Post on 14-May-2015
““Sustainable Lawn Sustainable Lawn Care”Care”
Rob Golembiewski, Ph.D.Rob Golembiewski, Ph.D. OSU Oregon State University
Overview
I. What is sustainability?
II. How does this apply to lawncare?
III. Choices for sustainable lawns
IV. Sustainable maintenance strategies
V. Pest management
VI. Information sources
What is Sustainability?
Definitions
“to endure or to continue in the same state”
“capacity for being continued”
“able to be sustained; able to be sustained for an indefinite period without damaging the environment, or without depleting a resource; renewable”
Sustainable Sites Initiative
“design, construction, operations, and maintenance practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”
Sustainable Landscape Management
Many facets
Design and construction best defined
Undefined blueprint for sustainable maintenance practices
Biggest problem?
Maintenance Contractors
No input in design from maintenance perspective & often not involved in construction
No say on site location
Inherit all site problems
Contend with owners expectations
How does this apply to Lawncare?
Turfgrass
Defined as “a grass species maintained as a mowed turf”
Major vegetative ground cover in American landscapes
Professionally maintained residential lawn
Do it yourselfer’s intensively maintained new lawn
Do it yourselfer’s intensively maintained old lawn
Minimally irrigated home lawn
Unirrigated home lawn
Lush green turf Drought hardy turf Dormant turf
Choices forSustainable Lawns
What should lawns be?
Do all lawns have to be pure grass? Do lawns have to be a mono-culture? Can lawns contain dicot plants? Are there niches for different lawns? Who decides what is appropriate?
Turf Water Use
Results
Factors Affecting Lawns Moving Forward
Major perceived social factors:
Lack of time Changing personal prioritiesChanging fashions
Major perceived fear factors:
Water shortagesWater pollution from fertilizersEnvironmental impact of pesticidesAir and noise pollution from mowersEffects on health of children
Should we just get rid of all lawns?
Would that solve perceived problems?
Are there other options?
Natural Species Shifts in Lawns
1.Number of grass species increases over time
2.Dicot plants invade
3.Mowing influences dicot types
4.Drought influences grass and dicots
5. Wetness influences grass and dicots
6. Shade influences grass and dicots
7. Based on inputs, lawns eventually stabilize
Bentgrass invasion of lawns
Bentgrass Agrostis sp.
early stage
climax stage
Buttercup, English daisy and grasses
Oxalis spp. Woodsorrel
Veronica + grass
Veronica filiformis
Naturally occurring bentgrass + violet lawn
Lawn ivy - Glechoma hederacea
Common yarrow – Achillea millefolium
Lady’s Bedstraw, Gallium verum
Gallium verum / Vulpia myuros / False dandelion lawn
Making Ecolawns
1.Base of Perennial ryegrass
2.Common yarrow
3.Clovers
4.English Daisies
5.Others?
Common Yarrow Achillea millefolium
Strawberry clover Trifolium fragiferum
English daisy Bellis perennis
Daisies in Spring
Yarrow and White Clover in Summer
Yarrow vs Ryegrass after 5 weeks without water
Performance in Corvallis on Clay Soil
Mowing goal: 1 per 3 wks 2” with mulching rotary
Mowing reality: 1 per 2-4 wks
Irrigation goal: 1 per mo. June, July, Aug, Sept 4 total
Irrigation reality: 2-6 total per year
Pest control goal: no treatments
Pest control reality: no treatments on clean sitesone treatment sequence in year two on dirty sites
Corvallis
4 irrigations per summerMowed every 3 weeks
Wilsonville No irrigation3 mowings?
Ecolawns in Practice
Ecolawns in Practice
Ecolawns in Practice
Where do ecolawns fit in the big picture?
>Interest on the part of the public has been surprisingly strong
>There are obvious short comings with current mixes
>Need to search for new and better components
>Need to figure out how to produce seed and commercialize production
>Need to be regionally specific if they are to persist over time
>Turf people have to buy into the concept as one more piece of the puzzle
>Ecolawn’s won’t replace conventional grass lawns but are a viable option for many lawns
Sustainable Maintenance
Strategies
Mowing
Variables to Manipulate:
Frequency
Height
Clipping management
Choice of Mowing Equipment
Mowing Frequencies
Frequency can vary from once per week on irrigated sites to once per two weeks or less on lower quality or unirrigated sites
Base mowing frequency on growth rate of grass, environmental conditions, degree of maintenance, & species or cultivar - not on a set time schedule
Cutting Height Responses
Total root mass is proportional to cutting height
Lower cutting height, results in shorter roots (turf more susceptible to problems)
0.5” 1.0” 1.5”
0.5”1.0”2.0”
Cutting Height Responses
During stress periods, raise mowing height (allows for more root growth)
Clippings
Slow growing grasses, minimal irrigation, and minimal fertilizer all reduce clipping production
Avoid pushing excess growth with fertilizer in spring and fall when lawns are naturally vigorous
Avoid early and late season irrigation when grasses also likely to be most vigorous
Fertilization
Design around difficult to fertilize lawns
T Cook photo
Fertilization
Design around difficult to fertilize lawns
For new lawns select grasses or grass dicot mixtures with low fertility requirements
Fertilization
Design around difficult to fertilize lawns
For new lawns select grasses or grass dicot mixtures with low fertility requirements
For existing lawns find ways to reduce nitrogen applications
UREA 46% N Contec®DG 33% N
Milorganite 6% N
Fertilization
Apply lowest effective fertilizer rates when grasses most responsive
Fertilizer Calendar for Irrigated Lawns
Turf Quality J F M A M J J A S O N D
High
Medium
Utility
= Planned Application = Optional Application
*Each application is assumed to be at 1 lb N per 1,000 sq.ft.
