheels, being used on a turf farm outside of Cincinnati. This same
machine can be used for topdressing greens. 1500 lbs. of mixture can be uniformly
spread in less than 20 minutes. This BANTAM HYDROSEEDER is one of two owned by the
City of Cincinnati in their "Most Beautiful City" program.

SELLING MATERIALS TO HOMEOWNERS
George J. Koehler, Pres., Koehler Bros. Landscape Company,
Lafayette, Indiana

Turf is very important to our business. Being engaged in a combination Landscape, Garden Supply, and Nursery operation, means that we are very much in need of
all of the business that turf creates for us. Our primary concern is to produce and
maintain, or cause the customer to produce and maintain the best turf possible. If
this happens, he will continue to favor us with his business. We will continue to
thrive and grow, and everyone will be happy.
When we stop and think of the many items that we sell, or that we could sell,
that are directly related to turf, it is sometimes difficult to comprehend. The growing of good turf has opened up to us an enormous amount of products to supply to Mr.
Homeowner. If our customers had no lawn, they probably would not want shrubs, trees,
patios, pools, or any of the other items that added together complete' the landscape
picture. A good lawn is the basis for a beautiful landscaped yard. We must have it
before we proceed any further.
What are some of these products that go into, or on the lawn? First of all is
the grass seed to produce the turf. We supply seeds in bulk, or in ready mixed formulas for the customer's convenience. Fertilizers are readily available in practically
any formula that would be needed or wanted. A variety of soil conditioners are ready
for those who desire to build up their soil. Some of these are peatmoss, vermiculite,
agricultural gypsum, and good rich topsoil. Once the grass is growing vigorously,
there are weedkillers, insecticides, fungicides, or combinations of these sometimes
mixed with fertilizer to keep the lawn free of weeds, bugs, or diseases.
Of course, all of this lawn work could not be accomplished without the use of
a variety of tools. This opens up another facet of the garden supply business that
sometimes is a business in itself. Customers need rakes, shovels, holes, aerators,
clippers, weeders, spades, sod lifters, mowers, and many other hand tools. To apply
the many powdered ingredients, they cannot do without a spreader of some sort.
Closely related to this come leaf carts, wagons, wheelbarrox\rs, and leaf burners.
Then, the power equipment comes out in force. We have many types of power lawn
mowders, edgers, sweepers, vacuums, aerators, powerakes, and others. To keep a lawn
well-watered we have for Mr. Homeowner any number or style of sprinklers. He can get
one that whirls, spins, waves, or creeps. He can also choose from a wide selection of
nozzles to assist him in his task of keeping the turf wet. He must have hose to carry
the water, and this we supply him also.
A beautiful lawn creates a desire to spend more time in the yard, and offers
many exciting things to buy to enhance the usefulness of this open-air living-room.
There are lawn games, lawn furniture, barbecues, and an endless number of items to
supply to Mr. Homeowner.
What does Mr. Average Homeowner really want in a lawn? What does he know about
a lawn? What does he get when he calls on us for his needs, and what does he do about
it after he has it?
We often tell our customers that they need only two things in
order to have a good lawn - time and money. If they have enough money, they do not
need the time, as they can turn the project over to us and we will create the good lawn
for them.
Most people want, of course, the impossible. They want a turf that will
grow to two inches in height and stay that way, never needs fertilizing or watering,
is insect and disease-free, and stays beautifully green the year 'round. If we could

