/

NORTHWEST TURFGRASS TOPICS
PUYALLUP, WASHINGTON

VOL. 7, NO. 2

SEPT. 1965

Puuyuim 19th AotiUcveit ^u^yusAA Gonfjetewce,
HAYDEN LAKE GOLF and COUNTRY CLUB
Hayden Lake, Idaho
Program Chairman: Dr. Roy Goss

Wednesday, September

22

MORNING:
7:00-12:00 Conference Golf Tournament
10:00- 1:00 Registration, Clubhouse
AFTERNOON:

CHAIRMAN
—Milt Bauman, Overlake Golf and Country Club,
Medina, Washington
1:15- 1:25 Welcome: Ken Putnam, Supt., Seattle Golf and Country Club, Seattle,
Wash.
Hayden Lake Country Club Official
1.25- 2:00 "The Place of the University in
Future Urban Development": Dr.
Mark T. Buchanan, Director of Research, College of Agriculture, W.
S. U., Pullman.
2:00- 2:45 "Turfgrass Disease Research Report": Dr. C. J. Gould, Plant
Pathologist, Western Washington
Research and Extension Center,
Puyallup, Wash.
2:45- 3:10 Coffee Break
3:10- 4:10 Turfgrass Agronomic Research Report, "Nutrition and Weed Studies,":
Dr. Roy L. Goss, Assistant Agronomist and Extension Specialist in
Agronomy, Western Washington Research and Extension Center,
Puyallup, Wash.
Thursday, September 2 3

MORNING

CHAIRMAN
—Dr. David Allemendinger, Supt. Western Washington Research and Extension Center, Puyallup
8:30- 9:00 "What's New in Turfgrass Varieties?'": Kenneth J. Morrison, Extension Agronomy Specialist, W. S.
U., Pullman
9:00- 9:30 "Performance of Bluegrass Varieties
Cut at Two Heights": Professor
Alvin G. Law, Agronomist, W. S.
U., Pullman
9:30-10:15 "Low Temperature Injury in Turfgrasses": Dr. V. C. Brink, Chairman, Division of Plant Sciences, U.

B. C., Vancouver, British Columbia
10:15-10:35 Coffee Break
10.35-11:35 "Winter Damage to Turfgrass.":
Dr. James Beard, Michigan State
University, East Lansing, Michigan
11:35-12:15 Association Membership Meeting
AFTERNOON

CHAIRMAN
—Byron Reed, E. P. Baltz Co., Portland, Oregon
1:30- 2:15 "Planting Ornamentals-What, When,
Where?": H. T. Abbott, Associate
Professor of Landscape Design, W.
S. U., Pullman
2:15- 3:15 "Control of Insects and Diseases in
Ornamentals and Shade Trees":
Ground Sprayers Panel, Jack Daniels, Chairman
3:15- 3:35 Coffee Break
3:35- 4:15 "Are You A Good Boss?": Bill
Bengeyfield, Western Director, U. S.
Golf Association, Green Section,
Garden Grove, California
EVENING
6:30- 7:30 Social Hour
7:30- 9:00 Banquet and Entertainment
9:00-12:00 Dancing, Live Music
Friday, September 2 4

MORNING

CHAIRMAN
—John Zoller, Supt., Eugene Golf and Country
Club, Eugene, Oregon
8:30- 9:15 "Maintenance of Athletic Fields":
Dr. Norman Goetze, Extension
Agronomist, O. S. U., Corvallis, Ore.
9:15-10:15 "Water Movement in Soils and
Some Associated Problems": Dr. D.
L. Guettinger, Extension Soils Specialist, W. S. U., Pullman
10:15-10:40 Coffee Break
10:40
Question and Answer Session, Conference Roundup

DON'T MISS THIS ONE... SEE MAP PAGE 8

Our Hoticultural
Occupations Course
by N o r v a l d

From The
President's Corner
By K e n

Putnam

A r e you g e t t i n g all you should
out of the Northwest Turfgrass Association? If not, ask yourself two
questions. Have I made an honest
e f f o r t to o b t a i n help? W h a t have I
done for the Northwest Turfgrass
Association?
These two questions are the keys
to the success of the Association.
T h e more people we can help, the
more i m p o r t a n t the association becomes, and the more you do for the
association the more i m p o r t a n t you
become. This certainly is not a oneway t i c k e t , but if we do not watch
ourselves, this could very easily end
one-sided. A l l too m u c h work is being left to a few people, even to the
point t h a t if someone does not get
the i n f o r m a t i o n desired, they t a k e it
to be the f a u l t of the Association
a n d its officers, when in reality it is
the f a u l t of the member for not
seeking the i n f o r m a t i o n .
T h e place to start is the A n n u a l
Turfgrass Conference to be held
this year at the Hayden Lake Golf
Club, Hayden Lake, Idaho on September 22, 23, and 24. Don't miss
this conference!
A r e we setting the example we
should when we meet at the golf
clubs? The golf course superintendents conduct should be at all times
above reproach, and we should see
t h a t our guests conduct themselves
in a suitable manner so as t o be an
asset to our association. Some very

2

(Continued on pace 4. column 3)

1.

