December 10, 2010 -- Volume 48, Number 26

Can our crew do that?

Perennial ryegrass fairways are common in northern locations where winter injury potential is high. Through future breeding efforts, improved understanding of perennial ryegrass winter survival mechanisms will be valuable in preventing devastating winter injury.

Perennial ryegrass possesses several traits that make it an excellent option for golf course use. Rapid establishment and excellent wear tolerance are primary reasons this grass has been widely planted. Unfortunately, perennial ryegrass has difficulty surviving harsh winters in northern locations. To date there has not been significant progress in the development of perennial ryegrass cultivars with improved winter hardiness.

In the last several years, turfgrass researchers from the University of Minnesota have started to investigate perennial ryegrass plants collected from around the United States, Asia, and Europe. Results from winter field trials and growth chamber studies identified perennial ryegrass breeding lines with superior freezing tolerance compared to many commercially available cultivars, suggesting that significant progress could be made in the development of cultivars better adapted to northern climatic regions.

Dr. Michelle DaCosta is an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Dr. Eric Watkins is an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota

More about this project including a summary of the results.

A Northwest Regional Update
by Larry Gilhuly, director

Golf course maintenance is a never-ending task, with daily, weekly, monthly and annual programs needed to create desired playing conditions. However, can you name a routine task that is never ending, does damage to mowers, makes mechanics unhappy, and can greatly impact playing conditions in several ways? How about removing stones/rocks from bunkers?

Time consuming is only half of this issue, but the only time that removal is effective is when the sand is dry. What about the majority of the time when the sand is too moist and does not allow for effective cleaning?

The problem with wet sand is that the bridging among sand particles is stronger than the particles simply falling to the ground through a screen. In every type of manual or machine-powered unit, vibrating the sand does little to actually move the sand downward. What is needed is an up-and-down shaking motion to be more effective. Although humans can shake a rake or a small screen approximately three times per second, this is not enough to move wet sand through a screen. However, when this rate is increased to 30 times per second, the task of moving sand through a �" screen when it is wet can be accomplished. This was viewed at Chambers Bay, site of the 2015 US Open, where this former gravel/sand pit has the tremendous rock issue.

Read the rest of this update.

A Mid-Atlantic Regional Update
by Keith Happ, senior agronomist

During the recent Penn State Turf Conference, many superintendents were discussing their fall activities in preparation for winter and snow mold control. Other issues, such as putting green topdressing, late season aeration, drainage, tree maintenance and equipment maintenance were discussed in detail. However, one of the biggest concerns focused on dealing with another summer like 2010.

There are still many agronomic programs that need to be completed before winter is here, and it is never too early to communicate with golfers and committees about course setup for the New Year. Defining the course setup allows for a more accurate determination of the necessary programs to achieve course playability criteria. The Green and/or Golf Committees define the course setup, and the maintenance staff are charged with meeting golfer expectations. Without a defined setup document, it is very difficult to meet expectations. In effect, it is like trying to hit a moving target. Now is the time to come together, put on a pot of coffee, and decide how the course should play and, ultimately, be maintained. Only then can an accurate and realistic budget be outlined. Read the rest of this update.

What do you get when a newspaper reporter crosses bluegrass, buffalo, and bermuda - bint grass of course!
by the USGA Staff

We often encourage our readers to visit the Green Section Record archives to read some of the history of the game and industry. You never know what you will come across. The following article ran in the September 17, 1924 issue of the Green Section Bulletin (the predecessor of the Record). It is included here exactly as it was printed then including spelling, punctuation, and content.

A Reporter's Weird Tale of Creeping Bent

The following item from a western newspaper is a beautiful example either of the difficulty of getting information straight or else of the reporter's tendency to exaggerate. The article is really funny besides being remarkable in that nearly every statement is erroneous. Evidently the reporter imagined we belonged to that group of freaks termed "plant wizards."

"A new variety of lawn grass which is said to combine the beauty of blue grass with the hardiness of Bermuda or buffalo grass is being given a thorough test by Mr. A____ at his home, on _____ street. The new plant, which is cross between blue grass, buffalo, and Bermuda, is called creeping bint (the word bent is spelled "bint" throughout the article), and is being distributed to a few persons throughout the country, by the United States Department of Agriculture.

"Mr. A ____ is one of the two men in Kansas to get samples of the grass from the department, and it was by an odd stroke of good fortune that he happened to be one of the two. Some three years ago, seeing in an agricultural journal an account of the government's project of crossing the three grasses, he wrote to Washington, asking for some of the roots. "'I went out and dug up my parking and got ready to plant the stuff,' said Mr. A____.

"Three years later, or early this spring, he received the coveted roots, together with instructions as to how to plant the grass. Creeping bint was not ready to distribute when Mr. A___ first wrote to the government, and even now the government does not have any more of the roots ready to give out.

"When the cross was made between the three grasses, it destroyed the seed producing ability of the plant, and so the roots are the only means of propagation. In five years' time, however, the grass will start producing seed again. It takes that long for regeneration.

"Mr. A____ is very enthusiastic about the new sort of grass. It grows much more thickly on the ground than does blue grass, and yet has the same deep, rich color. So thick does creeping bint cover the ground that it absolutely chokes out all other forms of vegetation.

"But one of its best qualities is its ability to withstand both the shade and the sun and to grow profusely even in a semi-arid climate. The cross with buffalo grass, the native vegetation of this part of the country, gives it this last mentioned quality.

"An odd quality of the grass is that it is elastic. A strand of the plant stretches much like a rubber band, showing its tough fiber.

"Creeping bint remains green until Christmas time and freshens up again early in the spring, thus. retaining the good qualities of blue grass.

"Mr. A____intends eventually to plant his entire yard in creeping bint. He plants it in rows and it spreads over the entire plot quite rapidly, each joint forming a root and growing into the ground. After Mr. A____gets his own plot well started, he intends to sell the roots to others who wish them. He has already had considerable demand for samples. Anyone who wishes to see the new grass can do so by going to Mr. A____'s house. The parking already bears a thick mat of grass, although it has been only a couple of months since the roots were set out.

"It is believed that creeping bint will prove a wonderful boon to towns in semi-arid climates-towns which wish to have pretty lawns in spite of the hot sun and dry weather."

You can find your own historical "gems" of agronomic wisdom by browsing the archives of the Record. Just click here.

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