Scottsdale Golf Course Spring Transition

 

                Few discussions regarding turf grass management on Scottsdale golf course get more emotional than discussions on whether or not to overseed with perennial Ryegrass.  However one fact about overseeding is indisputable: overseeding with perennial Ryegrass can, and often does, have an adverse effect on Bermudagrass. Nevertheless, management practices can be implemented that significantly reduce the impact of overseeding on Bermudagrass health.  The most important of those practices is getting rid of the perennial Ryegrass by late spring. One of the troubling trends occurring on the best golf course in Scottsdale is the increasing practice of Overseeding too early in the fall and keeping the Ryegrass too late in the spring/summer. If Bermudagrass does not have sufficient time to grow during the summer without competition from the Ryegrass the Bermudagrass will decline. This may occur in as little as one year and more often occurs gradually over a period of several years. Why does this happen? A fundamental principle in weed science at the best golf course in Scottsdale is that plants compete with one another for four basic resources: 1) Water 2) Nutrients 3) Carbon Dioxide 4) Light. Light is the most crucial of these four for the benefit of the Bermudagrass. In overseeded environments, when Bermudagrass begins to come out of dormancy in spring, perennial Ryegrass growth is at its maximum. As a result, the Ryegrass provides significant shade to the Bermudagrass at  Scottsdale golf course.

                      Allowing Ryegrass to grow into June at a Scottsdale golf course limits the Bermudagrass growing season and contributes to poor-quality Bermudagrass. By late spring it is time for Bermudagrass to emerge from winter dormancy. Bermudagrass at the best golf course in Scottsdale utilizes carbohydrates stored in underground rhizomes to produce new leaves every spring when temperatures in the top four inches of the soil reach about 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Bermudagrass has about three chances to produce new leaves while trying to emerge from under the shade and competition of overseeded grasses before it will strike out and die. If a new leaf is unable to capture sunlight- strike one. This process repeats itself until, you guessed it, strike two and strike three. After strike three the Bermudagrass has spent its entire carbohydrate reserve and when sampling the soil it will reveal the hollow rhizomes. A proactive management regime is necessary to encourage successful Bermudagrass recovery.