Evaluating the Effects of Nitrogen Rate and Simulated Golf Cart Traffic on ‘Cody’ Buffalograss Roughs

Abstract

Limited information is available concerning the effects of nitrogen (N) and golf cart traffic rates on buffalograss roughs.• Increasing the N rate, especially from 0 to 1 or 1 to 2 lb N/1000 ft 2 /year, will increase the ability of buffalograss to better withstand traffic stress from golf carts in traffic situations.• Increased late season percent green turfgrass cover and turfgrass quality were observed when applying 2 lb to 3 lb N/1000 ft 2 /year on buffalograss roughs.• Buffalograss was able to maintain adequate green cover and acceptable quality with traffic rates up to 4 traffic passes/week. AbstractBuffalograss [Buchloë dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm.] is increasing in popularity for use in golf course roughs in semiarid climates of the transitional climatic zone due to its low water requirements. Limited information is available concerning the effects of nitrogen (N) and golf cart traffic rates on buffalograss roughs. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of N rate and repeated simulated golf cart traffic on buffalograss maintained at golf course rough mowing height. Three field trials were initiated in July 2014 and 2015 in Manhattan, KS on 'Cody' buffalograss. Treatment factors were four N application rates (0, 1, 2, and 3 lb N/1000 ft 2 ) and five traffic application rates (0, 2, 4, 8, and 16 passes/week) with a custom-built golf cart traffic simulator. Regardless of traffic rate, as N rate increased, percent green cover (PGC), visual turf quality (VQ), and turf color increased. Results from this study indicate that an increase in N rate, especially from 0 to 1 lb N/1000 ft 2 /year and from 1 to 2 lb N/1000 ft 2 /year will increase the ability of buffalograss to better withstand traffic stress during the summer. Although, there may be minimal benefits of applying above 2 lb N/1000 ft 2 / year on buffalograss roughs. As traffic rate increased, regardless of N rate, buffalograss PGC, VQ, and turf color decreased, especially at 8 and 16 passes/week. Generally, buffalograss was able to maintain adequate PGC and acceptable VQ with traffic rates up to 4 traffic passes/week. We recommend that buffalograss turf managers carefully monitor traffic on buffalograss, especially in high traffic areas in the rough. Results show trafficked buffalograss can maintain adequate PGC and VQ when maintained at varying N levels.Buffalograss [Buchloë dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm.] is a warm-season grass native to the North American Great Plains that has excellent drought tolerance and is well adapted for unirrigated lawns, parks, Crop Forage Turfgrass Manage. ‡ Nitrogen (urea; 46-0-0) treatments were applied in two half-rate applications, once at trial initiation at 0 WAI and again at 8 WAI, and were watered in immediately after application with 0.25 inches of water. § Means in a column within each main effect followed by the same letter are not significantly different according to Fisher's protected LSD test (P ≤ 0.05). ¶ Traffic treatments were applied twice per week with a golf cart traffic simulator at 0, 1, ...

Simulated traffic on turfgrasses during drought stress: II. Soil moisture, soil compaction, and rooting

“…Furthermore, SPR values that exceeded 2.0 MPa occurred as often in non-trafficked plots as trafficked plots, indicating the effects of drought stress likely played a larger role than traffic stress on soil compaction. Similarly, Alderman et al (2019) reported SPR exceeded 2.0 MPa during a 14-wk study when 16 traffic passes per week were applied to buffalograss under well-watered conditions. Similar to the observed increase in SPR measurements from pre-drought to post-drought, the surface of the turf species, especially at the higher (rough) mowing height, measured by turf firmness typically became more firm (i.e., less depth of travel by turf firmness meter) during the drought as θ v decreased (data not shown) (Braun, 2017).…”

“…All 16 traffic passes were applied on the same day at the beginning of the week and then plots were evaluated and data collected at the end of the week at 4 or 5 d after traffic application. Timing and frequency of traffic was based on similar methods by Alderman et al (2019). To minimize the cumulative traffic effects across years, traffic in 2016 was applied to a different area of the plots than in 2015.…”

Simulated traffic on turfgrasses during drought stress: I. Performance and recovery of turf canopies

“…Timing and frequency of traffic was based on similar methods by Alderman et al. (2019). To minimize the cumulative traffic effects across years, traffic in 2016 was applied to a different area of the plots than in 2015.…”

“…Columbus] is a C 4 turfgrass that has excellent drought resistance (Beard, 1973; Qian & Fry, 1997), but minimal wear‐tolerance research has been conducted on buffalograss compared with other turfgrass species. Alderman, Hoyle, Reeves, and Braun (2019) reported moderate‐to‐good traffic tolerance of buffalograss at golf course rough height (7.6 cm) when exposed to varying rates of traffic and nitrogen fertilization. More research is needed on the traffic tolerance of buffalograss compared with other species with good‐to‐excellent traffic tolerance such as zoysiagrass, perennial ryegrass, or Kentucky bluegrass.…”

Winter golf cart traffic, colorants, and overseeding influence winter green cover and spring recovery of buffalograss

“…Traffic occurred in 17 out of 24 weeks in Year 1 and in 18 out of 22 wk in Year 2. Traffic was applied in straight lines with a custom-built golf cart traffic simulator pulled behind a turf utility vehicle, which consisted of two 1,000-lb traffic trailers on an axle containing five golf cart tires pulled in tandem, in line with the methods of Watkins, Hollman, and Horgan (2010) and Alderman, Hoyle, Reeves, and Braun (2019). Data were collected monthly after initial turf colorant application until perennial ryegrass removal.…”