MICHIGAN AND BORDER CITIES GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION, PUBLICATION tyoty (fa vu e £/xfeenb Volume 1 July-A ugust, 1962 Number 7 and 8 RESEARCH, The Michigan Turf Foundation and You by JOHN LABOSKEY Genesee Hills Golf Club Scientific research cannot be expected to endure without enthu­ siasm and support. Agreeing that this statement is essentially correct, let's put the words "Enthusiasm and Support", into prospective. Enthusiasm, must be the ingredient to motivate those who would explore the vast unknown, to find the reason, why, of things. It is their interest, it is their love a mystery enthusiasm that brings to light those precious answers. It is they who spend many long and seemingly end­ less hours correlating all the facts and figures by which we the laymen may find our way. The final object of their enthusiasm is truth. Support, is that part of anything which holds it into place, by fixture or by strength and courage. Support then belongs to those who are not equipped to carry out the action themselves. The supporter or benefactor in truth becomes the beneficiary. The research program being animated at the Michigan State Uni­ versity under capable, enthusiastic people deserves the whole hearted support of those who benefit throughout the Turf-World. Those Golf and Country Clubs who do not at this time find themselves sup­ porting the efforts of this research program, which directly effects their clubs' turf quality and playability, must in all conscience feel they are dragging their feet. Anyone who grows or maintains a plot of turf-grass, for what­ ever purpose, whether it be ornamental or objective to some particular use are the direct beneficiaries of research development in this field. It is therefore imperative that these beneficiaries be the benefactors. 175th BIRTHDAY OF THE CONSTITUTION W E THE PEOPLE of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, Establish insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. justice, BEARD '^SECTION C. E. ANDERSON CO., INC Headquarters for TORO POWER MOWERS JOHN BEAN SPRAYERS MASSEY-FERGUSON TRACTORS and ALLIED TURF EQUIPMENT “SALES and " 1503 S. Main Street Royal Oak, Mich. Lincoln 8-1100 TURF & HORTICULTURE Specializing in Better Products for Better Turf WE WILL BE CALLING ON YOU HIRAM F. GODWIN & SON Specializing in SEED - FERTILIZER - FUNGICIDES SPECIAL TURF GRASSES Eugene D. Johanningsmeier, Agronomist LAWN EQUIPMENT CORP. 520 W. 11 Mile Road • Royal Oak SALES and SERVICE— LI. 2-1721 for Roseman Hi-Speed Fairway Mowers and Rough Mowers 22366 Grand River Detroit 19, Michigan KE 1-0361 New Locke Mower for Tees • Cooper Putting Green Mowers • Complete Line of Accessories. Modification of Soils for Green By H. B. Professor The Pennsylvania Construction and Top Dressing Musser Emeritus State University Soil modification is probably one of the most controversial subjects we are likely to meet at the present time in the entire field of turfgrass production and management. It is not surprising that this should be so. In the first place, the physical condition of the soil has a major impact on the quality of turf that can be produced under the intensive use to which it is subjected on many areas. And, if I may be permitted to digress for a moment, at this early stage of the discussion, it is coming to be rec­ ognized as deserving consideration on less in- tensively used areas than greens and tees, ten­ nis courts, bowling greens and athletic fields. Everyone who has had experience in the field of lawn building, sooner or later encounters the fetish of topsoil. It may be acid and low in fer­ tility, in poor physical condition, or loaded with weed seed, but it is topsoil and therefore must be used. In many instances physical condition­ ing materials could be used to improve the existing soil material at a fraction of the cost and with better results than by applying 4 to 6 inches of so-called topsoil. Coming back to the relationship of the physical character of soils used for construction and top dressing of intensively used areas, and particularly for putting greens, to turf produc­ tion, let's look at some of the things that are needed to assure a good putting surface. 1st. Resiliency. A good turf cushion is needed and must be maintained to provide part of the give, the springiness, that is necessary to hold a well played shot. But the soil underneath also must contribute to this. If it is too tight and firm we w ill be faced constantly with demands to keep it soft with watering; with all the problems of shallow roots, increased disease, wet wilt, and the other troubles that are the heritage of a con­ stantly saturated soil. 2nd. Resistance to Compaction. In golf course terminology, compaction is the dirtiest of dirty words. Just what is it? Technically, it is the rearrangement of the particles of the soil mass in such a way that water and air movement are restricted. To fully understand what happens, we first must appreciate that soil particles are of two kinds — the individual particles (as a grain of sand), and granules made up of very fine individual particles loosely cemented to­ gether into clusters by the humic (organic) mat­ ter in the soil. All soils are subject to some degree of com­ paction when pressure or any other force that w ill cause re-arrangement of the particles is applied to them. The tighter the particles can be squeezed