Turf Grass Management

Learn to Choose the Best Turf Varieties to Use

Every cultivar is different. Some can be cut short, others must be cut high, Some grow best in cool conditions while others need the heat. They look and perform differently too. Learn about all of the different types of grasses that are used in the turf industry; and become familiar with the situations which each have been developed for.

Lesson Structure

There are 10 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction -Biology, terminology and classification of turf grasses.
2. Fescues - the “Festuca rubra complex”, “Festuca ovina complex” and others
3. Bentgrasses - Creeping, Colonial, Velvet, Redtop, Highland and Idaho Bentgrass
4. Ryegrasses - Perennial, Italian, Annual Ryegrass etc.
5. Bluegrasses - Kentucky, Texas, Rough, Canada, Upland and other bluegrass species including winter grass.
6. Couchgrasses -Bermuda, South African, Hybrid, Queensland Blue and Salt Water couches.
7. Buffalo and Zoysia Grasses - Stenotaphrum, Buchloe, Bouteloua and Zoysia.
8. Other Warm Condition Grasses -Centipedegrass, Kikuyu, Paspalums, Bahia grass and others
9. Other Cool Condition Grasses -Hairgrasses, Timothy, Brome, Phalaris, Wheatgrass, Crested Dogtail, etc
10. Turf grass Mixes -Growing two or more varieties together in the same turf.

Using More than One Cultivar

When you buy grass seed, you will often find it sold as "blends", or a mix of different cultivars. There are reasons for doing this, but there can also be disadvantages.

ADVANTAGES OF BLENDED MIXES

• Increased resistance to pests and diseases
• Ability to recover from wear and tear across the entire year is improved
• Improved ability to deal with environmental extremes from lower temperatures or light conditions, to periods of heat stress or dryness.

PROBLEMS WITH BLENDED MIXES

• Every different cultivar looks a little different (e.g. in texture and perhaps colour). When mixed, there is potential for a surface to look patchy.
• If growth rates vary too much, one may dominate unless growth is controlled. The faster growing cultivar may require more frequent mowing for example, to suppress dominance.
• Very different growth habits (e.g. one growing more vertical, and the other horizontal), may result in a compatibility or a conflict. This may mean ideal cutting heights are incompatible (it may also mean that the creeping cultivar is able to fill in gaps that occur between tussocks of the other species.
• Where a dominant grass goes through a dormancy period, it can be necessary to over seed the area to maintain a turf cover and prevent weed invasion during that dormancy period (e.g. Couch grass is often over seeded with rye grass for winter).
  
  

WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM DOING THIS COURSE?

This is a Course for

• Green keepers,
• Groundsmen,
• Turf Managers,
• Gardeners

Anyone who works with Turf Grasses needs to know the things that this course covers.