3. Lawn fertilization management

I personally advocate the principle of “testing the soil and fertilizing as needed” for lawn fertilization. The growth of plants is inseparable from the three elements of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, but it also requires the support of trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc. I strongly disapprove of the fertilization methods of some golf courses. When I worked at my first golf course, I met a turf director who would fully fertilize the lawn every 15 days from the time the lawn was established to the time it was established. Because the lawn needs to be operated, it needs to be quickly established. However, this fertilization method was also used when the lawn entered the normal maintenance stage and during the period of rapid growth. The final result was that under the hot weather in July and August, large-scale diseases broke out in the green lawn, affecting the normal operation of the golf course. In the following year, due to maintenance problems during this period, high-frequency fertilization led to high-frequency watering, and large-area diseases also brought high-frequency spraying operations, leaving the lawn surface in a moist state for a long time and the soil. The root system is shallow, the disease resistance is poor, and the ability to withstand stress is low, entering a vicious cycle in the lawn. Not only does it increase maintenance costs (pesticides, fertilizers, sprinkler irrigation, labor) but it also affects golf course operations.

Because soil testing is conducted every year on various areas of the golf course (greens, tees, fairways), the fertilization plan for the second year is formulated based on the soil testing results and combined with the testing results of lawn plants. Based on various nutrient element data in the soil, Make a detailed fertilizer budget and purchase the corresponding fertilizer mix.

Various lawn varieties have different nutritional requirements. For example, seaside paspalum and eagle grass have different nitrogen fertilizer requirements. Using the appropriate amount of nitrogen fertilizer for eagle grass on seaside paspalum varieties will lead to the occurrence of some seaside paspalum diseases.

“Testing the soil and applying fertilizer as needed” not only saves the maintenance cost of fertilizing the golf course, but also promotes healthier growth of the lawn.

4. Principles of prevention of pests and diseases

Many lawn workers know that the prevention of lawn diseases and insect pests is based on the principle of “prevention first, prevention first”, but their understanding of this sentence is quite different. Personally, I think that the prevention of lawn diseases and insect pests is not based on the use of chemical agents (which can be used during special maintenance periods). The lawn director’s prevention should be to improve the health of the lawn, cultivate healthy and strong plants, improve the disease resistance of the lawn, and improve the health of the lawn. The main stress resistance of lawns. This goes back to the virtuous cycle of lawn maintenance.

Any plant has its own unique ecological habits. For example, some plants like full sunlight, well-drained soil, and are not intolerant to waterlogging. If you plant it in a moist and well-watered place, Daluo Jinxian will not be able to grow it well. Maintaining a lawn is like “talking about a girlfriend”. You have to understand what kind of growing environment it likes, and create a suitable growing environment for others. Coupled with scientific and reasonable water and fertilizer management, lawn maintenance is not complicated.
For example, the greens of many golf courses have been harmed by moss. The turf directors (managers) of many golf courses use chemical control methods for treatment, such as using “moss enzyme + sand mixing and spreading” or using scratching. + Sanding + Chemical agents and other methods, even many lawn experts on the Internet advocate this treatment method. It should be noted that this fundamentally treats the symptoms rather than the root cause. When I was working at a golf course along the coast of Zhejiang, the control method based on plant ecology advocated by our foreign lawn consultant achieved very good results. The growth conditions of moss are that it likes an environment with sufficient water and insufficient light. We started from this aspect and changed its growth environment. We used water control, drilling, adding soil amendments, spreading sand and ventilation conditions around the lawn. Physical control methods such as changes have achieved good results. The impact of later moss on the lawn is almost negligible. This not only meets the requirement of cost reduction, but also achieves better results for the environmental protection of the stadium.
Similarly for the prevention and control of other lawn diseases, as long as you understand the conditions for the occurrence of lawn diseases, use targeted maintenance measures at different periods to improve the growth environment of the lawn, cultivate strong and healthy lawn plants, suppress the conditions for the occurrence of diseases, and gradually reduce maintenance costs. It’s also just around the corner.