T o give students a t h o r o u g h
u n d e r s t a n d i n g of t h e pract i c a l a n d f u n d a m e n t a l aspects
of t u r f g r a s s a n d o r n a m e n t a l
h o r t i c u l t u r a l science; including: soil a n d p l a n t n u t r i t i o n ,
w a t e r m o v e m e n t in soils,
drainages, i r r i g a t i o n , s o i Iw a t e r - p l a n t selections, p l a n t
physiology, p l a n t i d e n t i f i c a tion, disease, insect a n d weed
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n a n d controls,
p l a n t p r u n i n g a n d shaping,
a n d t u r f renovation.

2.

T o provide the student an
a b i l i t y to operate, m a i n t a i n
a n d repair t u r f e q u i p m e n t
a n d to p e r f o r m other mec h a n i c a l skills as are likely
to be encountered on the job.

3.

T o give the student a knowledge of the business m a n a g e m e n t aspects of r e c o r d
keeping,
cost
analyses,
budget p r e p a r a t i o n , a n d legal
aspects of pesticide applicaa t i o n a n d regulations.

Gomness

On M a r c h 31, 1964 the Seattle
M a n p o w e r Advisory C o m m i t t e e met
in the o f f i c e of the M a n a g e r of the
Seattle Employment Security Dep a r t m e n t to discuss proposals for
t r a i n i n g unemployed persons. A t
this meeting it was proposed t h a t a
t r a i n i n g p r o g r a m be established, in
cooperation w i t h
the Bellevue,
Wash. Public Schools, for t r a i n i n g
of superintendents for golf courses,
cemeteries, etc. This proposal was
approved by the C o m m i t t e e .
A survey t a k e n of educational
a n d / o r t r a i n i n g facilities available
to persons interested in w o r k i n g in
the turfgrass a n d o r n a m e n t a l h o r t i c u l t u r e field, shows t h a t colleges
and universities are doing an excellent job of providing t r a i n i n g for
the A g r i c u l t u r e teacher, or for the
research worker, but almost n o t h i n g
is o f f e r e d for the person who is
interested in g e t t i n g out in the f i e l d
and doing the work. T h e need for
specialized t r a i n i n g facilities a n d
educational techniques to a f f o r d
adequately t r a i n e d personnel available to the labor m a r k e t has been
agreed upon by educators in agric u l t u r a l universities.
On July 8, 1964 the Bellevue
S c h o o l District s u b m i t t e d to the
W a s h i n g t o n State Employment Securities D e p a r t m e n t in O l y m p i a , an
A p p l i c a t i o n for Occupational T r a i n ing Program under the M a n p o w e r
Development and T r a i n i n g A c t . T h e
estimated cost t o the g o v e r n m e n t
for sponsoring this p r o g r a m to ret r a i n unemployed persons was app r o x i m a t e l y $ 9 4 , 0 0 0 . 0 0 for
the
year-long program. Included in the
above f i g u r e were funds to be paid
weekly to the students in the prog r a m to help provide t h e m an income while enrolled in this t r a i n i n g .
A t the ensuing m e e t i n g of the legislature our A p p l i c a t i o n received approval, a n d federal funds w e r e
allocated to support our t r a i n i n g
program. M r . N o r v a l d C. Gomness,
who has a M a s t e r ' s Degree in A g r i culture, was appointed to instruct
the course.
T h e general objectives of o u r
t r a i n i n g course in H o r t i c u l t u r a l Occupations were:

