Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Landscape Turf

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Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Landscape
Turf

• Matt Fagerness
• KSU Turfgrass Extension

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Turfgrass Sites are Vulnerable to

• Soil erosion (especially during establishment)
• Surface runoff (imperfect irrigation)
• Movement of fertilizer and pesticides away from
  the site
• Improper use of fertilizers and pesticides

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What are BMPs?

• Practices implemented before and during
  management to protect natural resources both on
  and off the turfgrass site.

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Two Main Types of BMPs

• Land Use BMPs Practices engineered and
  incorporated into turf/landscape design and
  construction.
• Source Prevention BMPs Practices implemented
  during management of a turf/landscape site

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Five Primary Goals of BMPs

• 1) Reduce or eliminate offsite transport of
  sediment, nutrient, and pesticides (LU, SP)
• 2) Reduce total chemical use through an IPM
  approach (SP)
• 3) Control the rate, method, and types of
  chemicals used (SP)
• 4) Use biological and mechanical soil and water
  conservation practices (LU)
• 5) Educate the industry on the relationship
  between environmental issues and turf management

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Goals of BMPs

• 1) Reduce or eliminate offsite transport of
  sediment, nutrient, and pesticides (LU, SP)
• 2) Reduce total chemical use through an IPM
  approach
• 3) Control the rate, method, and types of
  chemicals used
• 4) Use biological and mechanical soil and water
  conservation practices
• 5) Educate the industry on the relationship
  between environmental issues and turf management

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Land Use BMPs Minimizing Offsite Transport of
Nutrients, Pesticides, Soil, etc.

• Landscaping may help prevent excessive transport
  of or intercept mobile materials before they move
  offsite
• raised mulch beds
• shrubs
• trees
• other ground covers

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Source Prevention BMPs Minimizing Offsite
Transport of Nutrients, Pesticides, Soil, etc.

• Proper irrigation right time, frequency,
  amount
• Proper fertilization and pesticide use correct
  rates, types, and timings

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Improper IrrigationWater can carry a lot with it!
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Goals of BMPs

• 1) Reduce or eliminate offsite transport of
  sediment, nutrient, and pesticides
• 2) Reduce total chemical use through an IPM
  approach (SP)
• 3) Control the rate, method, and types of
  chemicals used
• 4) Use biological and mechanical soil and water
  conservation practices
• 5) Educate the industry on the relationship
  between environmental issues and turf management

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What is IPM?

• Integrated Pest Management
• Objectives
• Develop healthy turf that can withstand pest
  pressure
• Use chemicals judiciously and efficiently
• Enhance populations of natural, beneficial
  organisms
• Tackle pest problems when pests are most
  vulnerable

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Six Approaches to IPM

• Genetic
• Regulatory
• Cultural
• Physical
• Biological
• Chemical

Represent IPM approaches at the planning stage,
not active ways to manage pests
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Planning Stage IPM

• Genetic approach
• Selecting improved turfgrass varieties which do
  well in the Kansas climate and show resistance to
  both environmental stress and pest problems
• Regulatory approach
• Using certified seed, sod, or sprigs to optimize
  genetic uniformity and prevent unwanted weed
  contamination

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Seed Label
Look for other crop seed, weed seed, and
germination
Good Not so Good
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Active IPM Approaches

• Cultural proper mowing, irrigation,
  fertilization, and aerating make pest control
  much easier.
• Physical hand weeding, cleaning mowers and tools
  to avoid spreading disease and weed seeds
• Biological promoting natural pest predators
  (e.g. bird houses, bird baths)

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Active IPM Approaches

• Chemical often necessary but to supplement
  rather than replace other approaches
• Steps to take
• Identify the pest properly
• Identify and correct site conditions promoting
  the pest
• Implement other IPM approaches to augment pest
  control
• Select a pesticide suitable for the pest
• Apply the pesticide as directed and when the pest
  is most vulnerable

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Goals of BMPs

• 1) Reduce or eliminate offsite transport of
  sediment, nutrient, and pesticides
• 2) Reduce total chemical use through an IPM
  approach
• 3) Control the rate, method, and types of
  chemicals used (SP)
• 4) Use biological and mechanical soil and water
  conservation practices
• 5) Educate the industry on the relationship
  between environmental issues and turf management

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Types of Lawn Inputs

• Fertilizer
• Natural and synthetic, pH modifiers
• Pesticides
• Herbicides, fungicides, insecticides
• Other
• e.g. soil sterilants, fuel

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Sloppy Fertilizationfeast or famine
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Fertilizer Analysis

• Sequence of three numbers that reflect the
  percentage of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
  respectively.

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Whats in the Bag? Primary Turf Nutrients

• Nitrogen - Used for above-ground growth and good
  green color (soil mobile, nitrate contamination)
• Phosphorus - Used for root growth and formation
  of seeds and fruit (less mobile in soil but can
  contaminate watersheds like nitrate)
• Potassium - Used for basic plant growth and helps
  plants withstand stress (soil mobile)

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Tips to Manage Fertilizer Input

• Determine exact amounts for specific areas
• Avoid the tendency to give the turf a little
  extra
• Avoid overshooting onto sidewalks/pavement
• Drop spreader is more precise than whirlybird
• Be as precise as possible with spreader spacing
• Dont confine Fido to the same spots every day

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Area Determination the Wrong Way
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Total 1800 sq. ft.
40
50
20
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Area Determination the Right Way
15
Total 1200 sq. ft.
15
30
15x12/2 90sq. ft.
40
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Tips to Manage Pesticide Input

• Know your pests! Improper diagnosis of a problem
  can lead to unnecessary pesticide use.
• Let the pesticide do its job- Be patient!
• Avoid pesticides prone to drift the neighbors
  will appreciate it
• Follow label specifications!!!

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What caused this problem? Not disease or insects
but dull mower blades. The solution should be a
grinding file, not a pesticide.
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Goals of BMPs

• 1) Reduce or eliminate offsite transport of
  sediment, nutrient, and pesticides
• 2) Reduce total chemical use through an IPM
  approach
• 3) Control the rate, method, and types of
  chemicals used
• 4) Use biological and mechanical soil and water
  conservation practices (LU)
• 5) Educate the industry on the relationship
  between environmental issues and turf management

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Good and Bad Soil Conservation
Good
Not so good
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Biological Soil and Water Conservation

• Turfgrass!!
• Turf is an excellent soil stabilizer and is an
  efficient user of water, especially certain
  species
• Mulch
• Helps with soil water retention and stabilizes
  bare ground
• Other plants
• Can offer a buffer to prevent excessive surface
  movement of water, soil, etc.

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Water Conserving Turfgrasses
Bermudagrass Buffalograss
Tall fescue
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Turfgrasses Requiring More Water
Kentucky bluegrass Perennial
ryegrass
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Mechanical Soil and Water Conservation

• Well positioned and/or raised mulch beds
• Separate sloped sites and potential collection
  areas
• Retaining walls
• Limestone, railroad ties, processed timbers
• Plastic sheeting for mulch beds
• Helps with soil stabilization and with weeds

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Goals of BMPs

• 1) Reduce or eliminate offsite transport of
  sediment, nutrient, and pesticides
• 2) Reduce total chemical use through an IPM
  approach
• 3) Control the rate, method, and types of
  chemicals used
• 4) Use biological and mechanical soil and water
  conservation practices
• 5) Educate the industry on the relationship
  between environmental issues and turf management

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Summary

• The point in all of this is not to foster
  criticism of how things are currently done but
  rather to promote better or safer ways to
  apply inputs to home lawns.

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