Cultivation Effects on Organic Matter Accumulation in Creeping Bentgrass Putting Greens.

Organic matter (OM) accumulation in putting greens has been a concern since the innovation of sand-based greens.  The objectives of this study were (1) to determine if hollow tine is more effective than solid tine aerification at managing organic matter accumulation, (2) to determine if less invasive cultivation (LIC) methods are effective at managing OM accumulation.  The study was conducted on research plots seeded with ‘L-93’ creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) that was constructed 8 and 11 years prior.  Root zones were sampled from the mat to three inches in depth, and then analyzed for organic matter content using loss on ignition (LOI).  Single-ring infiltrometers were used to determine infiltration rates.  Soil compaction and soil firmness were tested using a soil compaction meter and a Clegg Hammer.  The study was analyzed as a 3 x 5 factorial at two locations with aerification as main plots and LIC as sub-plots. Aerfication was either hollow tine, solid tine or no aerification treatment and LIC treatments were Hydroject™, PlanetAir™, quad needle tine, bayonet tine, or no LIC treatment.  Treatment differences were separated by Fisher’s protected least significant difference when F tests were significant at P ≤ 0.05.  Data from the first year showed there is no difference in OM accumulation between hollow tine and solid tine aerification, but both treatments accumulated less OM then no aerfication. No differences in OM accumulation were observed among LIC methods.  Hydroject™ and needle tine treatments had higher infiltration rates compared to other LIC treatments regardless of the aerification treatments.