Page 24 - GreenMaster Fall 2023

uFEATUREuDR. SARA STRICKER, COMMUNICATIONS & OUTREACH COORDINATOR, GTI
Integrated
management
Last published in 2017, Publication 845 is due for an update
Publication 845 is one of the many crop management documents created by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). Pub 845 outlines turf management recommendations for seeding, irrigation, disease management, and more. The Guelph Turfgrass Institute (GTI) recently created an addendum to bring the publication up to date with more modern practices, technologies, and species of turfgrass. This is a sneak peek at some items included in the addendum, which will soon be published on OMAFRA’s website. They have been reproduced in GreenMaster with permission.
Nematode damage
AERATION (NEW DEFINITIONS ADDED)
Core aeration: Core aeration can be performed with many different tine sizes and spacings. As the tine size becomes smaller, the time to recovery is quicker but less of the surface is disrupted so the effects of the aeration event are reduced.
Solid tine aeration: Solid tine aeration disrupts the surface and allows for infiltration of water. While it does not physically remove thatch, the increased oxygen levels and water infiltration does influence thatch levels indirectly.
Slicing: Another type of aeration is slicing. This is similar to a solid tine, but the holes are created by vertical blades that slice in the soil. This can be straight downward or curved to fracture the soil. This method is frequently used for aerating sports field because solid tine aeration takes more time.
Injection: These methods of injecting air, water, or sand into the turf canopy to cause increased infiltration and possibly dilute the thatch with the sand. Injecting methods have minimal surface disruption but have smaller effects on infiltration and thatch levels as core and solid tine aeration.
24 • CGSA • GreenMaster