Harvest Aids for Improved Turfgrass Shelf Life and Transplantation Success ($10,000, 2018)
Shelf-life and transplantation success of sodded and sprigged turfgrasses are negatively affected by disruptive harvest techniques and post-harvest handling/storage conditions. Two primary examples are internal heating of palleted sod or sprigs and improper or delayed irrigation upon installation. Internal heating of stacked or rolled sod and sprigs during shipping/storage is a known cause of decline in transplant success. To minimize these conditions, sod producers may harvest during reduced night/morning-time temperatures or increase soil depth, which can absorb heat in harvested sod. Research has linked the use of certain biostimulants and plant growth regulators to increased sod shelf-life and although costly, refrigeration is increasingly a means of reducing sod spoilage. Te objectives of this TLI research project are to evaluate the effects of several commercially available fungicides and soil surfactants on sod shelf-life, post- storage tensile strength, and transplantation success.
A thermocouple is being installed within this stack of sod to measure the internal temperature.
the fungicides Lexicon® Intrinsic®, Exteris® Stressgard® and Heritage®, the plant growth regulator Primo Maxx® and soil surfactants Dispatch® Sprayable, Revolution®, Sixteen90™, Ovation®, Zipline®, and Attain. A non-treated check, a refrigerated check (38 degrees Fahrenheit [3.3 degrees Celsius] for 24 hours post-harvest), and Lexicon® Intrinsic® applied directly over newly installed sod prior to post-installation irrigation and again 21 days later were included as comparison treatments.
Slabs of sod from the different test plots are harvested and tracked precisely to monitor their reactions.
SDHIS (Succinate dehydrogenase inhibiting) fungicides, such as fluopyram and fluxapyroxad, are touted as having plant health enhancing properties, while the QoI (quinone ‘outer’ inhibiting) fungicide azoxystrobin has also been anecdotally linked to increased sod health prior to harvest. Tese plant- health promoting capabilities, although uncertain, are likely due to characteristics not solely related to fungicidal properties. Furthermore, soil surfactants may also enhance pallet shelf- life although exploration of their uses in sod production has been neglected. Regardless of the mechanism, any means of improving plant health prior to harvest or during installation could increase resiliency when sod is transplanted, thus directly increasing shelf-life. Likewise, pre-harvest applications may decrease time-to-regrowth of harvested areas.
Treatments in this study were applied to ‘Latitude 36’ hybrid bermudagrass 21 and 2 days prior to harvest and included
TPI Turf News September/October 2018
Prior to harvest, soil moisture was measured using a TDR soil moisture probe. Sod was then harvested and stacked to a height of 12 layers deep and intended to promote anoxic conditions and initiate internal mass heating. Sod was stored at ambient field temperature, during which internal sod temperature was measured by thermocouples in each pallet. Upon un-stacking, samples were selected from center layers and tested for sod tensile strength. Te sod was then installed in the same order in which it was harvested, and a post application Lexicon® Intrinsic® treatment was applied prior to irrigation. All sod treatments were irrigated and managed accordingly until re-establishment.
Data on bermudagrass transplantation and harvest area regrowth were assessed visually (cover and quality) and by spectral reflectance. Normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI), simple ratio vegetative index (RVI), and relative chlorophyll concentration (CI-RE) were calculated from the appropriate spectra to provide a more objective alternative to traditional visual estimates of turfgrass cover. In order to assess root growth and architecture of installed sod, golf green cup cutter sized plugs (approximately 3- to 6-inch [7.62- to 15.24 cm] depth) were excavated two, five, and eight weeks after installation from various treatments.
Initial results of this research were on display at the 2018 Mississippi State University Turfgrass Field Day in Starkville, MS, and will be available to TLI soon. Tis research will also be presented at the 2019 TPI International Education Conference in Charlotte, NC.
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