« UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION ' ^ S j^ GREEN SECTION WESTERN OFFICE P. O. Box 241 Davis, California ö & W Telephone: Davis 245 •X c Vd $ : ?Y CHARLES G. WILSON Western Director Vol. 2 No. 2 Water 'Weâtvw lunette*, March-April 1954 SPRING MANAGEMENT time of the year to evaluate Spring is an i d e al i r r i g a t i on p r a c t i c e s. the West winter r a i ns have replenished depleted s o il moisture In p a r ts of r e s e r v e s, and the more favorable growing weather has encouraged deeper r o o t i n g. A c r i t i c al p a rt of one's a b i l i ty to maintain these de«p roots throughout the summer r e s ts on water management p r a c t i c e s. i r r i g a t or must be f a m i l i ar with (1) e f f e c t i ve depth of r o o t i n g, holding capacity of h is s o i l, delivery r a te of his s p r i n k l e r s. As mentioned in our November issue of these f a c ts are r e a d i ly obtained with a n e g l i g i b le your Western T u r f l e t t er the most accurate amount of work. Coffee can r a in gauges continue measurement on delivery r a te of s p r i n k l e r s. the following formula devised by Dr. R. M. Hagan, I r r i g a t i on Department, University of C a l i f o r n i a, Davis, w i ll a l so be h e l p f ul in converting gallons of water i n to inches of water a p p l i e d. (3) water use r a te of the g r a s s, and (4) to give In a d d i t i o n, i n t e l l i g e nt (2) water The Conversion Formula ( g a l s, water applied per day) x (inches *(# g a l s, in cubic f o o t) x (square fo^et in a c r e) x (ff acres in one f o o t) i r r i g a t e d) equals: Average a p p l i c a t i on depth in inches per day applied over t o t al area i r r i g a t e d. Simplified Formula ( g a l s, water applied per day) x (36.7 - numerical f a c t o r) (1,000,000) x (# acres i r r i g a t e dT Example Club a p p l i es 900,000 g a l s, of water per day on a t o t al of 60 acre«. 900,000 x 36.7 r 3 x 36.7 s 110.1 = 0. 55 inches of water a p p l i e d. 1,000,000 x 60 10 x 20 200 Renovation Spring a l so is an ideal renovation t h at w i ll make a tremendous d i f f e r e n ce in turf q u a l i ty during time to carry out a few necessary procedures the summer months. A f t er the grass has s t a r t ed e r a t i on should be given to the following: to grow vigorously, consid- is the time of year when roots respond to good Aeration - As t h is c u l t u r al p r a c t i c e s, c u l t i v a t i on underneath t u r f g r a ss cover w i ll be most b e n e f i c i a l. Use of hollow t i n es or open spoons w i ll f u r t h er encourage r o ot p e n e t r a t i on through f a l se water t a b l es of sand and mat. heat brings about higher oxygen requirements f or animal l i fe in the s o i l. l i m it r o ot p e n e t r a t i on l a t er on when the grass and micro- the e x i s t i ng Such layers Raking - Excessive accumulation of organic matter caused by the p a r t- i al decomposition of stems, r o o t s, stolons and leaves is a u n i v e r s al problem on most Western golf courses. Now is an e x c e l l e nt move t h is bodily by hand raking, del monte rakes, v e r t i - c u t t i n g, or adapting bermuda renovators is topdressing. severe, it lessen d i s e a s e, Removal of eliminate a great amount of localized drying, prevent excessive b a ll marking and discourage g r a i n. thatch w i ll encourage deeper r o o t i n g, to do the j o b. Where accumulation is v i t a l ly t h is to accomplish t h is before important time to r e- Ihe beauty of doing the above l e a st possible discomfiture the couraged to grow vigorously by an a p p l i c a t i on of nitrogen weeks before spring renovation takes place, most g o l f e rs w i ll find the greens play b e t t er following the renovation to jobs in the spring is r e l a t ed turf is en- ten days to to the g o l f e r. In f a c t, jobs. if t h at the two Should I Reseed My Greens? This question o f t en "pops-up" during the time of the year when grow- ing conditions are most f a v o r a b l e. Unfortunately, we have never been able to discern any advantage from adding a d d i t i o n al seed to an e s t a b l i s h ed green. One often notices now seedlings a recent reseeding. However, t h at only the old bentgrass and annual bluegrass are p r e s e n t. i c a l ly was so obvious? The answer may not be so obvious, but we f e el t h at following f a c t o rs are a g a i n st success in a reseeding v e n t u r e. to the question - v/hat happens to the new seed when germination in making follow-up v i s i ts one notices t h at supposedly were the r e s u lt of leads This log- the 1. Often the young seedlings are annual bluegrass b e f o r e, and thus smothered out