come up with such a grass, our fortunes would be made.
The average customer knox^s very little about a lawn, or what it needs to thrive
and grow. There are a few that have studied, read, asked questions, and experimented
on their own. They know exactly what they want, and usually they do a good job. These
are no problem to us, and as long as we provide them with the product they want, we
have a happy customer. Most of the people who come to us for advice knoi\r very little
about their lawns. They are completely open to suggestions, and will purchase according to our instructions. We find only a small part of these people are pre-sold on
any given name brand. They can be swayed to buy whatever we believe will do them the
best job.
In many cases we find it necessary to make a trip to the customer's home to
study his particular problem. This may be true in building a new lawn, as well as looking over an established turf to determine its needs. These visits turn up many unusual
conditions and circumstances, and we must be ready at all times with answer of some
sort to satisfy the customer. We are not always 100% right, but if not, we go to any
extent to find the solution to this particular problem. Most customers appreciate this
extra effort, and reward us with their continuing business.
Mr. Average Homeoxvner drops by our store in the spring, discusses his lawn with
us, and we proceed to sell him what we think will get him started to have the most
beautiful lawn in the block that summer. He goes home all set to carry out this plan.
We have armed him with the proper materials, and a reminder to return later in the
season, or whenever he runs into unexpected troubles. However, even though his intentions are good, before the season is over, something has sidetracked him, and his lawn
has met the same fate as the previous year.
He probably applied his first round of fertilizer, perhaps reseeded some of the
bare spots, and maybe even applied some pre-emergence crabgrass killer. Then, when it
began to get hot, he was too interested in fishing or golfing, or just plain loafing
on his days off, to keep up his lawn. He was too busy to notice that the weeds were
taking over in spots, the hot sun had burned his grass where he cut it too short, or
it was too dry and needed wateringg badly. Finally, when his lawn looks miserable, he
frantically calls us, and wants to know what is wrong. Upon questioning, he will
usually hesitate to admit that he was negligent in his treatment of the grass, and wants
us to undo all of the damage with one quick application of something. Or, perhaps in
some cases, Mr. Average Homeowner will just give up on his lawn when it becomes hot and
dry, and attack it again the next spring.
The above type person is probably more the rule than the exception. These are
the people we set our sights on and try to convince that they should stick with their
lawn the year 'round. It seems that once we persuade them to complete a year 'round
program on their lawn, they realize how much better results they have, and that it
actually costs them less to maintain their lawn than it does to repair it every year.
A happy lawn customer is the best customer we have, as they are continuously calling
on us when they need items that are closely related.
We encounter many problems in selling lawn materials to homeowners. Most people
who have just built a new home are short of money. They have found that everything
about the house cost a bit more than they figured. Now that they have reached the outside there is nothing left. But, they do need a lawn, and it goes in even if it is

done very haphazardly and at little expense. This usually gets them off to a bad
start, and causes later problems. In many cases, a poor seed mixture is used, little
or no fertilizer is used, the grading is hit or miss, and a poor stand of grass results. When these folks come to us, it is sometimes just as costly as it would have
been if we had done the job for them in the first place. Here again are the people we
must try to reach before they get off on the wrong foot.
Price is also a major factor in the competition we receive from supermarkets,
chain stores, discount houses, drug stores, 5 and 10 cent stores, and others. These
outlets are interested only in turning a fast dollar at a small margin, and are not a
good source of information and service for the homeowner. This we can combat only
with the fact that we supply this professional advice and service. But with many,
price is the only criteria of buying, and we lost these people.
We bump our heads into many problems in handling new lawns. In many cases it
seems that everyone is against the landscaper when he gets to a yard. The contractor has bulldozed all the good earth away, compacted the soil so it is like concrete,
left the downspouts on the house to spill out into the lawn and cut furrows during a
heavy rain, and covered all sorts of debris just under the surface rather than gather
it and remove it from the premises. The painters wash out their paint buckets on
newly seeded areas, and the postman and other delivery men walk paths across the yard.
Then there is always a dog and the neighbor's kids who tear up the freshly graded
slopes.
Probably our biggest single problem in selling to Mr. Homeowner is our help. We
never have enough employees to get the job done. We are in the process now of trying
to build a better image of our business in order to get it on a higher plane. Then,
perhaps, we can attract better caliber people and be able to pay them a better wage
than our business has been able to afford in the past.
Selling lawn materials to homeowners is an interesting part of our business. We
believe it is going to be an ever-increasing part. Some of the problems we have now we
hope to eliminate, but many will go on year after year. We will have to learn new ways
to cope with them. Mr. Homeowner is our entire future. He is a wonderful person,
sometimes tricky and sometimes troublesome. But, we love him, and we hope he will continue to allow us to help him build a better and more beautiful world.

