Traffic management is becoming an important issue in turfgrass practise on golf course. The objective of this study was to investigate the combined impact of different traffic times and types of fertilization. Traffic treatment was applied in morning ...
Traffic management is becoming an important issue in turfgrass practise on golf course. The objective of this study was to investigate the combined impact of different traffic times and types of fertilization. Traffic treatment was applied in morning (AM), noon, and afternoon (PM). Fertilizers used include faster-release fertilizer (21-17-17) and slow-release fertilizers (12-6-18, 11-3-22, 20-3-20, 10-3-10). Experiment was conducted from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30, 2005 on a nursery putting green of Incheon Grand Golf Club. The growth and quality of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis polustris cv. 'Seaside II') were evaluated on visual leaf color, leaf texture, shoot density, and root length. The measurement at 20 days after treatment, turfgrass color and leaf texture showed the best result on 10-15-10 + Noon-traffic plot. Turf quality and traffic tolerance were not different at Am and Pm traffic treatment. However, traffic stress in early morning and late evening caused the most severe damage to the turfgrass. Shoot density was the highest in 10-15-10 + Noon-traffic treatment but root length was not different among treatments after 30 day measurement. Among the fertilizers, slow release fertilizer resulted in higher turf quality and traffic tolerance than fast release fertilizer, however, shoot density did not showed a significantly different. For the fast recuperation of turfgrass from traffic injury in the early winter, it is recommended to avoid early morning and late evening traffic such as cup replacement and other maintenance practise. It is also recommended to delay the first tee-up time and ending early for last tee time during cold weather season.