Showing posts with label Quincy Law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quincy Law. Show all posts

Two Purdue Authors Revise Turfgrass Textbook

Fundamentals of Turfgrass Management is the bestselling text with expert coverage of basic turfgrass science and all aspects of practical care. Now in its fifth edition, this industry favorite offers the latest information on growth, nutrition, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides, as well as new chapters discussing shade stress and light requirements and the benefits of turf.



Written on a level appropriate for students, but with a wealth of information useful to new and experienced turfgrass professionals, this textbook provides foundational knowledge that readers can apply and adapt on the job to nearly any situation.

A wide range of topics are covered, such as fertilization, grass selection, pest management, plant growth regulators, sports turf management practices, soil testing, and water quality. Today’s turf managers must have detailed knowledge of agronomy, botany, entomology, horticulture, pathology, and business management. This book brings these diverse fundamentals together into a single volume and will help you to:
  • Master the art and science of turfgrass care, cultivation, and management
  • Learn best practices for mowing, fertilizing, soil health, irrigation, and more
  • Identify, manage, and control insect, disease, and weed pests
  • Examine the professional management of sports turf, golf courses, lawns, and sod
Dr. Aaron Patton and Quincy Law of Purdue University joined Nick Christians of Iowa State University to author this fifth edition. Their additions and updates to each chapter in the 5th edition provide additional valuable insights. The text is updated throughout to reflect the latest research-based information and trends in the turfgrass industry.

Coverage throughout is refreshed with new illustrations and charts, and:
  • Two new chapters (Chapter 1: Benefits of Turf and Its Management and Chapter 12: Light Requirements and Shade Management)
  • Multiple new and revised figures throughout the book
  • Increased discussion and description of cool-season and warm-season turfgrasses
  • Extra information on establishment methods and costs
  • Updated information on soil testing and turf nutrition
  • Expanded content on cultivation and sand topdressing
  • Enhanced weed management information
  • Added information on professional lawn care programs
  • New information on fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and plant growth regulators
About the text:
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Weed of the month for July 2015 is Common Purslane

Purslane 

Biology: Common purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) is a summer annual broadleaf weed (Fig. 1) that is commonly found in low maintenance turf swards (Fig. 2), turf seeded in summer (Fig. 3), next to sidewalks and driveways, and in mulched beds and gardens (Fig. 4).  Purslane is a succulent plant with a prostrate growth habit, and it is one of the most common weeds in the world, especially in vegetable production.  Purslane can reproduce by both seed and stem fragments.  A single plant can produce as many as 240,000 seeds in a single year (Zimmerman, 1970), and seeds can be viable for up to 40 years (Darlington and Steinbauer, 1961).  Severed stems are able to from adventitious roots, which allows the weed to regrow from stem or intact root fragments following cultivation (Miyanishi and Cavers, 1981).  Purslane has a unique way of conducting photosynthesis in that it is able to switch from C4 to crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) in the presence of short days or drought stress (Proctor, 2013).  In short, CAM photosynthesis is advantageous in arid conditions because the plant closes its stomata during the day to reduce water loss and opens them at night to collect the carbon dioxide required for photosynthesis.  Additionally, purslane is an edible plant that can be found at farmers markets for use in crunchy salads or ethnic cuisine, and it can be cultivated for ornamental use (Fig. 5).

Fig. 1. Common purslane.

Fig. 2. Common purslane in thin turf.

Fig. 3. Arrows marking purslane seedlings.

Fig. 4. Common purslane is a common weed along sidewalks and in gardens and landscape beds.

Fig. 5. Ornamental purslane. "Toucan Hot Mix' shown.


