Functions, Quality and Selection

Introduction to Turfgrass

Students will:Know the three purposes and functions of turfgrass.

Know how to determine turfgrass quality.

Know the guidelines in determining turfgrass selection.

Know the two types of turfgrass.

Objectives

People enjoy its beautyConservationist appreciate its positive

effects on the environment.Athletes like the surface it provides on

playing fields.Turf appreciates property value

when maintained.The three purposes and

functions of turf:UtilityOrnamentalSports

Turfgrass Functions

The utility functions of turf are how it helps the environment.

Utility turf has many functions.Stabilizes the soil and reduces erosion.Cooling effect on the environment in hot

weather.Helps clean the air by

removing toxic emissions.

Utility

Enhances areas around homes, businesses and in parks.

Form of decoration.Brings beauty to areas that might otherwise be unattractive.

Ornamental

All types of playing fields.Surface reduces injuries to playersSurface can be specially groomed to

provide the area needed for different sports.

A lot of research has been done to improve turfgrass for sports fields.

Technology has been established to help maintain turf for sports fields.

Sports Turf

Turf quality is the excellence of the turf

It is closely related to the function of turf

Turf quality is based on utility, appearance and playability.

Turfgrass Quality

Visual turf inspection is often used to assess quality.

There are six common visual factors used to assess quality.Density, texture, uniformity, color, growth habit, and smoothness.

Visual Quality

The number of aerial shoots per unit area.

How many blades (leaves) are present.

Density

The width of the leaf blades.Wide blades form turf with a coarse texture.

Narrow blades produce a fine texture.

Texture

The evenness and distribution of the turf on site.

Involves the mass of aerial shoots that form the visible surface.

Gives the surface a smooth, even appearance.

Uniformity

Measure of light reflected by the turf.

Most turf should be a rich green color.

Different species are different colors.

Color

The type of shoot growthBunch, rhizomatous and stoloniferous are types of shoot growth.

Horizontal growth patterns are a problem in stoloniferous turfgrasses.

Growth Habit

Surface feature that affects visual quality and playability.

Preparation of the soil prior to planting turf is important in smoothness.

Smoothness

Functional turf quality is how well a turf achieves its purpose.

There are nine functional factors in turf quality.Rigidity, elasticity, resiliency, ball roll, traction, yield, verdure, rooting and recuperative potential.

Functional Quality

Involves the resistance of turf leaves to compression.

Related to wear resistance.Influenced by plant tissue, water content, temperature, plant size and density.

Rigidity

The tendency of leaves to bounce back once a compressing force is removed.

Elasticity

ResiliencyThe capacity of a turf to absorb shock without altering surface characteristics.

Growth medium is a factor.

The average distance a ball travels upon being released on a turf surface.

Mechanical devices are used may be used to release a ball at a consistence speed to obtain measurements.

Ball Roll

Indicates the positive planting of feet and positive movement which is unhindered by the turf or soil surface.

The better the traction the more the turf and soil hold firm to this movement.

This is important in sports activities on athletic fields.

Traction

Measure of clippings removed with mowing.

Indication of turfgrass growth as influenced by fertilization, irrigation and other cultural and natural environmental factors.

Yield

The measure of aerial shoots remaining after mowing.

Increasing verdure can correlate with increasing resiliency and rigidity.

Verdure

The amount of root growth evident at any one time in the growing season.

Estimated visually by extracting a turf core with a soil probe or knife.

Soil is worked free or washed away to expose the roots.

Rooting

The capacity of the turfgrass to recover from damage caused by:Disease organisms, insects, vehicular and pedestrian traffic, flooding, spills and scalping.

Recuperative Potential

A good turf begins with selecting the right turfgrass.

Climate, use, maintenance needs and characteristics of southern and northern turfgrasses are important in selecting the kind to grow.

Turfgrass Selection

Turfgrasses are place in two groups.These groups are based on the ability of a

species to grow and serve a useful purpose in the climate.Southern- Warm Season Turfgrass grows

best at 80 to 95 degrees F.Northern- Cool Season Turfgrass grows

best at 60 to 75 degrees F.Both Warm and Cool season turfgrasses

can go into dormancy when exposed to extreme weather conditions

Climate and Turfgrass Life Cycle

It is important to grow the correct type of turfgrass for your region.

Those in a transition zone (area between climate zones) need be cautious when selecting a turf grass.

Tall fescue and ryegrasses are popular turf for the transition zone.

Turfgrass Regions

The family of grasses is Gramineae or Poaceae.

There are six subfamilies, 25 tribes, 600 genus and 7,500 species.

Fewer than 50 are planted as turfgrasses throughout the world.

Cultivars are named after people, places, use, plant characteristics, or any combination.

Scientific Classification

1. What are the three purposes and functions of turfgrass?

2. List three visual qualities of turfgrass.

3. List three functional qualities of turfgrass.

4. What are the two types of turfgrass?

Quiz

You are going to build a turf grass box to do some comparison.

Your box will be 1ft x 2 ftWill be made from pallet woodPre-Drill holes before screwing them togetherDrill drainage holes in bottom in case of over

wateringShould look like this at end

Turf Grass Comparison