Goal: To develop an advanced understanding of turfgrass management focusing on turfgrass stress physiology. Other advanced topic areas will be covered including pesticide and nutrient fate, specialized soil mixes, cultivation, etc.

Required Text: None although some readings will be assigned to provide additional detail to topics covered in class.

Semester Project:

Each student will be required to develop a semester project that will include project selection, an outline of the project, a written report, and an oral presentation before the class. The semester project will involve selecting a topic, searching the scientific literature for articles related to the topic, producing an outline of the written report, developing an oral presentation of 10-12 minutes on your topic, and submitting a final report on your topic. A separate handout detailing the semester project will be given out in class.

Exams:

There will be two hour exams during the semester and a final exam. There will also be 5-6 unannounced quizzes given during the semester. The lowest quiz score will be dropped when computing your quiz grade. There will not be any make up for missed quizzes.

Grading:

Two hour exams @ 100 pts each 200 pts
quizzes 50 pts
written report 100 pts
oral report 100 pts
Final Exam 200 pts
Total possible points 650

Course Grade Total points

5.0 585 pts or higher
4.0 520 -584
3.0 455 - 519
2.0 390 - 454
1.0 > 389 pts

NRES 336
Perennial Grass Ecosystems
Advanced Turfgrass Management
Spring 1996

# -- Date -- Lecture Topic

1 1/17 Ornamental grasses (T. Voigt guest lecture)

2 1/22 Course introduction; light quality and measurement, photosynthesis

3 1/24 C3 vs C4 grasses; photorespiration

4 1/29 Shade; Effects of light on turf growth; modifying shade; shade tolerance

5 1/31 Water; water potential; measuring water status in soils evapotranspiration; the Penman equation

6 2/5 Turf water uses; drought tolerance

7 2/7 drought tolerance turfgrasses; management of turfs under water stress

8 2/12 Temperature stress; heat stress; types of heat injury; heat tolerance in turfgrasses

9 2/14 First hour exam

10 2/19 Cold temperature stress; types of cold temperature injury; mechanisms of freezing stress tolerance

11 2/21 Chilling vs freezing injury, desiccation, winter diseases

12 2/26 Turfgrass cold temperature tolerance

13 2/28 Wear and traffic effects on turfgrasses

14 3/4 Soil compaction; managing turfgrasses for increased wear tolerance

15 3/6 Cultivation of turfs

16 3/8 Nutrient use and fate in turfgrasses, fate of nitrogen and phosphorus in soils and turf

3/11-3/13 Spring break

17 3/20 NH3 volatilization, NO3 leaching, denitrification, N use efficiency

18 3/25 Hour exam #2

19 3/27 Pesticide fate in turf

20 4/1 Soil mixes for greens and athletic fields ;Greens construction

21 4/3 Topdressing

22 4/8 Class presentations

23 4/10 Class presentations

24 4/15 Class presentations

25 4/17 Pesticide regulations and right-to-know (Rhonda Ferree)

26 4/22 Field trip

27 4/24 Turf Ecology and competition

28 4/29 Turf Ecology and competition (cont'd)

29 5/1 Course review and wrap-up

Final exam: Wednesday May 8 1:30-4:30