Estimating economic minimums of mowing, fertilizing, and irrigating turfgrass

Soldat, Douglas J.; Brosnan, James T.; Chandra, Ambika; Gaussoin, Roch E.; Kowalewski, Alec; Leinauer, Bernd; Rossi, Frank S.; Stier, John C.; Unruh, J. Bryan

doi:10.1002/ael2.20032

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Turfgrass management encompasses a range of activities, including cultural practices (e.g., mowing, fertilization, irrigation, cultivation, and pest management), for establishing and sustaining sites at a desired level of quality. Although budget reductions are a likely reality of the COVID-19 era, prioritization of expenditures is necessary, and essential minimums should focus on the three primary cultural practices: mowing, fertilization, and irrigation (Soldat et al, 2020). Mowing is the most basic practice needed to provide desirable turfgrass.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A justification for continued management of turfgrass during economic contraction

Brosnan

Chandra²,

Gaussoin

et al. 2020

Agricultural & Env Letters

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A novel coronavirus, termed COVID-19, spread worldwide and become a global pandemic in 2020. Forecasts show that COVID-19 will cause substantial economic contraction affecting almost every industry. Managed turfgrass, particularly in urban settings, has many positive societal and environmental benefits. In a contracted economy, will resources be available to manage turfgrass to achieve these benefits? In this paper, we outline the benefits of managed turfgrass on golf courses, playing fields, recreational parks, and urban landscapes to assist decision makers with resource allocation in the COVID-19 era. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although budget reductions are a likely reality of the COVID‐19 era, prioritization of expenditures is necessary, and essential minimums should focus on the three primary cultural practices: mowing, fertilization, and irrigation (Soldat et al., 2020). Mowing is the most basic practice needed to provide desirable turfgrass.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A justification for continued management of turfgrass during economic contraction

Brosnan

Chandra²,

Gaussoin

et al. 2020

Agricultural & Env Letters

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“…Mowing is among the most basic and routinely performed practice for maintaining turfgrass function, as it promotes dense stands and aesthetic appeal. The height at which a turfgrass area is mowed is often selected based on species adaptation, maintenance capabilities, monetary considerations, and how the site is utilized (e.g., residential lawns, parks, open spaces, golf course fairways, greens, roughs, and sports fields) [7]. Water use generally increases as mowing height increases due to additional transpiration from the increased leaf area, along with an increase in gas exchange from the rougher canopy surface [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mowing Height Effects on ‘TifTuf’ Bermudagrass during Deficit Irrigation

Hejl,

Conley,

Serba

et al. 2024

Agronomy

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The development of management plans which lead to water efficient landscapes is a growing need in the turfgrass community. While deficit irrigation as a scheduling method can improve water conservation, more information is desired on how to best leverage other management practices, such as mowing height when deficit irrigation is imposed. The objectives of this study were to characterize actual evapotranspiration (ETa), turfgrass visual quality, clipping production, and root development of ‘TifTuf’ bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon × C. transvaalensis Burt Davy) when irrigated at full (1.0 × ETa) and deficit levels (0.65 and 0.30 × ETa), and cut at four separate mowing heights (2.5, 5.0, 7.5, and 10.0 cm) over two 8-week experimental runs. An elevated ETa was observed at the 7.5 cm and 10.0 cm mowing heights compared to the 2.5 cm mowing height in both runs, and the 5.0 cm mowing height in one run. The visual quality decreased throughout both study periods and mostly for the deficit irrigation treatments, with visual quality falling below minimum acceptable levels at the lowest irrigation level (0.30 × ETa) 5 weeks into run A, and 8 weeks into run B. Despite an elevated ETa and a higher root dry weight at higher mowing heights (7.5 and 10.0 cm), clipping production and visual quality was generally higher at lower mowing heights (2.5 and 5.0 cm) for both full and deficit irrigation levels. These results demonstrate that mowing height can significantly influence bermudagrass water use, as well as responses to deficit irrigation. When maintaining ‘TifTuf’ bermudagrass at heights above 2.5 cm, the results from this study indicate a lower water use and improved response to deficit irrigation at mowing heights ≤ 5 cm.

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“…Management of such an expansive crop has resulted in an estimated industry value of over $80 billion annually and the support of approximately 800,000 jobs [3,4]. Unlike other crops, turfgrass is not grown for optimized yield related to human or animal consumption [5], although greenspaces of maintained turfgrass have great environmental, societal, and economic benefits [6][7][8][9][10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-Chemical Control of Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua) in Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) via Fraise Mowing: Efficacy and Barriers to Adoption

et al. 2021

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Fraise mowing is a maintenance practice that may serve as a non-chemical means of controlling the problematic weed annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) in bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) given reports of efficacy on other turfgrass species. However, an understanding of practitioner decision-making in implementing fraise mowing as a weed-control measure remains unknown. A field study was conducted in Knoxville, TN and repeated in space in Jay, FL during summer 2019 to assess bermudagrass regrowth and subsequent annual bluegrass control, following fraise mowing at depths of 1.5 and 3.0 cm compared to a non-treated check (0 cm). Bermudagrass recovered more quickly at the 1.5 cm depth than the 3.0 cm depth and was the swiftest in Florida. Fraise mowing at either depth resulted in a 41–97% reduction in annual bluegrass populations. A qualitative study was conducted in spring 2021, which engaged eight turfgrass managers from Tennessee and Florida via individual interviews in order to understand barriers and challenges to fraise mowing application. Turfgrass managers had positive views of fraise mowing but described challenges in implementation for weed control including cost, labor, area closure, and debris removal.

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Estimating economic minimums of mowing, fertilizing, and irrigating turfgrass

Cited by 9 publications

References 15 publications

A justification for continued management of turfgrass during economic contraction

A justification for continued management of turfgrass during economic contraction

Mowing Height Effects on ‘TifTuf’ Bermudagrass during Deficit Irrigation

Non-Chemical Control of Annual Bluegrass (Poa annua) in Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) via Fraise Mowing: Efficacy and Barriers to Adoption

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