Going Green Lawn Care

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Going Green Lawn Care

• Dennis Patton
• County Extension Agent, Horticulture
• Johnson County K-State Research Extension

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Going Green

• Objectives
• Develop healthy turf that can withstand pest
  pressure
• Responsible and efficient use of pesticides
• Enhance populations of natural, beneficial
  organisms
• Tackle pest problems when pests are most
  vulnerable

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Kansas Healthy Yards and Communities

• Sustainable approach
• Family friendly
• Cost savings resource efficient
• Water conservation
• Environmental stewardship
• www.kansasgreenyards.org

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Why Go Green?

• Increased environmental concerns
• EPA pesticide restrictions
• Pollinators and bees
• Potential water restrictions
• Reduce lawn inputs
• Stewards of the Earth

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Why do problems happen?

• STRESS!!!
• Drought
• Heat
• Shade
• Cold

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Managed Lawns Defies Ecology!

• The way we select manage turf is against the
  laws of ecology
• turfgrass is not natural (tallgrass prairie a
  close approximation)
• maintenance of turfgrass is artificial and fights
  the natural tendencies of nature
• environmental stress and pest problems in
  turfgrass are natures way of pointing this out
  to us

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Turfgrass is a Limited Perennial

• Most turfgrasses are perennials but plants
  undergo constant recycling
• When we mow, leaves dont regrow from the cut
  portion rather, they are replaced by new shoots
  (usually every 2-4 weeks)

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Kansas is in the Transition Zone Crabgrass Belt

• Both warm and cool-season turf grow here but the
  climate is ideal for neither.

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Turf Choices for Kansas

• Cool-Season
• Tall Fescue (lawns)
• Kentucky Bluegrass (lawns, athletic fields)
• Perennial Ryegrass (various but difficult)
• Creeping Bentgrass (golf course putting greens)
• Warm-Season
• Zoysiagrass (lawns, golf course turf)
• Bermudagrass (lawns, athletic field turf)
• Buffalograss (lawns, drier parts of KS)

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Cool- vs. Warm-Season
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Types of Lawn Inputs

• Fertilizer
• Natural and synthetic, pH modifiers
• Water
• Natural and intentional
• Pesticides
• Herbicides, fungicides, insecticides
• Other
• e.g. soil sterilants, fuel

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Desired Quality Appearance

• Augusta or Wildflowers

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Going Green is a Combination of Approaches
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Going green Approaches

• Cultural
• Right Plant, Right Place
• Host Plant Resistance
• Physical/Mechanical
• Biological
• Chemical/Pesticides

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KEEP GOOD RECORDS

• Date
• Site
• Identified Pest
• Damage Type
• Quantity
• Control Approach Used
• Results

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Cultural Approaches

• Proper mowing
• Core aerating/verticutting
• Seeding
• Fertilizing
• Irrigation

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Cultural Approach Mowing

• Sharp blade is essential (every 10 hours)
• Dull blade can contribute to disease problems
• Bruises and frays the ends - providing entry site
  for pathogens

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Cultural Approach Mowing

• Dont remove more than 1/3 of blade at one time
• Higher mowing height deeper roots and less
  weeds for upright growing types

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Cultural Approach Mowing

• Recycle clippings (Dont Bag It)
• Clippings dont cause thatch (exception is
  Zoysia)
• Can return up to 25 of Nitrogen
• Avoid unnecessary disposal

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Cultural Approach Mowing

• Be sure to keep clippings on the lawn if using a
  side discharge mower.
• Clippings blown into the street, and not swept
  up, contaminate surface water downstream.
• If clippings are collected,
• compost clippings

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Cultural Approach Core aerating

• Thatch control
• Better root aeration
• Relieves compaction
• Quicker water infiltration
• Deeper fertilizer placement

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Cultural ApproachVerticutting

• Best used for seeding
• Slices fine grooves into the soil
• Allows for seed-soil contact
• Removes some thatch and debris

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Cultural ApproachSeeding

• Best to seed September 1 to 15
• Ok till October 15
• Steps
• Verticut, one or two directions
• Seed
• Fertilize
• Water

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Cultural ApproachFertilization

• Nitrogen - Used for above-ground growth and good
  green color (building block for protein)
• Phosphorus - Used for root growth and formation
  of seeds and fruit
• Potassium - Used for basic plant growth and helps
  plants withstand stress

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Cultural ApproachFertilizationSoil Testing

• soil pH
• levels of macro-and micronutrients
• organic matter

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Cultural ApproachFertilization

• After soil testing
• Adjust Phosphate and Potash as indicated
• Potash is adequate in most of Kansas
• Reduced phosphate use is being targeted in many
  states
• Use permitted only if deficiency is documented by
  soil test
• Nitrogen source
• Slow release vs quick release (water soluble)
• Organic alternatives (alfalfa, manure, sewerage
  sludge)

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Cultural ApproachFertilization

• Sequence of three numbers that reflect the
  percentage of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
  respectively.

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Cultural ApproachFertilization

• Timing
• Cool season grasses - fall emphasis
• Warm season grasses - summer emphasis
• Frequency
• Quality expectations
• Mowing frequency
• Clipping management

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Cultural ApproachFertilization

• Granular Products
• Keep fertilizer granules out of the street
• Direct channel to storm sewers
• Surface water downstream

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Cultural ApproachIrrigation

• Practice Tough Love
• Best to allow turf to undergo some stress early
  in season. Makes turf more drought resistant.
• Attempt to apply 3/4 to 1 inch of water each time
  you irrigate.

