““Sustainable Lawn Sustainable Lawn Care”Care”

Rob Golembiewski, Ph.D.Rob Golembiewski, Ph.D. OSU Oregon State University

Overview

I. What is sustainability?

II. How does this apply to lawncare?

III. Choices for sustainable lawns

IV. Sustainable maintenance strategies

V. Pest management

VI. Information sources

What is Sustainability?

Definitions

“to endure or to continue in the same state”

“capacity for being continued”

“able to be sustained; able to be sustained for an indefinite period without damaging the environment, or without depleting a resource; renewable”

Sustainable Sites Initiative

“design, construction, operations, and maintenance practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

Sustainable Landscape Management

Many facets

Design and construction best defined

Undefined blueprint for sustainable maintenance practices

Biggest problem?

Maintenance Contractors

No input in design from maintenance perspective & often not involved in construction

No say on site location

Inherit all site problems

Contend with owners expectations

How does this apply to Lawncare?

Turfgrass

Defined as “a grass species maintained as a mowed turf”

Major vegetative ground cover in American landscapes

Professionally maintained residential lawn

Do it yourselfer’s intensively maintained new lawn

Do it yourselfer’s intensively maintained old lawn

Minimally irrigated home lawn

Unirrigated home lawn

Lush green turf Drought hardy turf Dormant turf

Choices forSustainable Lawns

What should lawns be?

Do all lawns have to be pure grass? Do lawns have to be a mono-culture? Can lawns contain dicot plants? Are there niches for different lawns? Who decides what is appropriate?

Turf Water Use

Results

Factors Affecting Lawns Moving Forward

Major perceived social factors:

Lack of time Changing personal prioritiesChanging fashions

Major perceived fear factors:

Water shortagesWater pollution from fertilizersEnvironmental impact of pesticidesAir and noise pollution from mowersEffects on health of children

Should we just get rid of all lawns?

Would that solve perceived problems?

Are there other options?

Natural Species Shifts in Lawns

1.Number of grass species increases over time

2.Dicot plants invade

3.Mowing influences dicot types

4.Drought influences grass and dicots

5. Wetness influences grass and dicots

6. Shade influences grass and dicots

7. Based on inputs, lawns eventually stabilize

Bentgrass invasion of lawns

Bentgrass Agrostis sp.

early stage

climax stage

Buttercup, English daisy and grasses

Oxalis spp. Woodsorrel

Veronica + grass

Veronica filiformis

Naturally occurring bentgrass + violet lawn

Lawn ivy - Glechoma hederacea

Common yarrow – Achillea millefolium

Lady’s Bedstraw, Gallium verum

Gallium verum / Vulpia myuros / False dandelion lawn

Making Ecolawns

1.Base of Perennial ryegrass

2.Common yarrow

3.Clovers

4.English Daisies

5.Others?

Common Yarrow Achillea millefolium

Strawberry clover Trifolium fragiferum

English daisy Bellis perennis

Daisies in Spring

Yarrow and White Clover in Summer

Yarrow vs Ryegrass after 5 weeks without water

Performance in Corvallis on Clay Soil

Mowing goal: 1 per 3 wks 2” with mulching rotary

Mowing reality: 1 per 2-4 wks

Irrigation goal: 1 per mo. June, July, Aug, Sept 4 total

Irrigation reality: 2-6 total per year

Pest control goal: no treatments

Pest control reality: no treatments on clean sitesone treatment sequence in year two on dirty sites

Corvallis

4 irrigations per summerMowed every 3 weeks

Wilsonville No irrigation3 mowings?

Ecolawns in Practice

Ecolawns in Practice

Ecolawns in Practice

Where do ecolawns fit in the big picture?

>Interest on the part of the public has been surprisingly strong

>There are obvious short comings with current mixes

>Need to search for new and better components

>Need to figure out how to produce seed and commercialize production

>Need to be regionally specific if they are to persist over time

>Turf people have to buy into the concept as one more piece of the puzzle

>Ecolawn’s won’t replace conventional grass lawns but are a viable option for many lawns

Sustainable Maintenance

Strategies

Mowing

Variables to Manipulate:

Frequency

Height

Clipping management

Choice of Mowing Equipment

Mowing Frequencies

Frequency can vary from once per week on irrigated sites to once per two weeks or less on lower quality or unirrigated sites

Base mowing frequency on growth rate of grass, environmental conditions, degree of maintenance, & species or cultivar - not on a set time schedule

Cutting Height Responses

Total root mass is proportional to cutting height

Lower cutting height, results in shorter roots (turf more susceptible to problems)

0.5” 1.0” 1.5”

0.5”1.0”2.0”

Cutting Height Responses

During stress periods, raise mowing height (allows for more root growth)

Clippings

Slow growing grasses, minimal irrigation, and minimal fertilizer all reduce clipping production

Avoid pushing excess growth with fertilizer in spring and fall when lawns are naturally vigorous

Avoid early and late season irrigation when grasses also likely to be most vigorous

Fertilization

Design around difficult to fertilize lawns

T Cook photo

Fertilization

Design around difficult to fertilize lawns

For new lawns select grasses or grass dicot mixtures with low fertility requirements

Fertilization

Design around difficult to fertilize lawns

For new lawns select grasses or grass dicot mixtures with low fertility requirements

For existing lawns find ways to reduce nitrogen applications

UREA 46% N Contec®DG 33% N

Milorganite 6% N

Fertilization

Apply lowest effective fertilizer rates when grasses most responsive

Fertilizer Calendar for Irrigated Lawns

Turf Quality J F M A M J J A S O N D

High

Medium

Utility

= Planned Application = Optional Application

*Each application is assumed to be at 1 lb N per 1,000 sq.ft.