In general, it was our objective to
provide these workers, who h a d only
a l i m i t e d educational b a c k g r o u n d ,
w i t h s u f f i c i e n t knowledge a n d skill
t o be employable in several categories w i t h i n the H o r t i c u l t u r e industry,. a n d / o r its related fields.
U p o n successful c o m p l e t i o n of
our p r o g r a m students should q u a l i f y
as assistant grounds superintendents, f o r e m e n at golf courses or
cemeteries, supervisors of p a r k or
school d i s t r i c t grounds d e p a r t m e n t s ,
employees or managers of nurseries,
greenhouses, or landscape construction firms.
W i t h these objectives f i r m l y in
m i n d , on A u g u s t 31, 1964, our f i r s t
class began. S t a r t i n g our p r o g r a m
were 2 2 m e n r a n g i n g in age f r o m
early 20's to late 40's. M o s t of the
students in the class were f r o m the
Seattle M o n t l a k e Terrace area, w i t h
three f r o m the K e n t - A u b u r n region,
a n d none f r o m the i m m e d i a t e Bellevue area. Previous occupations of
those enrolled in the class varied,
a n d included f i r e m e n , t r u c k drivers,
g o l f course workers, newspaper dist r i b u t o r s , railroad men, a n d even a
minister. Seventeen o f the students
were m a r r i e d ; the educational level
of these men ranged f r o m h i g h
school graduates t o as m a n y as
e i g h t years o f college.

(Continued on page 6, column 1)

Some Reasons
For Summer
Turfgrass Losses
By

Roy

L.

Complete Line of Golf Course
Maintenance Equipment and
Accessories.

Goss

T h e s u m m e r of 1965 in the Pac i f i c N o r t h w e s t has b r o u g h t out
m a n y problems in the t u r f g r a s s f i e l d
t h a t have been more-or-less absent
since about 1958. As m a n y of you
recall, 1958 was the last hot summer we have experienced. However,
this year has been somewhat of a
repeat, even t h o u g h not so hot a n d
dry, but at least it has b r o u g h t out
m a n y of the same problems we experienced at t h a t t i m e .
W e t e n d to forget f r o m year to
year the sort of problems we have
had in the past a n d are prone to
employ c e r t a i n m a n a g e m e n t practices t h a t m a y not be b e s t for
weather conditions p r e v a i l i n g at the
t i m e . In this article, I w i l l point out
several areas where problems have
occurred this year a n d some points
t h a t you should t a k e into considerat i o n in f u t u r e m a n a g e m e n t programs.
Soil

Turf Equipment
Specialists

Oxygen

It is just as i m p o r t a n t to m a i n t a i n
a good level of soil oxygen for p l a n t
roots as it is t o m a i n t a i n it for our
own use. W i t h o u t soil oxygen root
respiration cannot proceed n o r m a l ly. W h e n roots do not respire, they
cannot t a k e up p l a n t nutrients, nor
carry on other m e t a b o l i c f u n c t i o n s
required to produce a good t u r f .
There are several factors t h a t a f f e c t
soil oxygen a n d can be listed as
follows:
(1)
If soils are too heavy, t h a t
is, c o n t a i n too m u c h silt a n d clay,
there is generally a reduction in the
n o n - c a p i l l a r y pore space devoted to
better oxygen relationships. If there
is a h i g h percentage of c a p i l l a r y
pore space in the soil, they w i l l t e n d
to hold more water a n d less air,
hence, the slightest a m o u n t of overi r r i g a t i o n m a y produce s a t u r a t i o n of
the soil. T h e only way this problem
can be e l i m i n a t e d is to use soils or
soil-building
materials that
will
produce more n o n - c a p i l l a r y p o r e
space a n d protect the soil f r o m loss
of structure.
(2)
A e r i f i c a t i o n is a n o t h e r
means of opening up the soil so t h a t

(Continued on page 5, column 1)

E. P. B A L T Z

&

SON

8917 E. Burnside St.
Portland 16, Ore. ALpine 4-5693

T h e Oregon
Compost Heap
by Byron

Reed

I use this o p p o r t u n i t y to m e n t i o n ,
as a past president of the Northwest
T u r f g r a s s Association, the g r e a t
benefits to be gained by a t t e n d i n g
the Northwest Turfgrass Conference
on September 22, 23, and 24, 1965.
This conference will be held this
year at Hayden Lake Golf & C o u n t r y
Club at Hayden Lake, Idaho. I was
privileged to a t t e n d the board of
directors meeting earlier this year,
and I was impressed w i t h the prog r a m w h i c h is undoubtedly p r i n t e d
in this paper. A great deal of t i m e
was given by your board to arrange
these conferences for your benefit.
Y o u r attendance is c o m p l i m e n t a r y ,
your absence contrary.
A n extremely fine ladies p r o g r a m
is arranged, a n d I a m sure t h a t your
g e t t i n g t h e i r approval will autom a t i c a l l y place you in Hayden Lake,
Idaho, in September.
W e are very pleased w i t h a visit
to Oregon by your T u r f g r a s s Associa t i o n President, M r . Ken Putnam,
a n d we hope t h a t we w i l l get Ken
back for another visit this year. W e
believe Oregon is the greatest recrea t i o n state in the Union, a n d it appears t h a t Ken is leaning a bit this
way.
The Oregon T u r f M a n a g e r s Association is p l a n n i n g to p r i n t t h e i r
m o n t h l y m e e t i n g schedule for 1966
in the T u r f g r a s s Topics. T h i s w i l l
assure all our friends in the N o r t h west t h a t they are welcome to attend our meetings, a n d they w i l l
know when they w i l l be held.

