Rainfall impact on sodium leaching at Denver Country Club
In the July 13, 2011 Super Journal report, "Rainfall impact on sodium leaching at Denver Country Club" (1.3 MB pdf document), we show the dramatic and positive impact that spring rainfall can have on reducing soil sodium and salinity.
In short, we saw that a 2.5 inch rainfall, which occurred over a 36 hour period during the spring of 2011, resulted in a 41% reduction in sodium, and a 19% reduction in overall soil salts.
In addition to causing general stress to turf and potential issues with soil physical properties, high sodium and high salts are also associated with rapid blight, a disease caused by Labyrinthula terrestris. In years when winter and spring rainfall is low, it may therefore be necessary to leach greens with good quality domestic water in order to avoid reaching the maximum levels of 110 ppm sodium that can result in rapid blight infestation.
Project title: Rainfall impact on sodium leaching at Denver Country Club
Principal investigator: Doug Brooks, Denver Country Club and Larry Stowell, Ph.D., CPAg, PACE Turf LLC
Further reading:
- PACE Turf Super Journal Report, "Rainfall impact on sodium leaching at Denver Country Club" (1.3 MB pdf document) posted 7/13/11
- Spreadsheet for calculating sodium hazard of irrigation water (18 KB Excel spreadsheet)
- Video: sodium accumulation
- PACE Super Journal report: Evaluating the sodium hazard in your irrigation water
Nematode Control Options
Our recent presentation at the 2011 Canadian International Turfgrass Conference, "Nematode Damage on Turf: An Increasing Threat and How to Manage It", is now available for viewing on the web (6.9 MB pdf).
We cover recent advances in cultural, chemical and biological control, with special attention paid to options that are available in Canada.
iStimp fails the test
The iStimp is an entertaining iPhone application. However, it frequently does not provide comparable readings to industry standards such as the Pelzmeter and the Speedmeter. In addition, the time involved for golfers to measure green speeds would result in considerable and unacceptable delays in pace of play. Based upon this preliminary information, PACE Turf does not recommend the use of this device for evaluating green speed.
For more information on the evaluation of the iStimp, refer to the report and video below:
