Prevention of Winter Desiccation on Fairway Turf in Nebraska.

Winter desiccation injury can severely impact golf courses in the northern Great Plains, however, little is known about prevention. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of commonly used desiccation prevention treatments. The study was replicated in Mead, Kearney, Mullen and Gering, NE to maximize the potential for winter desiccation. Natural precipitation was withheld at the Mead site with impermeable tarps prior to forecast precipitation events. Tarps were removed immediately following precipitation. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with four replicates. Treatments included fall topdressing, permeable and impermeable covers, antitranspirant, turf colorant, horticultural spray oil, and a wetting agent. Crown moisture content (CMC) and electrolyte leakage (EL) were collected monthly from December to March at the Mead site. Crown moisture content was measured before visible green-up in March at the other sites. Visual turf quality (TQ) was collected weekly to evaluate spring regrowth at Mead and twice in spring at the other sites. Sand topdressing and both cover treatments were the best performing treatments at Mead and Kearney during March with CMC levels of 0.63 and 0.51 g g^-1, respectively. Treatments that sustained CMC levels throughout the winter had a higher TQ in the spring and recovered faster at Mead. Crown moisture contents at Mullen and Gering were not statistically different across treatments with CMC’s greater than 0.5 g g^-1. Mullen received light-frequent winter irrigation while Gering sustained winter long snow cover. Sand topdressing significantly reduced electrolyte leakage compared to other sprayable treatments. Heavy sand topdressing and permeable covers can potentially reduce desiccation potential in high risk areas by providing protection from the environment while sustaining crown moistures and allowing for snow melts and winter watering to easily be transferred to the turf.