Pacific Agro Co.
We enjoy working with turf
people. Helping to Keep Washington green.
YOUR SOURCE OF NITROFORM
3308 Harbor Ave. S.W.
Seattle 6, Wash. Phone WE 7-7800

T h i s c o l u m n covered all the new
golf club b u i l d i n g in the last issue
and, since t h a t date, some progress
has been made. Gresham C o u n t r y
Club, 12 miles east of Portland, is
due to open in A u g u s t of this year.
Salishan Golf Club, on the coast, is
opening a new nine this f a l l .
A g a i n , I hope to see you all at
Hayden Lake, Idaho, this September!

3

Turfgrass Times"
Being Published
By Roy L. Goss
Dr. Gene C. Nutter, who resigned
last December as Executive Director
of the Golf Course Superintendents'
Association of America, and Editor
of the Golf Course Reporter, has announced that he is entering the publishing business. The first issue of
the new m a g a z i n e "Turfgrass
Times" will appear next fall.
To be published by Turfgrass
Publications, Inc., Turfgrass Times
will serve the entire turfgrass industry as a journal of technical information, news and developments,
professional activities and advancement, and business and management information. Circulation will
boast the largest coverage of any
publication in the turfgrass field.
As publisher-editor of Turfgrass
Times, Dr. Nutter will be combining
his broad background in turfgrass
research and teaching, sod production, publishing and editing, and
trade association management. Prior
to serving as Executive Director of
GCSAA during its growth years of
1959 to 1965, Nutter was for eight
years a professor at the University
of Florida in Turfgrass Management
and Research. A turfgrass agronomist by training, he completed undergraduate studies at Ohio State
University, and later received his
Ph.D. from C o r n e l l University,
specializing in turfgrass science.
Widely traveled throughout North
America, Nutter has participated in
many national, state, and regional
turfgrass conferences, and he holds
membership in numerous scientific,
honorary, and trade organizations
in turfgrass and related fields. He is
author of more than one-hundred
technical, trade and popular articles
in the turfgrass field.
Dr. Nutter said: " I have always
looked forward to the time when I
could link the diverse and gigantic
turfgrass industries through my own
publications."
Joining Nutter as Vice President
of TPI, and Managing Editor of
Turfgrass Times is Eddie L. Ervin,
Jr., former Publications Director for
4

Turf Irrigation

for
* GOLF COURSE — CEMETERY
* PARKS —RESIDENTIAL
H. D. FOWLER INC.

13440 S.E. 30th St.
Bellevue, Washington 98004

P . O . B o x 160

P h . SHerwood 6-8400

KILL
BB0ADLEAF WEEDS
MCPP Turf Herbicide
Spray Control for non-crop
Turf areas.
Contact Chipman Chemical Co.
6200 N.W. St. Helens Road
Portland, Oregon

NEW CONTROL
FOR BROADLEAF WEEDS
IN TURF . . .

VELSICOL
BANVEL-D-4S

(President's Corner—cont. from page 2)
undesirable remarks came out of the
May 28 meeting at Overlake. Let's
watch this and do not let it happen
again.
This is the final article under this
by-line, and also the end of my term
as president. It has been a very
pleasant and rewarding experience
and everyone has been most cooperative. The officers and Board of
Directors have worked hard to make
this year and this conference a success.
We could not close this without
saying a word a b o u t two work
horses, namely, Dick Haskell, our
treasurer, and Dr. Roy Goss, our
Executive Secretary. It is they who
carry the biggest burden and an
outstanding job they are doing. W e
are grateful to them for their efforts
to improve and maintain the organization's high standards.

m

I feel confident that our incoming
president and officers will continue
to operate the Northwest Turfgrass
Association with due regard for the
traditional adherence to the needs
of the organization and its members.

