growth potential

The PACE Turf temperature-based growth potential, or GP, is a utility function that takes the input of average air temperature, and gives an output of GP on a scale of 0 to 1, or 0 to 100%.

I’ve written before about ΔGP. That’s read as “delta G P” and it is the difference in the cool-season and the warm-season growth potential. Specifically, it is the cool-season GP first, then the warm-season GP is subtracted from that.

You may have seen the maps of monthly growth potential through the seasons from PACE Turf. Those animated maps take the average temperature, convert it to a growth potential, and then color code a map of the USA with that animation.

I made my first visit to Myrtle Beach two weeks ago for a seminar with the Palmetto GCSA at Horry-Georgetown Technical College. I knew there were a lot of golf courses in the Myrtle Beach area, but until I visited in April and saw all the ryegrass, I didn’t realize that so many courses there overseed in the autumn.

Figure 1. The snow-covered landscape of central Hokkaido in mid-March 2024 when the growth potential was 0 but the DLI was fine. In a recent ATC Doublecut discussing light and temperature, I mentioned that I’d calculate potential DLI for the recording location, check the actual DLI for the recording location, and share that information.

A question that comes up again and again is whether the PACE Turf growth potential (GP) would be improved by also accounting for light. Grass growth—plant growth of any type, actually—is influenced by more than temperature.

I know this can use more explanation, because I’ve heard people refer to “their MLSN N” as being some amount. When I first heard that, I was taken aback, because nitrogen (N) is explicitly not part of MLSN.

This is one of those blog posts that I finally can move from the list of notes about what I might write about, to the published and completed section. > [2020-08-29 Sat] On my run this morning from […] to […] I was thinking that a little bit of quantitative like OM246, knowing nutrient supply, clipvol, it goes a long way in leading to improved turf conditions.

I sometimes talk about maximum N. You may have heard me refer to the standard amount of N. I discussed that with Michael Bekken in this ATC Doublecut episode. What do I mean by these quantities of N?

Randy from Bulgaria sent me this interesting question, which I paraphrase here: I was wondering is there a place on earth, where growth potential (GP) is above 90% for cool-season grass, or also a place where GP is above 90% for warm-season grass, all year long?