Orlando, Fla. - At the 2005 GCSAA Educational Conference, Karl Danneberger of Ohio State University co-led a turfgrass stress management seminar and helped steer superintendents in the right direction with their turf stress management practices. Joe DiPaola of Syngenta Professional Products was the other presenter of the seminar.
Danneberger told seminar attendees there are disadvantages to covering greens for the winter, but he didn’t recommend superintendents not cover greens.
When covering greens to help crown hydration, the turf should be hardened-off first, Danneberger said. Some superintendent make the mistake of covering greens too soon and leaving the cover on all winter. If this is done, the crown of the turfgrass doesn’t get hardened-off by the cold weather and the turf will dry more quickly during the winter. Danneberger said plants need to be hardened-off in the winter and once the turf is hardened off, the greens can be covered again. The hardening-off of the turf helps it retain moisture. The hardening-off process last about a month at 32 degrees. This covering should be done with all grasses, Danneberger said.