.1
HERBICIDE

Controls Knotweed, chickweed,
curly
dock
and other
hard-to-kill
broadleaf weeds.
O r d e r B a n v e l - D 4S f r o m
your
Distributor
now!

VELSICOL
CHEMICAL
CORP.
E. O h i o St.
C h i c a g o , I I I . 60611

341

GCSAA. Ervin brings a rich background in publishing and journalism. Before joining GCSAA, he was
Director of Information, and Publications Manager for the U n i t e d
States Golf Association, Managing
Editor of Golf World Magazine, and
served in various capacities with
daily newspapers in South Carolina
and Florida. Ervin is a graduate of
Erskine College.

—

HOW TO SPIKE YOUR
TURF AUTOMATICALLY!

A lush plush turf, properly spiked
by RYAN aeration equipment produces thick, healthy turf by relieving
tension and creating tiny reservoirs.
You'll find RYAN units for every
turf maintenance problem from raking to fertilizing. Maybe your turf
could stand an extra little shot (of
water, of course).
HOW TO GET RYAN

TURF & TORO
SUPPLY, INC.

1200 Stewart St., Seattle, Wn., 98101, MA 3 - 6 1 6 1
East 114 Trent, Spokane, Wn., 99202. MA 4 - 3 1 3 1

(Summer Losses—cont. from page 3)
air can permeate into the surface,
and also eliminate compaction at
the same time.
Effects of Soil Temperature
When soil temperatures are high
there is a greater respiration rate.
Hence, in hot weather soils require
more air or oxygen than when soil
temperature conditions are cooler.
This situation can often cause a
dilemma, since most turfgrass managers are prone to greatly increase
water application d u r i n g
hot
weather to the point of saturating
the soil and further excluding oxygen.
When soil temperatures are cooler, that is within optimum ranges,
root respiration proceeds at a slower rate and nutrient uptake is much
more effective and efficient.
Soil Saturation Problems
We might say that the roots of a
plant can actually die in the midst
of plenty of water if there is no
oxygen to permit normal metabolism within the roots. As pointed out
above, the degree of saturation is
usually controlled by the amount of
capillary and non-capillary p o r e
space. The non-capillary pores are
the most important from the standpoint of aeration because their aggregate volume represents the minimal air capacity of the soil except
for brief periods after a rain or an
irrigation, and during such times
these are the pores which allow
gravitational water to percolate. The
smaller pores are the capillary pores
and are very important because
they determine the
maximum
amount of water a soil can retain,
which is the field capacity.
High porosity is of no advantage
at all if most of the pores are so
small that they hold capillary water.
Under such conditions, the soil is
essentially waterlogged at field capacity. Non-capillary porosity of 12
per cent or less, will create a waterlogged state from time to time.
Soil saturation will often result in
the s u r f a c e rooting of turfgrass
plants. This is a dangerous situation since only a day or two without
water, under certain heat conditions,
may cause a loss of t u r f because the
thatch layer and the soil surface will
not retain sufficient moisture to last
for more than a day or two under

severe heat conditions. Surface rooting is likewise, dangerous in that
extreme thatch conditions can be
promoted in this manner.
Algae will form under extremely
wet soil conditions. Conversely, the
best method of eliminating algae is
to maintain surface dryness as much
of the time as possible. Perhaps
nothing favors the development of
Poa annua better than good wet
surface soil.
Fertilizer Injury
Many examples of fertilizer burn
have been experienced this summer.
This is nothing particularly new
since this does occur practically
every year or anytime during the
fertilization season. The most drastic results from fertilizer burn do
occur, however, during the summer
months when there are heat and
moisture stresses. Oftentimes the
turfgrass manager who has burned
his t u r f with fertilizer hight suspect
that this is the cause, however, he
would like to have the diagnosis that
it is some type of disease or something that he actually didn't cause.
This is only human nature, however,
this point should be considered very
carefully in diagnosing your problem. Fertilizers can burn in principally two ways as follows: 1) The
actual concentration of the fertilizer around the crowns and roots
of the grass and, also, on the grass
leaves. This is simply a case of the
fertilizer pulling water from the
plant itself. A plant cannot stand
the loss of much water without going
into permanent wilt. Concentration
burns usually are caused by spilling,
miscalculations, or the puddling of
water immediately after application
of fertilizer. 2) Fertilizer burns can
result from high salt concentrations
in the soil. The reaction here is one
of a higher osmotic pressure of the
soil solution than the solution within
the plant. If the soil solution is
stronger than that in the plant, it
cannot remove water from the soil
regardless of the amount in it. 3)
Bruising the grass by any means accentuates grass injurv following
fertilizer application. This can be
done by simply walking, mowing, or
any other mechanical means.
Herbicide Injury
Most chemical reactions are influenced by temperature. There is
a law that says for each 10 degrees