Identification: A succulent broadleaf, purslane has fleshy, glabrous (smooth) leaves and stems.  Leaves are green with a red margin, lack a petiole, and are rounded at the tip.  Additionally, the leaves of purslane can be alternately arranged near the crown of the plant and become opposite or whorl-like towards the apex.  Stems are plump, red in color, and originate from a central point to from a rosette.  Prostrate spurge is a look-a-like weed to purslane (Fig. 6).  Prostrate spurge will have smaller leaves and stems and a more strictly opposite leaf arrangement that purslane.  Additionally, spurge, like milkweed, will exude a white sap when the stem is severed. Purslane has a yellow flower (Figs. 7 & 8) that is rarely seen and following pollination, its seed pods (Fig. 9) can hold many seeds (Fig. 10).

Fig. 6. Prostrate spurge (left) and common purslane (right).

Fig. 7. Common purslane flowering.

Fig. 8. Close-up of the common purslane flower.

Fig. 9. Following pollination and ovule fertilization, a seed pod encapsulates the seed.

Fig. 10. When the seed pod opens, many seeds (>20) per pod are spilled onto the ground.


Cultural control: Common purslane is generally not an issue in a healthy and well-established turf stand, but it can be found in thin or newly established areas.  Thus, cultural practices that improve the competitive ability of the existing turf and/or promote the establishment of a new stand are the best methods of purslane management, prevention, and control.

Biological control: The purslane sawfly (Schizocerella pilicornis) and the portulca leaf-mining weevil (Ceutorhynchus portulacea or Hypurus portulacea) can contribute to reducing purslane infestations, though total control may not be realistic.

Chemical control:Triclopyr, fluroxypyr, and dicamba are the most effective herbicides for postemergent purslane control in cool-season turf.  In addition to the herbicides already listed, metsulfuron or a combination of sulfentrazone and metsulfuron can be used in warm-season turf for postemergent purslane control.  For preemergent purslane control, spring applications of isoxaben or late-winter applications of simazine can be used in cool-season and warm-season turf, respectively.

For more information on weed control, search this blog and check out our Turfgrass Weed Control for Professionals Publication.

For archives of past weed of the month postings, visit our Weed of the Month Archive.

Quincy Law, Graduate Research Assistant, Purdue University

Aaron Patton, Turfgrass Extension Specialist, Purdue University

 
References:
  1. Darlington, H.T. and G.P. Steinbauer. 1961. The eighty-year period for Dr. Beal’s Seed Viability Experiment. American Journal of Botany 48:321-325.
  2. Miyanishi, K. and P.B. Cavers. 1981. Effects of hoeing and rototilling on some aspects of the population dynamics of pure stands of Portulaca oleracea L. (purslane). Weed Research 21:47-58.
  3. Proctor, Christopher. 2013. Biology and control of common purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.). Ph.D. Thesis, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
  4. Zimmerman, C.A. 1970. The causes and characteristics of weediness in Portulaca oleracea L. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Michigan.
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Weed of the month for June 2015 is Quackgrass

Quackgrass  

Biology: Quackgrass ( Elymus repens) is a cool-season perennial that vigorously spreads by rhizomes. It is a sod-forming grass that can crowd out desirable grasses and even other weeds. Quackgrass has been shown to be allelopathic, which means it releases chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants. Large, nearly pure patches of quackgrass are able to form due to the invasive nature, extensive rhizome production and spread, and allelopathy of the species. These patches stand out in a lawn due to the ashy, blue-green color of quackgrass.

A clasping auricle is a classic quackgrass identification feature.

A large patch of quackgrass without weeds like the surrounding turf demonstrates the allelopathic effect of quackgrass.


Identification: The most distinct identification feature of quackgrass is its clasping auricles. Quackgrass can be distinguished from annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) with the presence of rhizomes (i.e. quackgrass has rhizomes and annual ryegrass does not). Quackgrass has rolled vernation and a short, membranous ligule. Lower sheaths are often hairy while upper sheaths are usually smooth. Leaves are an ashy, blue-green color and can sometimes have a longitudinal twist.

Quackgrass

Quackgrass clasping auricle. From my experience, quackgrass sheaths can be both smooth or ahiry as is this one. My observation is that the hair stem types vary throughout the season with hairs visible in spring but often absent in summer.

Notice the leaf curling (longitudinal twist).