together, the more the size of the openings between them is reduced, and conse­ quently the slower the movement of water and air through them. Coarse sands, having relatively uniformly particle size, w ill compact least. On the other hand, a sand with a wide range in particle size, from coarse to fine, may get very hard. The finer particles w ill arrange themselves in the openings between the coarser ones and the whole mass can become very tight. Fine sands also compact severely. The particles are very small and, at best, the openings between them are restricted. When they are compressed, they can block water and air movement very ef­ fectively. When soils that are composed largely of clusters of very fine silt and clay particles be­ come compacted, their hardness and imper­ meability is due to the break-up of the clusters. The resulting fine, individual particles then pack together to produce an even more serious con­ dition than develops with fine sand. No soil w ill compact seriously when dry. There must be enough moisture present to lubri­ cate the particles so that they can slide on each other. And the vertical pressure caused by walking and equipment is not the only cause of this movement. The thrust of shoes and the vibration of power equipment often are the worst offenders. Of course, heavy rollers w ill cause more trouble than light ones, but even the lightest equipment w ill cause particle movement and cluster breakup in wet soil. 3rd. Permeability to Air and Water. As pre­ viously noted, the establishment and mainte­ nance of a good playing surface is directly re­ lated to the rate at which air and water can move into and through a soil. The extent to which it can be compacted must be considered in any program of modification to improve it, but this is not the whole story. If it were, we could handle it easily by using a pure, coarse sand for both the surface layer and top dress­ ings on greens. Unquestionably, this would pro­ vide rapid absorption and movement of air and water. But we cannot afford to lose sight of the fact that our objective is to produce a high quality turf within practical maintenance limits. Too much and too fast air and water movement may complicate just as much as too little and too slow. We immediately run head-on into the difficulties of frequent watering to hold the turf, increased fertilization to compensate for higher leaching losses, and the practical difficulty of keeping enough moisture in the soil to avoid severe damage where winter desiccation is a problem. The Nub of the Problem. It is generally conceded that most natural soils (except in rare cases) do not have the physical qualities that make them satisfactory for intensive use areas without modification. And so we come to the nub of the problem. How can we modify them so that they w ill have the needed resiliency and the greatest possible resistance to compac­ tion, while retaining the ability to hold reason­ able quantities of water and nutrients? Must of us fully recognize the necessity of getting a satisfactory answer to this question. We understand the direct relationship between the quality of the soil used in the construction of a green and for top dressing, and the labor and expense of maintaining top quality turf. In addition, the number of new courses being built, of old ones being reconstructed, and the renaissance in the use of top-dressing — all have contributed to a recognition of the desira­ bility, even urgency, of findng some sound basis for determining the kind and quantity of modifying materials that should be used. In view of all this, it is only natural that efforts should be made to set up standards that would remove the elements of uncertainty and necessity for using personal judgment, from the preparation of soil mixtures. These efforts have centered largely on attempts to develop standard laboratory procedures to de­ termine how a given soil mixture should be made. They are based primarily on the initial effects of varying quantities of modifying ma­ terials on the compactibility, porosity, water absorption, etc., of each soil that is studied. Certainly, no one would question the de­ sirability of having the best possible informa­ tion on the material with which he must work. For example, a mechanical analysis of soil, showing the proportions of the various size par­ ticles in it and the extent of granulation, can be very helpful in determining the kind and quantity of materials that should be used to modify it. But it is useful only as a general guide and must be related to past experience and good judgment if it is to be worth anything. Whether an laboratory determination which seeks to set up arbitrary standards, initial based completely on the laboratory results, is the right answer, is subject to some very prac­ tical considerations. 1st. W ill the mixture, as determined by arbitrary laboratory tests, act the same way in the field, when subjected to a wide range of environmental and use conditions, as it did in the laboratory? This is a question that can be resolved only by critical studies conducted over a long enough period to give us reason­ able confidence in the results. In other words, we must have adequate correlation between laboratory results and what happens in the field. 