S oil-inhabiting microorganisms are vital constituents of all ecosystems and contribute to numerous important biological and chemical processes. In agricultural systems, soil-inhabiting microbes are essential for maintaining plant productivity, controlling nutrient release, and suppressing plant pathogenic microorganisms (Arias et al., 2005; van der Heijden et al., 2008; Mendes et al., 2011). There is currently considerable interest within the scientific community to learn how these microbes respond to anthropogenic inputs in the environment. In particular, understanding how resident microorganisms respond to routine agronomic practices, such as soil cultivation or chemical inputs, is just one component of an increasingly popular phytobiome initiative that seeks to understand whether microbial assemblages might be manipulated to promote crop health and sustainability, reduce the need for fertilizer and chemical inputs, and increase plant yield in agricultural settings (Bakker et al., 2012). For example, Mendes et al. (2011) recently showed that the entire soil microbiome is responsible for suppressing disease caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani Kühn in Beta vulgaris L. fields in Norway, and that this suppression could be transferred to soils that were conducive to disease. Similarly, analysis of microbial communities in desert farming systems revealed that

Increased N fertilization, mowing height, and sand topdressing are management practices that can suppress anthracnose disease of annual bluegrass [Poa annua L. f. reptans (Hausskn) T. Koyama; ABG] caused by Colletotrichum cereale Manns. A 3‐yr field study evaluated the relative importance and interactions of these factors on anthracnose severity, turfgrass quality, and ball roll distance (BRD) on ABG turf in North Brunswick, NJ. A factorial combination of mowing height (2.3 and 3.2 mm), N fertilization (100 and 200 kg ha−1 yr−1), and sand topdressing (46 and 98 Mg ha−1 yr−1 in 2012; 37 and 81 Mg ha−1 yr−1 during 2013 and 2014) was arranged in a split‐split‐plot design with four replications. The practice of applying greater N fertilization (200 kg ha−1) provided the greatest reduction in disease severity and improvement in quality than the practices of higher mowing (3.2 mm) or greater sand topdressing (98 or 81 Mg ha−1). Combining greater N with higher mowing and greater sand topdressing provided acceptable disease suppression without the use of fungicides during moderate but not severe anthracnose epidemics. Higher mowing often produced unacceptable BRD (<2.9 m) especially when combined with greater N fertilization; whereas, under lower mowing, BRD was acceptable on most observation dates (91–96%) and less influenced by greater N fertilization. Thus, when adjustments in best practices for anthracnose management are needed to enhance BRD; lowering the mowing height will provide that enhancement while not greatly increasing the risk for anthracnose especially when greater N and increased topdressing practices are also employed.

Soil cultivation is commonly used to manage organic matter (OM) accumulation in golf course putting greens. Our objectives were to determine: (i) if hollow‐tine cultivation is more effective than solid‐tine cultivation at managing OM and water infiltration, (ii) if venting methods are effective at managing OM and water infiltration, and (iii) if venting alters or interacts with effects of early‐ or late‐season cultivation. The study was a 3 × 5 factorial repeated on two ‘Providence’ creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) research putting greens. Tine treatments were hollow‐tine, solid‐tine, or no‐tine cultivation. Venting treatments were Hydroject, PlanetAir, quad needle tine, bayonet tine, or no venting. Soil samples were collected and analyzed for OM content using loss on ignition. Water infiltration rates were determined in situ. After 2 years, there were few consistent differences found among the tine and venting treatments, and there were no significant interactions regarding OM concentration. This response was attributed to the small amount of surface area impacted by cultivation and to the equalization of topdressing quantity across all treatment combinations. Hollow‐tine and solid‐tine cultivation increased infiltration compared with no cultivation. In general, Hydroject treatments increased water infiltration rates more than all other venting treatments regardless of tine treatment.