TABLE OF TWENTY-FIVE MOST FREQUENTLY USED
PARLIAMENTARY MOTIONS*
Dr. B. R. Kendall, Speech Department,
Purdue University
En
a.
B
p^
« w
W W
s <
M y
(X

-- -

PURPOSE

DEBATABLE

and

AMENDABLE

MOTIONS

NEED A
SECOND

*Based on Robert's Rules of Order;
Arranged by Leroy T. Laase

>H CO

s <

!

Ì
IV. Privileged Motions (arran ged from bottom to to p in order of precedence)
25.
24.
*

23.
22.
21.

20.

yes yes
no j> majority
'to arrange time of
I
i
no
next meeting
j
yes
no
to dismiss the
no j1 majority
no
meeting
i
j
Take a recess - to
yes yes ji no
for a specific
majority
no
dismiss
length of time
Raise a question of
to make a request
no
no
no
decision of chair ! yes
privilege
during debate
Make a matter of
to force considera- yes yes
yes 2/3
no
special order
tion of a specified
I
time
Call for the orders
to force considera- no
no
no j¡decision of chair 1 yes
!
i1
1
of the day
1
tion of a postponed
j
i
j
1
motion
1
j
1
Incidental Motions (no o :der of precedence)
To appeal a decision
yes no
to correct or reyes majority
! yes
of the chair
verse chairman
To call for a divi;to correct or reno
no
no
majority if
; yes
sion of the house
j verse chairman
chair desires
To raise a point of
|to correct a parno
no ; no
decision of chair j yes
order
! liamcntary error
To object to con|to suppress action
no
no
no
2/3
:lyes
!!
sideration
1
j
!
To divide motion
|to modify motion
yes yes
no j¡majority
no
To modify or with¡to modify a motion
no
no
no ¡majority or unani- no
i
»
draw a motion
mous consent
j
To suspend rules
; to take action
j trary to standing/ ; yes no ! no il?/3
• no
Subsidiary Motions (arranged from bottom to t<pp in |order of precedence)
To rescind
ito repeal
|yes yes 'yes ¡majority with noticeno
2/3 without notice ;
!
To reconsider
'to consider again
lyes no ?yes ^majority
yes
To take from table
|to consider again
yes no j no |majority
no
To lay on the table
ito defer action
yes no j no 'majority
no
To call for the
ito force into
yes no
no ¡2/3
* no
previous question
; immediate vote
I
To limit or extend
|to modify freedom
jyes ¡yes
no ¡2/3
; no
limits of debate
j of debate
To postpone to a
to defer action
|yes |yes
yes majority
• no
i
I
certain time
To refer to a committee ? to modify a motion yes jyes
yes ¡majority
,no
To amend an amendment
¡to modify a motion
yes |no
yes ¿majority
no
To amend or substitute ¡to modify a motion
yes jyes
yes ¡majority
Ino
To postpone indefinitelyjjto suppress action
yes ! no
yes !majority
Ì no
Principal Motion
f
i
A main motion
I to introduce bu nes.H yes ;yes
yes majority
; no

Adjourn to specific
time
Adjourn

;

III.
19
18.
17.
16.
15.
14.
13.
II.
12.
11.

10.
9.
8.
7.
6.

$

5.
4.
3.