the bent seed» t h at germinated is d i r e c t ly contrary to good 2. Good management of young seedlings management of the well e s t a b l i s h ed l i g ht f r e q u e nt i r r i g a t i o ns u n t il i ty of any seedling is g r e a t e st Thus, a hot drying wind on Sunday afternoon when the off duty can wipe out the new stand of g r a s s. Conversely, manages f or w i ll be detrimental they are well established» Mortal- immediately following emergence. labor force the young seedlings by watering l i g h t ly and o f t e n, t u r f. Young seedlings require to the well e s t a b l i s h ed g r a s s. if one it is Vegetatively Introduce Additional Bentgrass through cup replacements Our f a v o r i te method of introducing more bentgrass the greens is taken from the nursery. By t h is method one can a l so introduce improved s t r a i ns of bent and a deep uniform d e s i r a b le s o il p r o f i l e• Further, a v e g e t a t i ve cup replacement taken to i ts f u ll depth from the nursery is v i r t u a l ly assured of success, and there is no need vary e s t a b l i s h ed management p r a c t i c e s. i n to to DOES YOUR WATER BEHAVE PROPERLY? i r r i g a t i on water behave d i f f e r e n t ly p h y s i c a l ly to making t h e ir the water chemically. One of these simple gadgets In t h is age of miracles s o - c a l l ed e l e c t r i c al and c a t a l y t ic water conditioners are being p e r p e t r a t ed on our unknowing member clubs as a " c u r e - a l l" without a l t e r i ng ly came to our a t t e n t i on more than a cast iron bar enclosed in a hollow casing. four pound chunk of metal, made f or a one inch l i ne was not so simple p r i c e. l i s ts f or $80J Advertising conditioner "improves t e x t u re of s o il at rearrange and thus lessen the danger of saline to believe by the salesman t h at in such a manner as to improve the club in question was led in Southern C a l i f o r n i a. to the bentgrass greens. the water p a r t i c l es l i t e r a t u re claims in lawns and gardens". Our informant It appears to be nothing in t h is water This f i ve inch i n f i l t r a t i o n, it would t o x i c i ty r e c e n t- t h at It long, The idea of making bad water behave properly by a l t e r i ng sounds f a s c i n a t i n g. However, your Green S e c t i o nfs nature being r a t h er q u i z z i c a l, we decided in preference the I r r i g a t i on Department, University of California at Davis, had gated t h is water conditioner and could r e p o rt as f o l l o w s: to accepting the manufacturer's t e s t i m o n i a l s. to approach a recognized research agency it p h y s i c a l ly in such matters Fortunately, i n v e s t i- 1. A chemical change in water was not i n v e s t i g a t ed as the company s t a t es other words, e f f e c t i ve s a l i n i ty would remain the same. t h at i ts conditioner does not change water chemically. the sodium-calcium r a t i o, t o t al s a l ts and c h l o r i d e s, and In i n f i l t r a t i on through a change in molecular arrange- 2. Better water ment of water p a r t i c l es was i n v e s t i g a t ed along the reduction in surface tension of the water following the use of conditioner. Results of of these the water remained the same. t e s ts were negative. l i ne of a possible Surface tension the 3. A s p e c i a l ly constructed water containing 5,000 p a r ts per m i l l i on of sodium chloride was used on young seedlings and well e s t a b l i s h ed tomato p l a n t s. The conditioner f a i l ed to prevent k i ll of the p l a n t s. t e s ts were e s t a b l i s h ed 4. Field increase water p e n e t r a t i on n e g a t i v e. Water i n f i l t r a t i on was the same with untreated and condit- ioner the conditioner would i n to a t i g ht heavy s o i l. Results were again t r e a t ed water. to determine if This information leads us to believe t h at the cost of water condit- is a problem it can be controlled by (1) proper construction to more worthwhile p r o j e c t s. ioners might well be channeled l a t i on assure good s u r f a c e, t i le or rock sub-drainage; deep uniform s o il without or d i f f e r e nt s o il m a t e r i a l s; and adequate surface drainage from building up in the low s p o t s ), s a l ts below the r o ot zone, and (3) a more favorable calcium-sodium i n t e r n al and subsurface drainage, (2) p e r i o d ic heavy watering to leach the use of gypsum or Sulfur to promote peat to prevent water layers of sand, If s a lt accumu- implies n a t u r a l, r a t i o. ( t h is to \ VALLEY PRESS 707 2nd Street Davis, Calif. 74/ettem Hünstetten USGA Green Section Sec. 34.66 P.L.&R. U. S. 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