The Doublecut with Micah Woods

I spoke with Michael Bekken about normal nitrogen rates, why they vary so much, why that matters, what a normal N rate linked to growth potential (GP) might be, and greenhouse gas emissions from turfgrass maintenance.

We talked about:

- how to keep up with turf info from ATC and PACE Turf, https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/whats-the-best-way-to-keep-up/
- ATC newsletters, https://www.asianturfgrass.com/newsletter/
- Bekken et al. on golf course nitrogen use efficiency: https://doi.org/10.1002/glr2.12049
- Bekken et al. on  greenhouse gas emissions from golf course maintenance: https://doi.org/10.1002/its2.61
- my blog post on conventional mowers, electric mowers, and electricity generation: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/mowing-electricity-energy/

Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
Get ATC newsletters at https://subscribepage.com/atc_newsletters
Turfgrass information and decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
PACE Turf YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/paceturf
ATC's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/asianturfgrasscenter
Listen to the ATC Doublecut with Micah Woods podcast at https://doublecut.asianturfgrass.com/
Listen to the ATC Office Hours podcast at https://office-hours.asianturfgrass.com/

Dr. Chas Schmid has been involved with many of the same topics I often study and consider---sand topdressing, potassium fertilization, soil organic matter, putting green performance, and so on. His data, and plenty of photographic evidence, also show that there can be completely different outcomes than what I might have expected. We discuss this, on a range of topics, in this episode.

- Follow Chas on X: https://twitter.com/Chas_Schmid
- We discussed as a starting point, this blog post: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/updated-sand-topdressing-by-gp/
- This survey article about topdressing and OM: Organic Matter Concentration of Creeping Bentgrass Putting Greens in the Continental U.S. and Resident Management Impact: https://turf.unl.edu/Presentations/2018/the_canadian_2018_1.pdf
- Potassium and Poa annua: https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2018.03.0147
- OSU 2023 summer field day book with updates on some of the projects we discussed: https://horticulture.oregonstate.edu/sites/agscid7/files/2023_osu_turf_summer_field_day_aug_31_2023_final.pdf

Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
Get ATC newsletters at https://subscribepage.com/atc_newsletters
Turfgrass information and decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
PACE Turf YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/paceturf
ATC's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/asianturfgrasscenter
Listen to the ATC Doublecut with Micah Woods podcast at https://doublecut.asianturfgrass.com/
Listen to the ATC Office Hours podcast at https://office-hours.asianturfgrass.com/

This considers fertilizer programs, whether research can be misleading when fertilizer is applied at fixed rates on calendar schedules, and why I'm excited about the utility of the growth ratio.

Blog posts discussed include:
- https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/already-proving-to-be-more-valuable-than-i-originally-expected/
- https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/coring-three-times-a-year-is-recommended-when/

Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
Get ATC newsletters at https://subscribepage.com/atc_newsletters
Turfgrass information and decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
PACE Turf YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/paceturf
ATC's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/asianturfgrasscenter
Listen to the ATC Doublecut with Micah Woods podcast at https://doublecut.asianturfgrass.com/
Listen to the ATC Office Hours podcast at https://office-hours.asianturfgrass.com/

I was a co-author, in 2013, of an article with the title "Documenting your progress toward sustainability." Jon Wall joined me to discuss this topic, and to consider whether keeping track of annual totals of inputs and resource use in a few key areas can be a meaningful way to document sustainable land management practices in the golf industry.

The blog post we discussed, with a link to the full article, is at: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/documenting-your-progress-toward-sustainability/

Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
Get ATC newsletters at https://subscribepage.com/atc_newsletters
Turfgrass information and decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
PACE Turf YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/paceturf
ATC's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/asianturfgrasscenter
Listen to the ATC Doublecut with Micah Woods podcast at https://doublecut.asianturfgrass.com/
Listen to the ATC Office Hours podcast at https://office-hours.asianturfgrass.com/

I flipped through four recent blog posts, about zoysia seedheads on putting greens, the practical question of how much organic matter (or total organic material is too much), seminars in France, circle mows, and botanical walks to find grass growing in nature.

Links to these posts are:
https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/seedheads-greens-height-zoysia/
https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/how-much-om-is-too-much/
https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/le-tour-de-france-de-micah-woods/
https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/botanical-walks-and-circle-cuts/

Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
Get ATC newsletters at https://subscribepage.com/atc_newsletters
Turfgrass information and decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
PACE Turf YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/paceturf
ATC's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/asianturfgrasscenter
Listen to the ATC Doublecut with Micah Woods podcast at https://doublecut.asianturfgrass.com/
Listen to the ATC Office Hours podcast at https://office-hours.asianturfgrass.com/

Chris Tritabaugh joined me to discuss the #bobbletest scoring scale and the overall utility of this test. It is used for assessing the smoothness and trueness of ball roll on golf course putting greens. I find the measurements useful as a way to systematically adjust maintenance work.