2nd. Before laboratory results can be ac­ cepted as anything more than a general guide, we w ill have to have more assurance than we now have as to how long the recommended mixture w ill retain its desirable characteristics. W ill a mixture determined to be optimum for compaction resistance, moisture, and air move­ ment, etc., by an initial laboratory test, remain good under field conditions for a long enough time to make its use justifiable? Organic matter decomposes, soil aggregates break down, and so the entire character of the original mixture may change materially within a relatively short time. 3rd. The third practical question that must be considered is whether the extremely high quantities of sand or other inert materials that sometimes are recommended are realistic. Since it is recognized that as sand content increases, the ability of a soil to retain moisture and nu­ trients goes down, such recommendations at­ tempt to compensate for this by adding organic matter and aggregated clay. As previously noted, the quantity and physical character of these materials may change materially within a relatively short time after they have been mixed into the soil. But an even more practical question is whether it might not be more de­ sirable to accept the somewhat greater com­ paction which we know may come with a less extreme mixture. Such compaction usually is of a very shallow surface type and w ill be cor­ rected readily by standard aeration and spiking operations. This could be less expensive and troublesome than attempting to keep moisture and nutrient levels in these extreme mixtures high enough to maintain good quality turf. Good Judgment Still Necessary. Until such time as we have much better documented an­ swers to such questions as these, a great deal of sound personal judgment still w ill be needed in determining just how a soil should be modi­ fied. Perhaps the best evidence for this, is in the hundreds of good greens on golf courses throughout the country, that have been func­ tioning satisfactorily for years; none of which would meet presently proposed construction standards. And the further fact that where new greens have been built according to laboratory standards, about the same proportion are bad or mediocre as where construction was based on judgment and experience. If we concede that we are not yet in a position to substitute arbitrary laboratory meth­ ods for good judgment and practical experi­ ence, then it almost goes without saying, that the more information we can have on what we are working with, the better chance we w ill have of getting good results. Let's look at some of the things that can be of help. Mechanical Soil Analysis. Since particle size (texture) and their arrangement (structure) have such an important effect on compactability and other characteristics, it w ill help, in decid­ ing on the amount and kind of sand that should be used, to know what is already in the soil we w ill be modifying. Obviously, a soil which already has 40 to 50 percent of coarse particles in it w ill not require nearly as large additions as one where the percentage is lower. This is easy enough. But what of a soil that has a high content of fine sand? We can go only so far in adding coarse material to it, without losing other desirable qualities. If we know what we have to start with we can still produce a good mixture by keeping down the coarse sand and increasing the organic matter percentages we use. The organic material w ill act as a cushion between the sand particles and keep them from packing too tightly. Which brings us to the point of recogniz­ ing that there are two classes of soil modifying materials. Those that affect soil texture by changing the proportions of various size par­ ticles in it, and those that condition it, by cush­ ioning it and increasing its moisture and nutri­ ent holding capacity. Sand and peat have been the most commonly used representatives of these two classes, so let's take a look at them. Characteristics of Modifying Materials. Ex­ perience and experiments have demonstrated that a coarse grade of sand, which is relatively uniform in particle size (from 0.02 to 0.08 inches in diameter) is materially better than finer grades, or an ungraded product in which there is a wide size range. The ungraded type is particularly undesirable, especially if it has any material proportion of fines in it. When it is subjected to compaction, the fine particles move into the opening between the coarser ones and the whole mass becomes tight and hard. If this is the only kind that is available, it would be very wise to re-screen it before use to remove the fine fraction. Peats also vary in character and quality. Most of the domestic products on the market are reed-sedge forms, while most imported types are moss peats. Reed-sedge peats are the products of partial decomposition of reeds and sedges and the moss peats come from bogs where the sphagnum mosses were the principal original vegetation. The reed-sedge forms are preferred—particularly for use in top dressings. They are heavier and w ill not float out of mix­ tures as badly as the lighter moss peats. They have a lower moisture absorptive capacity and so less water is needed to keep soil moisture at the proper level. They are more resistant to decomposition and w ill 'stay put' longer. And, unless they must be transported for long dis­ tances, they are much cheaper. A good reed-sedge should have a moisture absorptive capacity of around 450 percent by weight and a minimum organic