(Continued on page 6, column 3)

Northwest Mower
and
Marine
WORTHINGTON
JACOBSEN
DEVERE
LOCKE
SU 2-5362
7723 - 24 N.W., Seattle

SOD
Lawn — Tee — Putting Green
Beautiful —
Durable
Designed For Your Needs

Ask us for prices F.O.B. Sumner
or your location.
Write

EMERALD TURFGRASS

FARMS

405 Wood Ave., Sumner, Wash.
Call: Sumner, Wash. UN 3-1003

H o w to k e e p in t h e
G R E E N (Grass).

Four word solution this time:
Fertilize regularly with Milorganite.
It is truly the perfect turf fertilizer.
Milorganite contains all the trace
elements needed for plants. It is
granular, easy to apply, never cakes
and grows the greenest turf you've
ever seen.

MILORGANITE

TURF & TORO
HOW TO GET MILORGANITE

SUPPLY, INC.

1200 Stewart St., Seattle, Wn., 98101, MA 3 - 6 1 6 1
East 114 Trent, Spokane, W n „ 99202, MA 4 - 3 1 3 1

(Hort Program—cont. from page 2)
Classes were held from 8:00 a.m.
to 3:00 p.m. in the Newport H i g h
School, with shop training at Bellevue High School. Classroom work
was supplemented by field trips to
golf courses, parks, cemeteries, and
commercial firms.
Shop training, totaling approximately 196 hours, consisted of developing skill in maintenance and
repair of small motors, grinding and
lapping of lawn mower reels, blades
and bed knives, electric arc and
acetylene welding of turf equipment, spray painting of metal and
wood equipment, g r i n d i n g and
sharpening of small tools.
Field training, making up approximately 256 hours, developed
of turf maintenance and construction equipment, ability to install irrigation and drainage systems, proper
application of liquid or dry fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals, how to properly grade and
make soil preparations for t u r f seedbeds and other ornamental plantings, handling of various types of
sprinkler heads for proper irrigation,
correct seeding and planting, cut-

ting and laying sod and renovation
of t u r f areas.
In the classroom, approximately
27 hours were spent in studying soils
in general, to acquire a g e n e r a l
knowledge of how soils are formed
and how soil types differ.
The studying of soil mechanics,
consisting of approximately 330
hours, allowed the student to recognize various soil types and conf i r m his beliefs by running s o i l
tests, in order to determine irrigation installations needed, to properly design efficient disposal systems
and run percolation tests.
During the study of soil chemistry, consisting of approximately
324 hours, students learned methods of soil and plant-tissue nutrient
analyses and determination of exchange capacity of soil, enabling
them to operate field equipment to
determine when crops need fertilizing and how much to apply, to
match irrigation and fertilizer application to receive maximum benef i t from each, to run pH tests to determine acidity of soil and how to
modify or change it if necessary,
and to recognize need for and run
total salts tests.
During the approximately 160
hours of study spent on physiological
and pathological problems (their
identification and control) students
gained skills in differentiating between insect or disease damage and
nutrient excess or deficiency problems. They learned certain conditions give rise to certain problems and how to minimize or prevent
these resulting conditions from recurring. They studied major insect,
disease and weed p r o b l e m s and
typical methods of controlling each.

H o w to m o w it
DOWN!

Mow it down! Cut it to the ground.
Trim it, skim it or manicure it.
TORO mowers were designed to do
a job for you. Push it, drive it or
let it pull you. The whole gang endorses TORO.

TORO.

HOW TO GET TORO

TURF & TORO
SUPPLY, INC.

1200 Stewart St., Seattle, Wn., 98101, MA 3 - 6 1 6 1
East 114 Trent, Spokane, Wn., 99202, MA 4 - 3 1 3 1

In the area of plant identification
and management, on w h i c h 90
hours were spent, students learned
major grass and ornamental plant
varieties and their uses, use of keys
to identify plants, how to propagate
plants, prune and shape plants.
Approximately 105 hours w e r e
spent studying Business Management to teach students the state
regulations regarding pesticide applications and some of the legal aspects of pesticide regulations. Students were taught to analyze costs
of equipment and materials in relation to work accomplished, prep-

(Continued on page 7, column 2)