2.
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No. 33

March 1965

NEWS AND RESEARCH
DEPARTMENT OF AGRONOMY
PURDUE UNIVERSITY

Electrically Warmed Soils for Sport Turfs-Second Progress Report
J. R. Barrett, J r . , 1/ and W. H. Daniel 2 /
Introduction
Cold season soil warming has become
eligible for acceptance as a part of turf
management programs . Heat applied to the
root zone of bluegrass plants alters the
natural temperatures in which the turf exists,
thereby keeping the soil from freezing,
promoting root growth and blade extension,
keeping turf greener, and melting snow.
Investigations to determine the requirements for installation and management of
electric soil-heating cable systems to maintain suitable turf conditions for sports activities during cold weather are being continued by the Purdue University Departments
of Agronomy and Agricultural Engineering,
and the Farm Electrification Research
Branch, Agricultural Engineering Research
Division, ARS, USDA. This research program is endorsed by the Indiana Electric
Association.
Escritt's early work at the Sports
Turf Institute, Bingley, England, has led to
several electric heating installations in
Britain. Everton Football Club was the first
to install electric soil warming in their
ground at Goodison Park. Edinburgh's
Murrayfield rugby football ground was equip-

ped with electric heating in 1959. Electric
off-peak pitch warming is built into the
Arsenal ground at Highbury. At least one
stadium in Sweden has electric, and another
has warm-water soil warming.
Prior Work at Purdue
From February 1962 through the 1962-63
winter, many factors were investigated to
determine the potential of a research program and to gain information about energyinput relations to temperatures, cable performance, installation procedures, control
systems and grass response. Earlier work
was reported at the 1964 Midwest Regional
Turf Conference and published as Midwest
Turf News and Research Leaflet No. 28.
The data were examined and used to plan an
installation of test plots in the Purdue varsity football practice field.
Turf Heating in the Purdue
Varsity Football Practice Field
Five plots, each 10 by 120 feet, separated
by 10 feet of unheated area,were installed in
August 1963. A general view of the area is
shown in Figure 1.

1/ Agricultural Engineer, Purdue Dept. of Agr. Engr. and ARS, USDA.
2 / Turf Specialist, Purdue Department of Agronomy.

¿ t i 3

Figure 1. General view of electric heated turf plots installed August 1963.
Installation Procedure: Cables were
placed under the existing turf using a- cable laying device made from a modified subs oiling tool attached to the toolbar of an
agricultural tractor. A rolling coulter
sliced the sod in front of the device to prevent excessive tearing.

•Fence
r-1

r-1

r-iQr-1

r~i

^
r~i

After laying the cable, the area was
soaked with water and packed with a roller.
The turf was smooth enough for practice
immediately after rolling and was completely
healed in 4 weeks.
Cables, Spacings and Power Densities:
Polyvinyl chloride insulated, nylon jacketed,
electric heating cables were laid according
to the specifications given in Table 1.
Table 1. Cable spacings and power densities
Plot
1
2
3
4
5

Power density
Cable spacing
at 6" depth
Watts/sq/ft. at 240 V
15.0"
7.5"
7.5"
15.0"
7.5"

4.5
9.0
9.0
4.5
2.5

The locations of the plots are shown in
Figure 2.
Control Systems: Air temperature
was found to be the best indicator of when
heat should be applied. Temperatures in the
soil defined the heat reserve and soil thermostats were used as limit switches to maintain the desired soil warmth. Use of time

O

Line
Figure 2. Plot layout, Purdue varsity
football practice field.
clocks allowed inclusion of off-peak electrical demand considerations.
Heat was applied to Plots 1 and 2 at anv
time the air temperature was less than 40 F.
or the 1-inch soil temperature was less than

Table 2. Electric energy use data, 12/2/63 through 4/6/64

Power Density
Watts/Sq. Ft.

Plot

1

45°F. Heat was not applied when the 1-inch
soil temperature was above 60°F., regardless of air temperature. Plots 3 and 4 had
similar control systems except that heat
could be applied only from 10 p . m . to 5 a . m .
Plot 5 operated continuously. The test season lasted from November 6, 1963 through
April 6, 1964, a period of 152 days.
Effects of Heat Treatments: The effectiveness of the heat treatments was
evaluated considering electric energy used,
temperatures, turf condition and turf growth.
The percent of time that heat was applied of the m a x i m u m possible from December 2, 1963 through April 6, 1964 is given
in Table 2.
The average monthly temperatures for
the heated plots and the control area are
given in Table 3.