Fertilization
Apply lowest effective fertilizer rates when grasses most responsive
Conduct soil tests every 2-3
years to guide fertility
program
Fertilization
Apply lowest effective fertilizer rates when grasses most responsive
Conduct soil tests every 2-3
years to guide fertility
program
Eliminate fertilizer throw into roadways or waterways
Irrigation
Prioritize areas according to irrigation needs
Irrigation
Prioritize areas according to irrigation needs
Analyze mechanics of irrigation system and perform audits
Heads need to be vertical
Adjust annually
MP Rotators – Hunter Industries
Irrigation
Prioritize areas according to irrigation needs
Analyze mechanics of irrigation system and perform audits
Optimize irrigation with proper turf cultural practices
Irrigation
Determine water requirements
Evaporation CorrelationsCorvallis, OR
Month Ave. Evap. ET/ month ET/ week
April 2.68” 1.82” 0.46”May 4.47” 3.04” 0.76”June 5.75” 3.91” 0.98”July 7.90” 5.46” 1.37”Aug 7.02” 4.77” 1.19”Sept 4.87” 3.31” 0.83”Oct 2.03” 1.38” 0.35”
Table 1. Average Monthly Evapotranspiration (ET) for Turfgrass/Lawns in Various Eastern Oregon Locations1
Location Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Total
Bend 0.6 2.8 4.5 5.6 6.8 5.2 3.4 0.6 29.5Baker 0.4 2.1 4.7 6.0 7.6 6.2 4.2 0.2 31.4Silver Lake 0.2 2.3 4.9 6.4 7.7 6.4 4.1 0.0 32.0Hermiston 1.3 3.7 5.7 7.3 9.0 7.6 4.7 1.3 40.6Klamath Falls 0.5 3.0 5.2 6.4 7.6 6.3 4.3 0.1 33.4Lakeview 0.0 2.1 5.0 6.3 7.8 6.9 4.6 0.0 32.7Madras 0.9 3.2 5.0 6.5 8.2 7.0 4.7 0.9 36.4Ontario 1.6 4.0 6.0 7.3 8.7 7.5 4.9 1.1 41.1Prineville 0.6 3.0 4.8 6.2 7.7 6.4 4.3 0.4 33.4
1/ Data is comprised of monthly averages from AgriMet weather stations for entire period of record; period of record varies among locations; http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/wxdata.html
Irrigation
Determine water requirements
Develop a strategy for the irrigation year
Strategy #1
Divide irrigation seasons into parts: Spring – 50% of historical ET Summer – 100% of historical ET Fall – 50% of historical ET*
*Stop irrigation 0-7 days after Labor Day
Strategy #2
If you don’t have access to ET info: For manual watering - use screwdriver
to poke in the soil If easy to penetrate and turf looks good,
wait a day and check again
Strategy #3
If you don’t have access to ET info: For automatic systems – determine
irrigation frequency and duration Start with running 7 days for “x”
minutes Next week go down to 6 days, if turf
good, go down to 5 days the next week, etc.
Pest Management
Definition of IPM
Multiple tactics used in a compatible manner in order to maintain pest populations below levels that cause economic or unacceptable aesthetic injury without posing a hazard to humans, domestic animals, or other non-target life forms
Why Practice IPM?
Benefits include:1. Accurate pest control is achieved –
shotgun approaches are avoided
2. Potential for reduction of total pesticide usage – used only when necessary
3. IPM produces healthiest turfgrass possible
Turf Knowledge is Key!
KNOWLEDGE
ENVIRONMENT
TURF
Strengths
Weaknesses
Biology
Cultural Requirements
PEST
Identification
Type (Primary or Secondary)
Symptoms
Ecology
Pieces to a Puzzle
All strategies are critical to complete the entire turfgrass management picture.
The stronger the base, the stronger the overall health and vigor of the turf stand.
If the base is inverted, the overall health and vigor of the turf stand is very weak.
Goal of Turfgrass IPM
Keep pest populations or damage at a tolerable level (called pest response threshold level)
Pest response threshold levels vary from site to site: Homelawn Park School Athletic Field Golf Course
Management Strategies
Chemical
Genetic
Biological
Cultural
Physical
Regulatory
*certified seed
*turf species/cultivars
*mowing, watering, fertilizing
*pulling, hoeing, digging
*use of bacteria, fungi, & nematodes
*based on application method, timing, toxicity, effectiveness, cost, persistence
InformationSources
Sustainable Landscape Design
& Management
Cook & VanDerZanden
Summary
Contact Information
Rob GolembiewskiOregon State University4017 ALS BuildingCorvallis, OR 97331
Phone: (541) 737-5449Email: golembir@hort.oregonstate.edu