“Ask a Fescue grower what to do, and do the opposite!”
KMgc Advice
As a consultant you get paid to give sound stable advice so, although I am not getting paid by MPGC, I will tell you what my report would contain. The thrust of my advice would be to maintain the best Poa annua greens that can be grown. Every factor is weighted towards this route. The expectations of a stable membership and the external customer base, the local environmental conditions, the skill set of the course manager, the size of the budget at his disposal and, not least, the current wider financial situation.
Any sort of species conversion programme or maintenance regime that selects for colonial bents, let alone fescues, is going to destabilise the club. There is no getting away from the fact that, even when well managed, there is a very difficult transition period during a conversion away from a predominantly Poa sward. This causes adverse reaction from the membership, especially a competitive one that, in turn, causes management stress.
If MPGC were going to take a species conversion route they would need a new course manager for starters because, one way or the other, he would almost certainly be on his way two years into the programme. Also, if a club does not have a CM who is conversant with, and fully committed to, maintaining bent/fescue, then failure is also a certainty. Failure is not an option in any club, whether run for profit or not.
It is only now, after all these non-turf specific factors have been considered, that good consultants provide their agronomic management advice.
Maintaining the best quality Poa annua greens - this is a policy
I cannot emphasise this first point enough. After careful consideration of the options, if all parties are agreed that maintaining quality Poa annua greens is the route to take then, just like maintaining any other greens surface grass type(s), it should be written into the Course Management Policy document. With the subsequent resources and skills required to attain this policy put into place.
Where so many golf clubs and their managements go wrong is that they do not have a clear policy for the maintenance of Poa annua. Course managers, especially, confuse their programmes. We are trying to grow the finest possible ‘greens type’ Poa annua ssp. reptans, not encouraging the coarse, prolific, seeding, true annual type.
Adaptive Agronomic History
MPGC has a number of fine reptans types adapted, not only to growing-in greens but, specifically, their established greens. Old push up, soil-dominated rootzones, subjected to higher traffic levels over the past forty years than they were built for. These types have been there for thirty years or more, and this is an important consideration, they are the finest types most adapted to their situation.
They have developed under close mowing regimes in slow draining rootzones, often in shady locations. We are not trying to throw away thirty years or more of cultural development, we are trying to progress it on further. There is no doubt in my mind that there is a direct correlation between the types of Poa you have and the maintenance regimes you carry out. Typically, true Poa annua plants have been in a green less than five years, but are constantly setting new seed into the established sward, aided by the practices of the CM. Poa annua is driven to dominate the sward by any means, seed production or vegetative adaptive, it is the latter that we must concentrate on.
Height of Cut
Pace matters to this club and a height of cut of 3mm or less is the summer norm. The biggest factor in the loss of
bent/fescue in our green swards of the past thirty years is due to height of cut. Poa annua’s adaptive growth habit has allowed it to produce greater amounts of photosynthetic tissue at lower mowing heights than bents and fescues. Other than in occasional drought stress conditions, there is no point in cutting Poa annua
ssp.reptans at higher heights of cut. Remember, we are selecting for these types, not looking for competition against them that will only come from annual type Poa anyway.
Plant growth regulators are a useful tool in the reduction of mowing frequency and help in reducing operational traffic. This said, as many of the ‘selected for’ reptans Poas do not produce a great deal of vertical growth (far less than any of the bents), there is an argument for not needing PGRs for growth control in 100% Poa annua ssp. reptants dominated swards. PGRs are also used to reduce seedhead production in annual meadow grass (AMG), again the reptans types invest in vegetative production rather than flowering, so their use would again be reduced.
Aeration
Remember, we are aiming to encourage the reptans types by vegetative growth rather than seed production. As a general rule do not over cultivate Poa. While any deep-seated compaction problems in the rootzone would have to be dealt with first, minimal summer disturbance should be the norm. What is this, disturbance theory for Poa annua? Actually, yes it is, for the same reasons as if you are selecting for bent/fescue, the more seed bed you offer the more annual Poa you will have, and you don’t want any.
So, no aeration at the times of seed production, opening and thinning the sward will allow any Poa annua seed in the soil seed bank to geminate. During the playing season use shallow aeration with star tines, or a sarrel roller, to provide surface air only.
Topdressing
To maintain true surfaces and dilute any thatch production, frequent light, sandy dressings during the playing season are best. As a guide apply between 150 and 200 tonnes per annum.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132