matter content of 90 percent. This eliminates the sedimentary peats or mucks that we often find in local bogs. These usually are composed of very finely di­ vided organic matter and have a high content of fine textured mineral soil. Material of this kind is worse than useless for soil modification. Obviously, this discussion does not antici­ pate making even a suggestion as to the exact ratios of sand, peat, and soil, that should be used in preparing a mixture. This still must be a matter of experience and judgment, fortified with the best information we can get on the quality of materials that we use. It is doubtful, however, whether sand additions ever should be above 60 to 65 percent by volume, except in very extreme cases. Experience has taught us that we cannot use nearly as high volume of peat. When we get much beyond 15 percent there is danger that the soil w ill stay wet too long and become soggy. An exception to this is where a very light sandy soil must be modified to improve its water and nutrient holding capacity. In such cases we may be justified in using as much as 25 percent peat. Before leaving the subject of modifying materials it might be of interest to examine some of the other products that have been sug­ gested or are being promoted as substitutes for sand and peat. Natural organic materials that long have been used in place of peat include sawdust, raw sewage sludge, manures, tan­ nery sludges, and various kinds of seed hulls. With the possible exception of rotted sawdust, these decompose rapidly when mixed with soil and their effects are much more short lived than peat. They are most valuable when composted in large volume with soil before being used. More recently, we have been offered such materials as quenched blast furnace slag, cal­ cined clays, and processed micas. All of these have certain desirable characteristics. They are more porous than sand and so w ill improve moisture holding capacity. They are not subject to the type of decomposition that reduces the organic matter. Unfortunately, as yet we have little or no information on how stable they may be mechanically. If they lose their coarse granu­ lar character or original structure when sub­ jected to compaction, they become a liability rather than an asset. Some of them are expen­ sive and, if we find that they must be used at rates comparable to sand and peat, they w ill be out of the question, economically. There is only one way to answer these questions. This is to compare them critically with standard ma­ terials. An attempt is being made to do this at Penn State. The slide I now show is an all-over view of the establishment phase of a field study of some of these materials. It is hoped that this study w ill provide needed information on the value of these products and how they can best be used. Until the results of such studies are in, it is suggested that they be used with caution and only on a trial basis. In conclusion, I think many of us feel that if mixtures could be composted before use, for a long enough period to produce a homogene­ ous soil, many of the difficulties resulting from fresh artificial mixtures would be materially re­ duced. This would permit the initial changes, which so often cause trouble, to take place in the compost pile or bed, rather than on a green. It would give us a much better opportunity to judge what we are going to end up with and help us to arrive at a formula that w ill do a good job. I fully realize that this may not be practicable on some courses, but commend it for your consideration wherever facilities are available. from “Turf Clippings” JOHNSON'S SUPPLY CO. 1900 W. SQUARE LAKE ROAD — FE 5-6609 PONTIAC, MICHIGAN FUNGICIDES FERTILIZERS INSECTICIDES WEED KILLERS SOIL STER1LANTS WETTING AGENTS CHEMICALS BALL WASHERS HOLE CUTTERS POLES - FLAGS TEE TOWELS BENCHES SPRINKLERS TERMINAL SALES CORP. 1627 West Fort, Detroit Fertilizers and Garden Supplies Agricultural and Industrial Chemicals MILORGANITE — THE YEAR AROUND FERTILIZER W. F. MILLER CO. • JACOBSON GREEN MOWERS • MYERS SPRAYERS • ROTOTILLERS • SOD MASTER and SOD CUTTER • WORTHINGTON GANG MOWERS S. Woodward MI. 4-6009 Birmingham, Michigan 1593 A. J. MILLER, INC. Royal Oak, Michigan DESIGN ENGINEERING INSTALLATION GOLF COURSE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS All Accessories for Watering 1320 N. Campbell LI. 2-4800 MUNZ SPRALAWN SYSTEMS CORP. SINCE 1920 IRRIGATION ENGINEERING SPECIALISTS W E DESIGN SYSTEMS W E INSTALL SYSTEMS WE SELL EQUIPMENT Skinner, Rain-O-Mat, U.S. Steel, Poly. FO 6-1960 738 W. SEVEN MILE RD. Editor................... Assistant Editor Assistant Editor Reporter............... Reporter............... Director................ Director................ Director............... DETROIT, MICHIGAN RICHARD A. NAVARRE ROBERT PRIESKORN ANDREW BERTONI....... LEO BISHOP BILL BAIR........................ BILL RAEBURN............. JOHN LaBOSKEY C. F. WHITE..................... Western Country Club Meadowbrook Country Club Red Run Country Club Warwick Hills Country Club Knollwood Country Club Genessee Hills Country Club Orchard Lake Country Club Golf Course Superintendents Assoc. Michigan and Border Cities Richard A. Navarre, Editor 1465 Square Lake Rd. BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MICHIGAN BULK RATE U. S. POSTAGE P A I D Permit #753 Pontiac, Mich. Dr. Kenyon Payne Farm Crops Dept.M.S.U East Lansing, Mich.