FESCUE-GREEN: Best management of red fescue (Festuca rubra) on golf greens for high sustainability and playability

Summary

2015 was the last year of this project and results from four years of research in three subprojects (SPs) were presented at STERF’s low-input seminar in Copenhagen on 5-6 Oct. 2015.

In SP 1, four irrigation treatments and three seasonal fertiliser distribution treatments were compared over two years on a sand-based fescue green under a mobile rainout shelter at NIBIO Landvik, Norway. Treatments DEF3 (deficit irrigation to 60% of field capacity 3x/wk) and FC1 (irrigation to field capacity 1x/wk) saved 72 and 49 % water, respectively, relative to FC3 (irrigation to full field capacity 3x/wk). Red fescue visual turf quality was the same in DEF3 and FC1, but FC1 tended to give less height growth and harder greens than DEF3. Only treatment DEF1 (deficit irrigation to 60% of field capacity 3x/wk) held
Poa annua at pace when the green was exposed to heavy wear during the cool summer 2015, but this very dry treatment also resulted in discoloration of 40% of the plot area. FC3 plots had 5% moss by the end of the trial, but moss was no problem on plots irrigated 1x/wk, regardless of quantity. A fertiliser regime with most of the annual input in May and early June gave better visual quality, less Poa annua, less moss and deeper roots than a regime with most fertiliser from mid Aug. to late Sep. Equal weekly fertiliser inputs from early May to late Sept. produced intermediate results.

SP 2 investigated playability and turf health of a red fescue/colonial bentgrass green mown at 5 or 6 mm, combined with different mowing and rolling frequencies, at Smørum GC, Denmark. Light-weight rolling had little effect on surface hardness and high mowing did not reduce green speed if the green was rolled 4x/wk, but mowing height had inconsistent effects on root depth and disease occurrence. The botanical composition was more influenced by season and weather than by mowing height, and high mowing did not favour fescue relative to bentgrass.

SP 3 investigated benefits of composted garden waste (Green Mix = GM) versus Sphagnum peat (SP) in the rootzone or topdressing on fescue greens at Landvik and Smørum. Rootzones with GM had faster grow-in, better visual quality, harder surfaces and a higher percentage of roots colonised by mycorrhiza than rootzones with SP. Use of GM topdressing reduced the N, P and K fertiliser requirement by around 35, 100 and 45 %, respectively, but resulted in more Poa annua. Leaching of NO3- was negligible in all treatments, but leaching of P was high from GM rootzones.

Fundings (kSEK)