The blog post we discussed, with a link to the "Perfectly True" article, and with the ATC scoring scale, is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/bobble-test-rating-scale/

Two more videos on this topic are:
- https://youtu.be/0n09f5E5rKg?si=K2fQzyM5zUR_9QWb
- https://youtu.be/Fg_aDTB-O10?si=biDdK2AiR-bMy-4G

Read Chris's Substack and get his podcast here: https://ctunderscoreturf.substack.com/

Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
Get ATC newsletters at https://subscribepage.com/atc_newsletters
Turfgrass information and decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
PACE Turf YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/paceturf
ATC's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/asianturfgrasscenter
Listen to the ATC Doublecut with Micah Woods podcast at https://doublecut.asianturfgrass.com/
Listen to the ATC Office Hours podcast at https://office-hours.asianturfgrass.com/

Dr. John Rowland from the USGA Green Section Florida region joined me to discuss soil sampling, seasonal soil pH changes, plus sampling and testing methodology for total organic material (#OM246) tests.

We discussed this post: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/seasonal-soil-ph-change/

See articles by Dr. Rowland, including the one we discussed about organic material testing, at https://tic.lib.msu.edu/tgif/flink?name=Rowland,%20John

Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
Get ATC newsletters at https://subscribepage.com/atc_newsletters
Turfgrass information and decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
PACE Turf YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/paceturf
ATC's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/asianturfgrasscenter
Listen to the ATC Doublecut with Micah Woods podcast at https://doublecut.asianturfgrass.com/
Listen to the ATC Office Hours podcast at https://office-hours.asianturfgrass.com/

Everyone knows a golf green is smoothest right after the morning work, with some decrease in smoothness as the day goes on. How much does the smoothness and trueness of the roll decrease? I measured it.

The blog post discussed here is: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/one-chatter-or-snaking-event-in-every-third-ball-roll/

Linde et.al's article on "Comparing three methods to measure putting green trueness:" https://doi.org/10.2134/itsrj2016.05.0332

ATC Doublecut episode about the GS3 ball from the USGA: https://youtu.be/27ZkAUbs_sA?si=FjpJ3MScvKQVxv85

Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
Get ATC newsletters at https://subscribepage.com/atc_newsletters
Turfgrass information and decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
PACE Turf YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/paceturf
ATC's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/asianturfgrasscenter
Listen to the ATC Doublecut with Micah Woods podcast at https://doublecut.asianturfgrass.com/
Listen to the ATC Office Hours podcast at https://office-hours.asianturfgrass.com/

Bjarni Hannesson joined me to discuss parts per million (ppm) and how that measure of nutrients in the soil can be expressed as a fertilizer rate, and vice versa. This turns out to be really useful. At least Bjarni and I think so.

For more, see the #MLSN cheat sheet: https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/new-mlsn-cheat-sheet/

See the Global Soil Survey results and data at: https://osf.io/ej58z

See the PACE Turf MLSN page: https://www.paceturf.org/journal/minimum_level_for_sustainable_nutrition

Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
Get ATC newsletters at https://subscribepage.com/atc_newsletters
Turfgrass information and decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
PACE Turf YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/paceturf
ATC's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/asianturfgrasscenter
Listen to the ATC Doublecut with Micah Woods podcast at https://doublecut.asianturfgrass.com/
Listen to the ATC Office Hours podcast at https://office-hours.asianturfgrass.com/

The temperature-based growth potential, developed by PACE Turf, transforms the average air temperature to a growth potential (GP). The GP is conveniently scaled from 0 to 1 (or from 0 to 100%, if you prefer), and high GP values indicate that the air temperature is close to an optimum for grass growth. This episodes looks at a very interesting question: are there places on earth with a high GP for cool-season grass, all the year round?

See this blog post for charts and a full explanation:  https://www.asianturfgrass.com/post/places-with-high-gp-all-year-long/

Read more about all kinds of turfgrass topics at https://www.asianturfgrass.com/
Get ATC newsletters at https://subscribepage.com/atc_newsletters
Turfgrass information and decision-making tools at https://www.paceturf.org/
PACE Turf YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/paceturf
ATC's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/asianturfgrasscenter
Listen to the ATC Doublecut with Micah Woods podcast at https://doublecut.asianturfgrass.com/
Listen to the ATC Office Hours podcast at https://office-hours.asianturfgrass.com/