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Cultural ApproachIrrigation

• How to Tell if you have Enough Water
• Catch cans
• Use probe or screwdriver
• Should penetrate 6 to 8 inches

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Cultural ApproachIrrigation

• Early morning best (400 a.m.-900 a.m.)
• Less wind to deflect the sprinkler pattern
• Better water pressure in the system
• Soil moisture will be present during
  mid-afternoon heat
• Less disease potential
• More Efficient
• Mid afternoon irrigation is wasteful and not
  environmentally responsible

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Cultural ApproachIrrigation
Keep Water on the Turf!
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Cultural ApproachRight Plant, Right
PlaceWater Conserving Turfgrasses
Bermudagrass Buffalograss Tall fescue
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Cultural ApproachRight Plant, Right PlaceTurf
Requiring More Water
Kentucky bluegrass Perennial ryegrass
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Cultural ApproachRight Plant, Right PlaceHost
Plant Resistance

• Select improved turfgrass varieties adapted to
  Kansas climate
• Show resistance to both environmental stress and
  pest problems
• Use certified seed, sod, or sprigs to prevent
  unwanted weed contamination

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Cultural ApproachRight Plant, Right Place Seed
Quality

• Plant Turf, Not Weeds
• Purity - Weeds and Other Crop
• Orchard grass will appear under other crop
• Rough bluegrass - Poa trivialis
• Germination
• Pure Live Seed - Germ x Purity

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Cultural ApproachRight Plant, Right PlaceSeed
Quality
Good Not so Good
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Cultural ApproachRight Plant, Right Place
Blends vs. Mixes

• Mixes - a combination of two species
• Blends - a combination of several cultivars of
  the same species

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Physical/Mechanical

• Hand weeding
• Sticky traps
• Cleaning mowers and tools to avoid spreading
  disease and weed seeds

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Biological Pest Control

• Protect our natural enemies!
• Pesticides dont know difference between good and
  bad
• Promote natural pest predators
• Bird houses, bird baths, diverse landscape
• Reduce pesticide use

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What are Pesticides?

• Cide means to kill. Technically, a pesticide
  is something used to kill pests.
• A pesticide can also mean something that controls
  a pests activity or prevents them from causing
  damage.
• Organic products are pesticides!

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Pesticide Label
Trade Name
Common Name
Chemical Name
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Pesticide Labels

• Signal Words
• Caution, danger, warning
• First Aid
• Precautionary Statements - Hazards to Humans
  Domestic Animals - Personal Protective
  Equipment (PPE) - User Safety Recommendations
• - Environmental Hazards
• - Physical or Chemical Hazards
• Directions for Use - Agricultural
  Non-Agricultural Use Precautions (reentry)

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Chemical/Pesticides

• Chemical supplement rather than replace other
  approaches
• Steps to take
• Identify the pest properly
• Identify and correct site conditions promoting
  the pest
• Implement other approaches to augment pest
  control
• Select a pesticide suitable for the pest
• Apply the pesticide as directed and when the pest
  is most vulnerable

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Tips to Manage Pesticide Input

• Know your pests!
• Improper diagnosis can lead to unnecessary
  pesticide use.
• Let the pesticide do its job- Be patient!
• Avoid pesticides prone to drift
• Follow label specifications!!!

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Types of Pests

• Insects and other arthropods
• Weeds
• Diseases
• Vertebrates
• Abiotic injury disorders

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Key to Success is KNOWLEDGE

• Know your Pest!
• Accurate identification
• Biology, behavior and damage
• Early detection (monitoring)
• Sooner pests are detected, the sooner measures
  can be taken
• Effective management
• Integrated Pest Management

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Insect Management
Unnecessary insecticide applications can kill
beneficial insects and could lead to resistant
strains of the damaging ones

• Avoid indiscriminate, arbitrary treatments
• Don't apply preventive treatments for surface
  insects
• Avoid routine grub treatments
• Consider threshold populations
• Targeted treatments - treat hot spots

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Weed Management

• Weeds are the result of a poor lawn, not the
  cause
• Healthy turf stand is best weed control

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Weed ManagementHerbicide Use

• Pre-emergence herbicides
• Shouldnt be necessary every year
• Repeated use can contribute to root pruning of
  turf
• Post-emergence herbicides
• Dont treat a whole lawn for a few scattered
  weeds
• Spot treat scattered weed or isolated patches

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Weed ManagementHerbicide Use

• Observe wind speed
• Below 10 mph
• Use low volatile formulations
• Low pressure - large droplet size

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Turfgrass Disease Management
The Disease Triangle

• A susceptible host
• A virulent pathogen
• Environmental conditions that favor the disease

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Turfgrass Disease Management

• Cultural practices that break the disease
  triangle
• Fertilization
• Adequate nitrogen to prevent dollar spot
• Moderate nitrogen to reduce brown patch
• Avoid spring/early summer on cool season grasses
• Adjust irrigation practices - avoid evening hours
• Avoid excessive plant populations (thick/dense
  stand)

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Contact Us!
Johnson County K-State Research and
Extension 11811 S. Sunset Dr. Suite 1500 Olathe,
Kansas 66061-7057 [phone] www.johnson.ksu.e
du Extension Master Gardener Hotline (913)
715-7050 garden.help_at_jocogov.org
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