Foot Traffic

Last Saturday I spent my afternoon tailgating on the lawn outside Van Fleet Hall.  Even though I had a great time, I couldn’t help but think the grass was not having such a good time.  There were wall to wall people around the O’Connell Center walking all over the grass, causing the already drought stressed grass to wave its white flag in surrender.  I began thinking about how much foot traffic the grass on campus receives, and thought I would do a little research to find out what effect foot traffic has on turf grass and what steps can be taken to minimize the damage.

Foot traffic can damage the leaf tissue which reduces the ability for that leaf to photosynthesize.  Foot traffic also compacts the soil which damages the grass’s roots and minimizes the grass’s ability to uptake water and nutrients. Keeping the grass healthy will minimize the effects of foot traffic and will aid in the recovery time.  Some tips to keeping a healthy lawn are to fertilize when needed.  Do not over fertilize as this will cause the grass to become lush and will not be able to withstand the foot traffic. Mow at a high cut, and deeply irrigate your grass only when needed.  Deep, infrequent irrigation will result in healthy root growth.  If you know when you will have heavy foot traffic on your lawn, water it a couple of days prior to the foot traffic.  This will give your grass a good drink so it is not drought stressed, but the soil will not be wet when it is being walked on.  Dry soil does not compact as easily as wet soil. Lastly, aerate the soil if needed to loosen any compacted areas.  Follow these tips and you should have a healthy lawn that can withstand all tailgating.

Reference:

Trenholm, L.E. & Unruh, J.B. (2011). Minimizing Traffic Damage to Your Florida Lawn. Retrieved form University of Florida, Gainesville, IFAS Extension website: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep071

Weed Control with Pre-emergence Herbicides

With my hectic schedule these past couple weeks, I have done little more for my grass than traipse across the same few blades everyday to get to and from my car.  Feeling guilty about neglecting my lawn, I made it a priority to mow this weekend.  As I was walking across my lawn to hop on my tractor, I noticed my feet were covered in little green seeds.  I began to look for the weed that left these seeds on my feet, and noticed a patch of green where it had once been brown all summer from the previous year’s chinch bug invasion.  After a little research, I came to the conclusion that this is an old world diamond weed.  This type of weed is a warm season annual that reproduces by seed.  With this information, I began wondering why this weed is growing in my yard.  I pay a service company to control the weeds in my lawn and I have not had any problems with weeds this season.   It is obvious that a pre-emergent herbicide was applied to my lawn this spring so why am I getting warm season weeds now?  I began researching the longevity of pre-emergent herbicides.  Longevity differs with each product, but one factor remains the same for all and that is environment.  The excessive rain this season is giving us homeowners one more reason to pull out our hair in frustration.  Excessive rain breaks down the herbicide leaving your grass susceptible to weeds late in the season.

 Pre-emergent herbicides can be applied for warm season and cold season weeds.  It has to be applied before the weed germinates, and acts as a barrier that does not allow weeds to grow once germinated.  For some grasses, pre-emergent herbicides can only be applied when day time temperatures do not exceed 85 degrees.  This limits the dates a pre-emergent herbicide can be applied.  Since Florida’s warm season lasts for an extended period of time, it is quite possible that a pre-emergent herbicide will break down every year before the cold season arrives.  Keeping your lawn healthy by fertilizing at the proper rate, mowing your lawn at the proper height (not too short) and watering your grass when it is shows signs of wilting can reduce the emergence of weeds.   

I had planned to just wait for the grass fill back in over time where the chinch bugs had killed the grass last year. The area did fill back in, just not with grass.  I now need to spray the area with an herbicide to kill the weeds then resod.  I should have resodded the area this spring allowing the grass to become well established over the summer.  This would have minimized the chance for weeds to emerge.   Lesson learned.      

References:

Westmiller, R. (2011, February 7). Pre-Emergent Controls: Win the War on Weeds, Irrigation and Green Industry. Retrieved from: http://www.igin.com/article-1940-pre_emergent_control.html

Old world diamond weed from my yard.