(Summer Losses—cont. from page 5)
rise in temperature, the rate of a
chemical reaction is usually doubled.
It becomes apparent, then, t h a t
severe herbicide injury can be experienced on a hot day that would
have resulted in optimum results
with the temperature being 15 degrees to 20 degrees cooler.
The best way to avoid herbicide
injury is to spray before the weather
gets too hot (not over 80°F.) and delay any other weed control activities
until late season. Late season weed
control is an extremely effective
weed-killing period. Even t h o s e
weeds that were only injured may
not be able to live through the
winter months.
Immediately a f t e r
herbicides
have been a p p l i e d to turfgrass
areas, mechanical injury should be
avoided. By this we m e a n do not
mow or allow extensive t r a f f i c for
a day or two since this can cause
serious injury.
A piling up of clippings within 1
to 2 days after a herbicide has been
applied will accentuate damage to
the turf. These clippings tend to
concentrate the volatile herbicides
and increase the grass kill.
Summer Mechanical Injury
Power raking of home lawns or
lawn-type t u r f during the hotter
summer months can result in serious
injury to the grass. If the degree of
power raking is sufficient to help
eliminate thatch conditions, then it
will likewise be severe enough that
considerable damage will be experienced. Power raking should be
confined to early fall or to early
spring conditions.
Verticutting on golf course putting greens can be drastic if extreme
c a r e is not exercised. If verticutting is practiced at all during the
hot summer months, it should be
extremely light and do not cut into
the crowns of the grass. M a n y of
the golf course putting greens are
composed primarily of Poa annua,
and this grass species can withstand
very little injury during s t r e s s
periods.
The cutting height of the grass
should not be lowered during the
hotter summer months, if at all
avoidable. Even if your grass is being cut higher than the recommended cutting heights for its intended

(Continued on page 7, column 1)

(Summer Losses—cont. from page 6)

(Hort Program—cont. from page 6)

use, it is not a good practice to do
any cutting down or lowering of the
height during the summer months.
The best time to lower your mower
is in September or very early in the
spring, around February and March.
Oftentimes turfgrass will, for no
better term, p u f f up and is scalped
off by the mowers. There are quite
a few reasons for this as follows:
1) Overwatering, causing a drowning
of the roots which induces surface
rooting. 2) Excessive thatch formation. 3) Cutting the t u r f too high.
4) A dull mower which will not cut
but will pull or tear the grass.

oration and keeping of records and
the value of these records, and how
to prepare and present a budget.

How to Keep Out of Trouble
1) Avoid fertilizer burn by either
applying concentrates in extremely
low quantities d u r i n g July and
August, or 2) Apply slow-released
fertilizers such as the urea-formaldehyde forms of nitrogen, or
other good organic fertilizers. 3)
Avoid excessive use of potassium
during these months since this is a
strong salt and excessive amounts
can cause grass injury. 4) Either
use no herbicides or only judicious
use of them during July and August.
5) If mechanical treatments are
made, do them very lightly and not
vigorously. 6) Critically analyze your
watering program, and do not overdue it. Soil oxygen is very important
and watering can eliminate s o i l
oxygen. In the future, soil tensiometers will play a more important
role in helping to control water. 7)
M a i n t a i n adapted species that will
withstand the intended use and climate. 8) Treat for insects, particularly, sod webworms. 9) Observe,
carefully, the rules for disease control.
Just remember that there is always an answer for nearly everything that happens with a growing
plant. The diagnosis may not be too
simple nor too obvious, and this is
the hardest part of the whole problem. The simplest way to stay out
of trouble, then, is to observe the
points discussed above and, certainly, this will help to eliminate the
possible causes of the problem. A t
least, it will make diagnosis of the
problem much simpler.

SEE YOU AT
THE CONFERENCE
«dilli

A t the conclusion of our program
we requested a team of experts in
the field of agriculture and horticulture to come into our facility and
evaluate the degree of success to
which we fulfilled the initial objectives of our program. The team
comprised of Dr. Roy Goss—Extension Agronomy Specialist at Washington State University, Mr. Ken
Maekawa — Maekawa B r o t h e r s
Greenhouses, and Mr. A r t M e h a s —
County Extension Agent in Horticulture, Agricultural Extension Services, spent two days interviewing
students who were completing their
training in our Horticultural Occupations course. Briefly, the evaluation team found: the objectives of
the course were reasonable, the men
trained in our course were meeting
the needs of the industry, the program needed a little more practical
experience in plant, weed, disease,
and insect identification and less
time spent in the soil chemistry
area. It was also the feeling of the
team that the field training division
of the course could be improved by
the use of school-supervised demonstration plots to allow students firsthand experience in relating weed
identification to herbicide selection
and application and, in the same
manner, approach the practical experience of disease and insect control and identification. In summary,
the team felt that the students had
been well taught and had accumulated c o n s i d e r a b l e knowledge.
Recommendations made for improvement to the program were as
mentioned above.
On August 13, 1965, 13 students
graduated from t h e i r year-long
training. A l l of these men were
permanently employed on full-time
jobs upon graduation.
Although the federal funds will
not be available to s u p p o r t our
training program in the future, the
Bellevue School District is undertaking the sponsorship of this vocational training under their new
community college. The second class
of Horticultural Occupations is
scheduled to begin September 7,
1965, contingent upon adequate enrollment. Previously, u n d e r the
M.D.T.A. sponsorship, only certain