Table 3. Average soil temperature 1-inch
deep at 8 a.m. in degrees F.
Plot
1
2
3
4
5
Control

74
71
95
97
99

24.0
24.0
7.1
7.1
24.0

4.5
9.0
9.0
4.5
2.5

2
3
4
5

Max. Time Plots
Actually Operated/Season
Percent

Max. Time Plots
Could Operate/Day
Hours

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

43
54
42
37
40
34

40
49
40
35
38
32

41
52
40
36
38
32

Mar.
44
54
46
41
44
37

Observations were made each day at
8 a . m . to determine the number of days that
the turf medium was frozen from January 1
through March 31, 1964. Table 4 shows the

Table 4. Number of days turf medium was
frozen, 1/1 through 3/31/64
Jan.

Plot
1
2
3
4
5
Control

Feb.

Mar.

0
0
1
7
1
19

0
0
0
2
0
7

4
0
8
10
11
24

Total
4
0
9
19
12
50

Table 5. 8 a . m . temperatures on January
29, 1964 in degrees F.
Depth
0
1"
6"
1'
2'
3'

Plot 2

Plot 5

Control

31
29
37
34
31
46
35
40
61
44
63
37
40
45
61
42
50
60
Shaded air temperature was 18°F.

number of days the plots were frozen during
the 91-day period.
Temperatures were taken to 3-foot
depths in the control area, Plot 2 and Plot 5.
Sample temperature readings during a cold
period are listed in Table 5.
The surfaces of Plot 5 and the control were frozen and heat was being lost
from the earth below, through the test zone,
into the air above. However, in Plot 2
the cable had stopped the heat loss from
the earth below.

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Growth, or blade extension, comparisons were made by taking clippings at regular intervals, as snow cover would allow.
Adequate moisture was present for normal
growth without irrigation being needed. Table
6 gives growth data on a percentage basis
with most growth considered 100%. The
January 9, 1964 clipping information reflects
early winter growth.
Table 6. Clippings from turf plots in percent
of most vigorous, 1964
Plot
1
2
3
4
5
Control

Jan. 9

Feb. 12

Mar. 6

100
90
60
60
95
5

70
100
30
20
30
10

30
100
10
10
20
10

The effectiveness of treatments is
presented graphically in Figures 3 and 4.
Figure 3 contains data from a 13-day midwinter period, without snow cover. Snow
cover existed during the period shown in
Figure 4. One a 24-hour basis, the 8 a . m .
temperatures were generally the coldest and
the 4 p . m . temperatures the warmest r e corded. The letter F is used to indicate that
the turf was frozen at 8 a . m . Rates of snow
removal can be seen from the plots of snow
depth interposed over the temperature graphs.

Continuing Research
On October 2, 1964 power was turned
on and observations initiated for the 1964-65
season. Some modifications to the treatment schedule of Plots 3 and 4 were made.
The maximum that Plot 3 could operate was
increased from 7 . 1 to 10 hours a day. Plot
4 was set for 24-hour-a-day operation if
the 1-inch soil temperature was under 60°F.
Plots 1, 2 and 5 remained the same.
Complementary turf heating installations were made in the fall of 1964 at USDA
field stations at St. Paul, Minn, and Beltsville, Md. Data are to be correlated with
findings at Purdue and will show the effectiveness of treatments in three different
climates .
Summary
Investigations to determine the r e quirements for installation and management
of electric soil-heating cable systems to
maintain suitable turf conditions for sports
activities during cold weather have progressed. Results to date place cold season soil
warming as eligible for acceptance as a part
of turf management programs . Soil warming is a management tool that can be used to
improve adverse playing conditions by thawing soil, melting snow and maintaining
more vigorous turf. Three seasons of r e search are complete and the fourth is in
progress.

Midwest Regional Turf Foundation
Purdue University, Lilly Hall
Lafayette, Indiana 47907

Non-Profit Org.
U. S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 121
Lafayette, Ind.

fell