Rolling, nitrogen, dollar spot, and Microdochium patch
There’s an interesting article by Espevig et al. on Effects of rolling and N-fertilization on dollar spot and Microdochium patch on golf greens in Scandinavia.
- rolling a red fescue green two times a week reduced dollar spot by 61% compared to no rolling
- rolling four times a week reduced dollar spot by 95%
- increasing annual N on a creeping bentgrass + Poa annua green from 15 to 24 g/m2 reduced dollar spot by 24% but
- the following spring saw twice as much Microdochium patch on the plots which received the higher N rate
There are a number of surface performance benefits that come from rolling, and disease suppression is one of them.
With N fertilizer, I’d think of it in terms of how much growth one expects to get from a given amount of N. Monitoring the growth rate—here’s a free book about that—and then adjusting the N rate based on that seems like a way to achieve results without the risk of doubling disease incidence inadvertently.
And while we are on the subject of rolling, how about circle rolling this green, NASCAR style, in Thailand.
Rolling a manilagrass (Zoysia matrella) green in Thailand. Looks like you could get a little loose in the middle of turn 3. #TurfTourism #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/qDoOtyGFB8
— Micah Woods (@asianturfgrass) March 17, 2020
Here’s a similar type of roller on a football pitch near Bangkok.
If you are really into rolling, this post shows a heavy roller on fairways.