unemployed persons were eligible
for training in our course. Now,
however, since the course is being
offered by the Bellevue School District, enrollment is open to anyone
interested. We look f o r w a r d to
having an even more successful
program this year with the benefit
of making changes as suggested by
the evaluation team. Any interested
persons may contact the office of
Extension Services, Bellevue Public
Schools, GL 4-8971, Ext. 338 for
further information and/or application for admission forms.

Automatic - Manual
Sprinkle Systems
Complete line of water
handling equipment

Poison Implement Co.

DISTRIBUTORS
Seattle
Spokane
MA 2-2891
FA 7-5515

Van Waters & Rogers,
Inc.

* Herbicides
* Insecticides

* Fungicides
* Soil Fumigants

OFFICES:
Seattle — MA 4-5050
Portland — CA 2-1721
Spokane — RI 7-4183
Boise — 3-5468
Salt Lake City — EM 4-1811

Gray's Feed & Seed Co.
Wholesale Distributors of
* TURF CHEMICALS
* FINEST TURF SEEDS
* FERTILIZERS

Inquiries Invited
Eugene and Springfield, Oregon

HOW TO GET TO HAYDEN LAIJ

ui(D S
s.5 Hm
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B:r
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2 ï g£
r-j2
en
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Nu Life Fertilizers
Suppliers of all
TURF CHEMICALS A N D
FERTILIZERS
Fungicides—Herbicides
Amendments

Soil

1424 Thorne Rd.
Tacoma 1, Washington

Toe. Br 2-5171

Sea. M a 2-3228

LILLY'S
Organic Fertilizers
"Keeps Grass Greener - Longer'

Custom mixing of seed and
fertilizer to your requirements
Chas. H. Lilly
Co.

MA 2-8484

Portland Seed
Co.

BE 2-5135

Inland Seed Co.

TE 8-8211

IT'S TIME TO LIME
Grass will not grow without
sufficient available

CALCIUM!

Kiln dried - fine ground
limestone flour
HEMPHILL BROS., INC.

Seattle MA 2-4277

HOW TO SAVE IRRIGATION
DOLLARS EVERY TIME YOU
TURN THE SYSTEM ON...

Here's the three word solution —
Transite Irrigation Pipe. With
Transite you have a smooth interior, leakproof pipe that resists rust,
rot and corrosion. What more could
you want?

JOHNS-MANViLLE

TURF & TORO
HOW TO GET JOHNS-MANVILLE

SUPPLY, INC.

1200 Stewart St., Seattle, Wn., 98101, MA 3 - 6161
East 114 Trent. Spokane. Wn., 99202, MA 4 - 3 1 3 1

J. A . JACK & SONS, INC.

High calcium, sacked, bulk or spread

TURF & TORO SUPPLY
automatic

sprinkling

TORO MOWERS

RYAN, GIANT VAC, HARDIE
Your one-stop source for
mowing and sprinkling
equipment
TORO MOIST O ' M A T I C

1200 Stewart - Seattle - MA. 3-6161
E. 114 Trent - Spokane - MA. 4-3131

Officers Of The Northwest T u r f
Association

Ken Putnam
John Zoller
Dick Haskell
Dr. Roy Goss

President
Vice Pres.
Treasurer
Exec. Secy.

NORTHWEST T U R F G R A S S
TOPICS is sponsored by the Northwest Turf Association and financed
through funds of this organization.
A n y communications concerning
distribution of this paper or association business should be directed
to Dick Haskell, 1000 N.E. 135th,
Seattle, Wash. 98155, or Roy L.
Goss, Western Washington Experiment Station, Puyallup, Washington.
Communications concerning content of this paper should be directed
to Dr. Roy Goss, Editor, Western
Washington Experiment S t a t i o n ,
Puyallup, Washington.