SUMMER TIME ON A GOLF COURSE, DEALING WITH HEAT STRESS AND WHAT IS IT?
Summer time brings all of us to wonder many things when looking at a golf course, home lawn or business landscaping. During the months of June, July and August, we start to see turf grass go dormant or even decline and we wonder why?
Summer heat stress is our number one issue in the northeast on all turf cultivators. When we start to see extended periods of high humidity, heat, warm daytime temperatures, warm nights, no rain and an above average soil temperature, we start to see signs of stress in our turf grass. When we look into the soil temperatures of turf grasses, we like to see our temperatures in the range of 58-70 degrees to have the maximum root growth, when temperatures drop below or climb to a larger degree number, we see the growth of all roots starting to slow down if not stop in some insistence's.
A true common response would be to water, but as excessive water keeps the soil wet, the grass plant will show symptoms of a mirror effect burn or create a high disease pressure on the plant that can be just as detrimental as the heat stress.
There are numerous cultural practices that are performed during this time of stress to help relief the plant from a mechanical perspective. One is to use needle tine aerification to help relief gases built up in the soil, uses of a liquid fertilizers versus granular applications that are normally applied in the spring and fall. Syringing of the turf to reduce the heat and moisture stress, and improving air flow which will help dry the surface of all grasses and eliminate prolonged moisture levels.
When the summer stress is finally over, the best recovery practice is to reflect on the trouble areas and determine if you need to increase the amount of aerification, do you need to improve the efficiencies of the irrigation systems and do you need to create better air flow in these pockets.
Summer heat and all the problems it causes us in managing turf or even playing golf will always occur as Mother Nature holds our daily weather pattern in her hand.
