The rain stopped... Now what?

Today embarked my 2nd day volunteering on the Agronomy (maintenance) crew at my 5th Annual Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club, in Atlanta Georgia.

I've learned a ton over the years as far as golf maintenance and tournament set-up, however, this year, I learned a lot more about warm season turf (I.E. Bermudagrass), and how the weather effects it.

Earlier this year (in Georgia), we experienced record rain fall amounts leading up to mid July. Up until about 4 weeks ago, we have been inundated by daily and weekly regular rainfall amounts of up to 5 inches of rainfall per week. On my last post, I discussed how that effected weed control and how that will determine when we decide to apply our pre-emergent herbicides (preventing weeds).

Rainfall, and then none:

What I didn't realize, until now, is that regular heavy rainfall, promotes a shallow root system. IF you consider the fact that we are in a clay-soil environment in Georgia, roots from bermudagrass have a challenge growing deeper into clay soils, vs sandy soils since clay is denser and more difficult to penetrate. With record, more often rainfall, the bermudagrass roots, are not required to strive to go deeper in the soil to find water. As a result, the root system of most golf courses greens, tee boxes, fairways, and rough, as well as sports fields and lawns, have experienced shallower root systems up until 4 weeks ago.

Now, the kicker! The rain almost has completely stopped falling during the last four weeks. What that means is, most bermudagrass turf, has a shallow root system, that virtually is not prepared for drought like conditions, along with low-humidity during the days, and a very hot, indian summer. As a result, we are noticing bermudagrass turf "shutting down" and going into a protective, almost dormant state, along with a wilt-like (highly stressed) state of being.

The solution, and what to do now:

If you have an irrigation system, make sure it is running efficiently and working properly, then, turn it on! Regular watering is all that is required. Water 2 inches per week for bermuda or other warm season grasses (such as zoysia or centipede), preferably, a half inch, 4 times per week to encourage deeper rooting. 

Apply a watering agent and a hygroscopic product to allow the turf roots to move water to the roots and encourage atmospheric moisture uptake. One great product to the solution is Hydretain or Moisture Manager. The latter two products allow the root system of the plant to grab and uptake any available soil and atmospheric moisture.

Apply a fertilizer heavy on Phosphorus and Potassium. These are the last two numbers on a bag of fertilizer. For example: 10-20-20 is 10% nitrogen (for chute or leaf blade growth and color), 20% phosphorus and 20% potassium for root development. AND, a little bit of micronutrients like helium, manganese, magnesium, calcium, copper, chlorine, and iron, just to name a few, won't hurt either. (It's also a great time to put some lime down to help your soil as well)

Lastly, mow your turfgrass 1/2 an inch higher to promote root depth. The longer the grass chute (the green stuff on top of the ground), the deeper the roots.

I hope this information is found to be useful. As always; please like, subscribe and provide any feedback or constructive criticism to help us all grow healthier turf!

Thanks for reading!

Gary Terrell