Fertilization

Apply lowest effective fertilizer rates when grasses most responsive

Conduct soil tests every 2-3

years to guide fertility

program

Fertilization

Apply lowest effective fertilizer rates when grasses most responsive

Conduct soil tests every 2-3

years to guide fertility

program

Eliminate fertilizer throw into roadways or waterways

Irrigation

Prioritize areas according to irrigation needs

Irrigation

Prioritize areas according to irrigation needs

Analyze mechanics of irrigation system and perform audits

Heads need to be vertical

Adjust annually

MP Rotators – Hunter Industries

Irrigation

Prioritize areas according to irrigation needs

Analyze mechanics of irrigation system and perform audits

Optimize irrigation with proper turf cultural practices

Irrigation

Determine water requirements

Evaporation CorrelationsCorvallis, OR

Month Ave. Evap. ET/ month ET/ week

April 2.68” 1.82” 0.46”May 4.47” 3.04” 0.76”June 5.75” 3.91” 0.98”July 7.90” 5.46” 1.37”Aug 7.02” 4.77” 1.19”Sept 4.87” 3.31” 0.83”Oct 2.03” 1.38” 0.35”

Table 1. Average Monthly Evapotranspiration (ET) for Turfgrass/Lawns in Various Eastern Oregon Locations1

Location Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Total

Bend 0.6 2.8 4.5 5.6 6.8 5.2 3.4 0.6 29.5Baker 0.4 2.1 4.7 6.0 7.6 6.2 4.2 0.2 31.4Silver Lake 0.2 2.3 4.9 6.4 7.7 6.4 4.1 0.0 32.0Hermiston 1.3 3.7 5.7 7.3 9.0 7.6 4.7 1.3 40.6Klamath Falls 0.5 3.0 5.2 6.4 7.6 6.3 4.3 0.1 33.4Lakeview 0.0 2.1 5.0 6.3 7.8 6.9 4.6 0.0 32.7Madras 0.9 3.2 5.0 6.5 8.2 7.0 4.7 0.9 36.4Ontario 1.6 4.0 6.0 7.3 8.7 7.5 4.9 1.1 41.1Prineville 0.6 3.0 4.8 6.2 7.7 6.4 4.3 0.4 33.4

1/ Data is comprised of monthly averages from AgriMet weather stations for entire period of record; period of record varies among locations; http://www.usbr.gov/pn/agrimet/wxdata.html

Irrigation

Determine water requirements

Develop a strategy for the irrigation year

Strategy #1

Divide irrigation seasons into parts: Spring – 50% of historical ET Summer – 100% of historical ET Fall – 50% of historical ET*

*Stop irrigation 0-7 days after Labor Day

Strategy #2

If you don’t have access to ET info: For manual watering - use screwdriver

to poke in the soil If easy to penetrate and turf looks good,

wait a day and check again

Strategy #3

If you don’t have access to ET info: For automatic systems – determine

irrigation frequency and duration Start with running 7 days for “x”

minutes Next week go down to 6 days, if turf

good, go down to 5 days the next week, etc.

Pest Management

Definition of IPM

Multiple tactics used in a compatible manner in order to maintain pest populations below levels that cause economic or unacceptable aesthetic injury without posing a hazard to humans, domestic animals, or other non-target life forms

Why Practice IPM?

Benefits include:1. Accurate pest control is achieved –

shotgun approaches are avoided

2. Potential for reduction of total pesticide usage – used only when necessary

3. IPM produces healthiest turfgrass possible

Turf Knowledge is Key!

KNOWLEDGE

ENVIRONMENT

TURF

Strengths

Weaknesses

Biology

Cultural Requirements

PEST

Identification

Type (Primary or Secondary)

Symptoms

Ecology

Pieces to a Puzzle

All strategies are critical to complete the entire turfgrass management picture.

The stronger the base, the stronger the overall health and vigor of the turf stand.

If the base is inverted, the overall health and vigor of the turf stand is very weak.

Goal of Turfgrass IPM

Keep pest populations or damage at a tolerable level (called pest response threshold level)

Pest response threshold levels vary from site to site: Homelawn Park School Athletic Field Golf Course

Management Strategies

Chemical

Genetic

Biological

Cultural

Physical

Regulatory

*certified seed

*turf species/cultivars

*mowing, watering, fertilizing

*pulling, hoeing, digging

*use of bacteria, fungi, & nematodes

*based on application method, timing, toxicity, effectiveness, cost, persistence

InformationSources

Sustainable Landscape Design

& Management

Cook & VanDerZanden

Summary

Contact Information

Rob GolembiewskiOregon State University4017 ALS BuildingCorvallis, OR 97331

Phone: (541) 737-5449Email: golembir@hort.oregonstate.edu