Introduction to Turfgrass

1. Introduction to Turfgrass Functions, Quality and Selection

2. Objectives • Students will: • Know the three purposes and functions of turfgrass. • Know how to determine turfgrass quality. • Know the guidelines in determining turfgrass selection. • Know the two types of turfgrass.

3. Turfgrass Functions • People enjoy its beauty • Conservationist appreciate its positive effects on the environment. • Athletes like the surface it provides on playing fields. • Turf appreciates property value when maintained. • The three purposes and functions of turf: • Utility • Ornamental • Sports

4. Utility • The utility functions of turf are how it helps the environment. • Utility turf has many functions. • Stabilizes the soil and reduces erosion. • Cooling effect on the environment in hot weather. • Helps clean the air by removing toxic emissions.

5. Ornamental • Enhances areas around homes, businesses and in parks. • Form of decoration. • Brings beauty to areas that might otherwise be unattractive.

6. Sports Turf • All types of playing fields. • Surface reduces injuries to players • Surface can be specially groomed to provide the area needed for different sports. • A lot of research has been done to improve turfgrass for sports fields. • Technology has been established to help maintain turf for sports fields.

7. Turfgrass Quality • Turf quality is the excellence of the turf • It is closely related to the function of turf • Turf quality is based on utility, appearance and playability.

8. Visual Quality • Visual turf inspection is often used to assess quality. • There are six common visual factors used to assess quality. • Density, texture, uniformity, color, growth habit, and smoothness.

9. Density • The number of aerial shoots per unit area. • How many blades (leaves) are present.

10. Texture • The width of the leaf blades. • Wide blades form turf with a coarse texture. • Narrow blades produce a fine texture.

11. Uniformity • The evenness and distribution of the turf on site. • Involves the mass of aerial shoots that form the visible surface. • Gives the surface a smooth, even appearance.

12. Color • Measure of light reflected by the turf. • Most turf should be a rich green color. • Different species are different colors.

13. Growth Habit • The type of shoot growth • Bunch, rhizomatous and stoloniferous are types of shoot growth. • Horizontal growth patterns are a problem in stoloniferousturfgrasses.

14. Smoothness • Surface feature that affects visual quality and playability. • Preparation of the soil prior to planting turf is important in smoothness.

15. Functional Quality • Functional turf quality is how well a turf achieves its purpose. • There are nine functional factors in turf quality. • Rigidity, elasticity, resiliency, ball roll, traction, yield, verdure, rooting and recuperative potential.

16. Rigidity • Involves the resistance of turf leaves to compression. • Related to wear resistance. • Influenced by plant tissue, water content, temperature, plant size and density.

17. Elasticity • The tendency of leaves to bounce back once a compressing force is removed. Resiliency • The capacity of a turf to absorb shock without altering surface characteristics. • Growth medium is a factor.

18. Ball Roll • The average distance a ball travels upon being released on a turf surface. • Mechanical devices are used may be used to release a ball at a consistence speed to obtain measurements.

19. Traction • Indicates the positive planting of feet and positive movement which is unhindered by the turf or soil surface. • The better the traction the more the turf and soil hold firm to this movement. • This is important in sports activities on athletic fields.

20. Yield • Measure of clippings removed with mowing. • Indication of turfgrass growth as influenced by fertilization, irrigation and other cultural and natural environmental factors.

21. Verdure • The measure of aerial shoots remaining after mowing. • Increasing verdure can correlate with increasing resiliency and rigidity.

22. Rooting • The amount of root growth evident at any one time in the growing season. • Estimated visually by extracting a turf core with a soil probe or knife. • Soil is worked free or washed away to expose the roots.

23. Recuperative Potential • The capacity of the turfgrass to recover from damage caused by: • Disease organisms, insects, vehicular and pedestrian traffic, flooding, spills and scalping.

24. Turfgrass Selection • A good turf begins with selecting the right turfgrass. • Climate, use, maintenance needs and characteristics of southern and northern turfgrasses are important in selecting the kind to grow.

25. Climate and Turfgrass Life Cycle • Turfgrasses are place in two groups. • These groups are based on the ability of a species to grow and serve a useful purpose in the climate. • Southern- Warm Season Turfgrass grows best at 80 to 95 degrees F. • Northern- Cool Season Turfgrass grows best at 60 to 75 degrees F. • Both Warm and Cool season turfgrasses can go into dormancy when exposed to extreme weather conditions

26. Turfgrass Regions • It is important to grow the correct type of turfgrass for your region. • Those in a transition zone (area between climate zones) need be cautious when selecting a turf grass. • Tall fescue and ryegrasses are popular turf for the transition zone.

28. Scientific Classification • The family of grasses is Gramineae or Poaceae. • There are six subfamilies, 25 tribes, 600 genus and 7,500 species. • Fewer than 50 are planted as turfgrasses throughout the world. • Cultivars are named after people, places, use, plant characteristics, or any combination.

29. Quiz • What are the three purposes and functions of turfgrass? • List three visual qualities of turfgrass. • List three functional qualities of turfgrass. • What are the two types of turfgrass?

30. Turf Grass Comparison • You are going to build a turf grass box to do some comparison. • Your box will be 1ft x 2 ft • Will be made from pallet wood • Pre-Drill holes before screwing them together • Drill drainage holes in bottom in case of over watering • Should look like this at end