If the grass has clasping auricles and rhizomes (shown here) then there are few other options and a confident diagnosis of quackgrass can be made.

Quackgrass (wide bladed grass) in a high quality lawn.

Patch of quackgrass (center) in a lawn.

Tall quackgrass pictured right spreading into a lawn.

Cultural control: A dense, healthy lawn is the best first defense against quackgrass, as it is with most weeds. Soil disturbance near a quackgrass patch can assist in the propagation and spread of quackgrass resulting from chopped rhizomes, so practices such as tillage can escalate a quackgrass problem. When reestablishing a turf sward with previous quackgrass issues, laying sod may be a better alternative to seeding because the rhizomes will have a more difficult time surfacing.

Biological control: There are currently no known biological control options for quackgrass control.

Chemical control: Unfortunately, only nonselective control options exist for quackgrass control in cool-season turf. Spot-treating with a nonselective systemic herbicide such as glyphosate (Roundup) will help to manage quackgrass in cool-season lawns. Results are best when applications are made while the weedy plants are young, fully green, actively growing, and not under drought stress. At least two glyphosate applications are recommended, but three or more may be needed since this is a rhizomatous grass. You must allow the weed to regrow before making a follow-up application.


For more information on weed control, search this blog and check out our Turfgrass Weed Control for Professionals Publication.

For archives of past weed of the month postings, visit our Weed of the Month Archive.

Aaron Patton, Turfgrass Extension Specialist, Purdue University

Quincy Law, Graduate Research Assistant, Purdue University
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GCSAA awards scholarships to essay contest winners

9/17/2012

Turfgrass students Konow, Law and Huttie selected

GCSAA awards scholarships to essay contest winners


Christopher Konow, Quincy Law, and Nicholas Huttie are winners of the 2012 Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) Student Essay Contest.

Open to GCSAA members who are undergraduate or graduate students pursuing degrees in turfgrass science, agronomy or any field related to golf course management, the GCSAA Essay Contest accepts entries with a focus on golf course management. The scholarship funding is provided by the Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG) through the Robert Trent Jones Endowment. The EIFG is GCSAA's philanthropic organization.

Judges from the GCSAA scholarship committee select winners to receive scholarships, and the first place entry may be published or excerpted in the association's official publication, GCM.

Konow, from Plainfield, Conn., is a first-year student in the turfgrass management certificate program at Penn State University. He won the first place scholarship of $2,000 for his essay: "The effect of green speed on turfgrass health and playability."

Law, from Clear Lake, Iowa, is in his first year of graduate school at Purdue University. With his paper "Carbon sequestration as an aspect of land stewardship," Law won the second place prize of $1,500 for the second consecutive year.

Huttie, from Lehighton, Pa., is a first-year student at Penn State. He claimed the third place award of $1,000 for his writing: "Superintendents and social networking."

"It is our philosophy to reward and recognize the best and the brightest students," GCSAA President Sandy Queen, CGCS, said. "Christopher, Quincy and Nicholas have certainly demonstrated their excellence. On behalf of the GCSAA membership, I offer my sincere congratulations on their achievements."

About EIFG

The EIFG is the philanthropic organization of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, and has as its mission to foster sustainability through research, awareness, education, programs and scholarships for the benefit of golf course management professionals, golf facilities and the game. With respect for the game and the environment, the EIFG inspires environmental, social and economic progress through golf for the benefit of communities. Collaboration between the golf industry, environmental interests and communities will lead to programs and services beneficial to all who come into contact with the game of golf. Visit www.eifg.org.

About GCSAA

GCSAA is a leading golf organization and has as its focus golf course management. Since 1926, GCSAA has been the top professional association for the men and women who manage golf courses in the United States and worldwide. From its headquarters in Lawrence, Kan., the association provides education, information and representation to 19,000 members in more than 72 countries. GCSAA's mission is to serve its members, advance their profession and enhance the enjoyment, growth and vitality of the game of golf. Find GCSAA on Facebook, follow GCSAA on Twitter, and visit GCSAA at www.gcsaa.org.
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