INVESTIGATING LIGHTWEIGHT ROLLING THRESHOLDS FOR PUTTING GREEN QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE

摘要

Rolling of putting greens is a cultural practice that many golf course superintendents employ to increase putting green speed (ball roll distance).The benefits of rolling have been investigated for decades,however,little is known about the effects of high-frequency rolling (> once daily) on turfgrass quality and performance.A study was designed to determine thresholds at which rolling frequency negatively affected turfgrass quality,water infiltration,and the point of diminishing returns for ball roll distance or disease suppression.Five rolling frequencies: no rolling and rolled one (1x),two (2x),four (4x),and eight (8x) times day-1,were evaluated over 6-week periods at two locations (native sandyloam soil and a sand-based USGA root zone).As rolling frequency increased from 1x to 2x day-1,ball roll distance increased significantly on 11 of 12 total rating dates.In addition,putting green quality remained above minimum acceptable quality throughout the study in plots rolled up to 2x day-1,but declined significantly when rolled 4x and 8x day- 1.Dollar spot (Sclerotinia homoeocarpa F.T.Bennett) ratings in the native soil were significantly lower in turf rolled eight times per day.No significant differences in water infiltration among treatments were observed on the native loam soil site.Conversely,water infiltration significantly decreased as rolling frequency increased on the sand-based site; however infiltration rates for all treatments remained >20 cm hr-1.The results of this study indicate that rolling up to 2x day-1 may be useful in providing discernible increases in green speed without adversely affecting turf quality.However,beyond this point (> 2x day-1),reductions in turfgrass quality and insignificant increases in green speed may negate the benefits of the practice.