Moisture

TDR 300

In the past week I have purchased a TDR 300 which is a soil moisture meter. This is a newer piece of technology that allows us to check how much water content is in the soil at any particular time without having to take a soil sample or cut a hole location.

Throughout the growing season the most important decision that I make is how much water should be applied to the golf course in particular the green surfaces. The goal is to have enough moisture for the plant to survive but not excessive moisture leading to soft conditions that are not conducive to playability, disease management, or health of the root zone. The TDR 300 allows me to set a particular number that determines timing and quantity of water applied to the greens. This number requires a learning process to determine what number provides enough moisture to support the plant without wilting. Each green will be different especially #3,#6, and #9 which are USGA greens. Our number also will vary from other courses so comparisons are not helpful.

The following graph shows two dates on which the greens were sampled. The sampling process is an average of 9 random locations sampled on each green. The first sample date of 10/13/11 was following just under a half inch rain event, giving me a number representing the greens under wet conditions. It is important to note that this was a rain event and not an irrigation event thus giving us an even distribution of water taking out the inefficiency of our irrigation system. The second sampling was taken 5 days later after sunny and windy conditions.

The graph shows in numerical fashion my concerns about the greens remaining very wet after rain events. What has surprised me the most is that our USGA greens 3,6, and 9 are some of the worst at moving water away from the surface. #8 is no surprise at this time of year that the water content has almost not changed at all over 5 days. This information will continue to be developed and interpreted to determine our irrigation, topdressing, tree removal, and aeration practices for the future. I hope I have not bored you to death with moisture information but this is very important to the success of MGC's playing surfaces.