Leaching: Why is it Necessary?

I have been asked on occasion why we put down so much water on the greens and why they seems soft or slow.

Here is a article form Pace Turf that explains the reasons why we perform this procedure.

Leaching: Why is it Necessary?

Bottom line:

Greens leaching programs are designed to keep turf healthy by re­ducing soil salts. Un­fortunately, there are some tempo­rary side effects — wet greens and sur­rounds, softer turf, and slower greens. Are the benefits of leaching worth the inconvenient side ef­fects? The answer is definitely “yes”, and we will explain why here.

Salts, deadly poison for turf: What do you think is the most serious problem affecting the health and quality of putting greens? Most people believe that diseases, insects or weeds are the biggest threats, and indeed these pests can cause significant turf damage. But an even more serious threat is the build-up of soil salts.

The importance of rain: When there is enough rain, salts are rarely a problem. This is be­cause rain helps to leach, or wash away, the salts that ac­cumulate near the soil sur­face. Rain pushes salts down into the soil, beneath the area where plant roots grow.

But during periods of low rain­fall, this natural leaching does not occur, and salts build up.

Salts hurt turf in three dif­ferent ways: The most im­portant of these is known as physiological drought. When this occurs, the plant can’t get water from the soil, even when the soil is moist; this is­because salts in the soil liter­ally suck water away from the plant roots. The effect can be devastating, particularly to salt-sensitive turf such as an­nual bluegrass and bentgrass.

Secondly, accumulation of so­dium salts in the soil damages the structure of the soil itself. This can result in poor drain­age, low soil oxygen and poor water infiltration – all of which result in even more stress to the turf.

Finally, salt stress on turf makes it more susceptible to diseases, weeds and insects.

The key is to keep turf healthy by avoiding the build-up of soil salts BEFORE damage to turf occurs. And the best way to avoid salt build-up is to imple­ment a leaching program.

It’s all about balance: Main­taining a balance between soil salts and turf quality is a sig­nificant challenge.

To keep salt levels low, it is necessary to conduct leaching programs during periods of low rainfall. High leaching vol­umes (a few inches of water in an 8-hour period) of irrigation water are required to drive salts below the root zone.

This is why greens and sur­rounds can be soggy and soft following leaching. But the benefits are enormous. When done on a preventive basis– before turf damage due to salts is serious – turf and soil will become healthier, pest damage will decrease, and greens will remain green. It’s just that simple.

©2010 PACE Turf, 1267 Diamond Street, San Diego CA 92109 www.paceturf.org

Respecting the wet spots

Below is a article written by Pace Turf explaining some reasons for wet spots.

Regards,

Eric Wenzinger

Golf Course Superintendent

Respecting the wet spots

Rain is prefect, irrigation systems are not: Get­ting the right amount of wa­ter to turf, exactly where and when it needs it, is difficult, particularly for courses that rely on irrigation. This is due to the unfortunate fact that irrigation systems — even the best ones available — deliver water unevenly. As a result, while most areas get the right amount of water, others may get too much or too little.

Adding insult to injury: This problem is compounded by the fact soil types and drainage systems vary around the golf course, and also from course to course. For example, san­dy soils absorb water rapidly, which permits them to stay dry even when overwatered. In other soils, puddles can easily form, even when little water is applied. Variation in soil type explains why some courses have very few problems with wet spots, while others suffer from them all the time.

Which do you prefer? All of this variation causes a dilem­ma for superintendents and an annoyance for golfers. In order to keep the course free of wet spots, dry areas will oc­cur some locations. The turf here will decline due to lack of water, as in the photo below. Eventually, club-eating, wrist-cracking, unsightly bare areas of soil will form.

The alternative is to adjust the irrigation system so that the dry areas receive enough water, even though this means that more than enough wa­ter will be delivered to other areas of the course, and wet spots will develop. Yet this is the only way to ensure that turf will be alive, and turf qual­ity can be more consistently maintained through the year. Given this choice, while you may never love the wet spots, you will hopefully understand that their presence means that turf health and quality are being taken care of as well as possible. !

Bottom line:

Golf courses can be wetter in some areas than golfers like. This is often due to un­even irrigation cover­age — a problem that irrigation designers have not yet been able to solve. As a result, some areas of turf receive just the right amount of wa­ter, but other areas receive too much.

Although wet patch­es are not desirable, the alternative -- of allowing dry areas to become even dri­er and to eventually die -- is even less ac­ceptable.

In the end, suffering with occasional wet spots is a small price to pay for obtaining turf that is as consis­tent and high quality as possible.

©2010 PACE Turf, 1267 Diamond Street, San Diego CA 92109 www.paceturf.org

Drainage Repairs

Their are numerous drains that are not working properly around the course. 

The broken drains are the cause for the majority of wet spots around the course and in some cases are a safety hazard. 

The crew has been repairing the drains over the last couple weeks.

 The broken drains are easily spotted in the summer months which makes summer the ideal time to work on them.

This year we have repaired 14 drains.

Their are an estimated 200 drains in need of some kind of repair.

The repairs or crucial for health, aesthetic value and playability of the course. 

Their are some drains that are old and fail.

A lot of  broken drains were a bi product of the irrigation installation.

The repairs will continue through-out the year to provide the best product to our members. Thank you for your understanding as we work through these issues.                                   

Tee Markers

Tee markers are being painted, this happens twice a year.