The calendar says that autumn has arrived, however it still feels like midsummer in Florida. The days and nights continue to be hot and humid, and every afternoon there is a good chance of a thunderstorm. Especially for Central and South Florida, there will be another six weeks before a break in the weather occurs and cooler, drier conditions develop. While it still feels like summer, it is very important to begin focusing management efforts on preparing for the rapidly approaching winter play season.
Along with wrapping up summer projects, accomplishing a final core aeration of greens, tees and fairways is strongly recommended. Along with continuing to manage organic matter/thatch accumulation and soil compaction for good moisture infiltration, having adequate rootzone oxygen content is important for promoting increased root system development. At a lot of facilities it was necessary to skip the final core aeration replication last September because of the multiple hurricanes that hit the state. This resulted in the base turf being in a weakened condition going into the winter and contributed to additional problems during the spring and early summer of this year. The beneficial effects of increased moisture and oxygen infiltration/percolation last for approximately six to eight weeks following core aeration, removal of the debris, and backfilling the holes with topdressing sand. Thus, by November to December it is advisable to begin non- disruptive supplemental aeration treatments.
While it is very important to conduct a final coring rotation, care does need to be exercised as far as exerting excessive mechanical stress on the turf because the intense environmental stresses typical of late summer and early fall hampers the turfs ability to recover from damage. Severe verticutting of Tifdwarf greens with a moderate to high percentage of off-type surface contamination can be quite devastating. Brushing or use of groomer attachments combined with light topdressing on an every 7 to 10-day interval are the best alternative measures for providing good quality conditioning.
Historically, the month of September is at the very top as far as rainfall. This in turn results in heavy cloud cover and reduced sunlight. To compensate for this reduced sunlight, slightly raising heights of cut and increasing leaf surface area is advisable. This is true with tees and greens as well as fairways. With putting greens, increasing the height of cut by 0.025-inch can result in a 20% increase in leaf surface area, and, in turn, photosynthesis. Promoting sustained and maximum photosynthesis is needed for carbohydrate storage in preparation for the winter months. I am well aware of the incessant demands for medium fast to fast putting speeds at some courses. Yet, the continual practice of extremely low heights of cut will ultimately result in turfgrass failure. As with the human body, you simply cannot burn the candle at both ends forever. Proper fall preparations are important to provide top quality conditioning through the primary winter season.
Source: John Foy, jfoy@usga.org or 772-546-2620
