My work with the Asian Turfgrass Center involves lots of travel, research, writing, and teaching. I usually travel to four countries each month, although this month is a treat, with only three: USA, Thailand, and Japan. As I do this work, the things that especially interest me are choosing the grass species that will be most suitable for the environment, ensuring that the grass is supplied with just enough fertilizer, but no excess, and in general to manage the turf to create a high quality surface while doing so with a minimum of water, fertilizer, pesticide, and energy inputs. I'll illustrate the importance of this through some examples from my work in Asia, and relate that to examples from Iceland, England, Spain, Oregon, and lots of other places. This won't be an especially technical presentation, although there will be a few facts and numbers shown. It will give an overview of turfgrass science as I see it from my traveling perspective.

1. Turfgrass science: new developments
in an exciting field, carefully illustrated
and explained
Micah Woods, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist | Asian Turfgrass Center
@asianturfgrass
seminar.asianturfgrass.com/2014_mirabella.html
14 October 2014
Mirabella Portland

2. 15 countries Places visited since September 2013

3. seashore dropseed at
sea level, 20° South Bel Ombre, Mauritius

4. kikuyugrass 7,350 feet
above sea level Ootacamund, India

5. fine fescue at about
9,500 feet above sea level Yamanashi, Japan

6. fine fescue at 64° North Westman Islands, Iceland

7. ATC research facility in 2008,
more than 50 grass varieties Ayutthaya, Thailand

8. Digitaria grass and
clouds Bangkok, Thailand

9. seashore dropseed and
clouds Samet, Thailand

11. North America
more sun
Asia
less sun

13. grasses and
microclimates in Hawaii Honolulu, Hawaii

16. bermudagrass putting green,
poor performance in shade Hilo, Hawaii

17. manilagrass (Zoysia matrella)
putting green, high shade tolerance Hilo, Hawaii

18. bermudagrass turf,
thrives in sun Hawaii Kai, Oahu

20. Manilagrass lawn Manila, Philippines

21. Manila American
Cemetery Manila, Philippines

22. Manila American
Cemetery Manila, Philippines

23. Manila American
Cemetery Manila, Philippines

25. perennial ryegrass Barcelona, Spain

26. PGA Catalunya, more than 10
turfgrass species grow in this region Girona, Spain

27. ATC research facility in 2008,
different grasses and soil types Ayutthaya, Thailand

28. Rothamsted Manor
http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/Research/ParkGrassGallery.html
Harpenden, England

29. Harvesting plots, 1940s
http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/Research/ParkGrassGallery.html
Harpenden, England

30. Park Grass January 2005

31. Park Grass soil samples
from 1876 Rothamsted archives

32. Soil and leaf tissue
containers Rothamsted archives

33. Park Grass May 2006

34. Plot 1d, ammonium
sulfate annually, no lime Park Grass, May 2006

35. no fertilizer since 1856 Park Grass, May 2006

36. Plot 6, complete fertilizer Park Grass, May 2006

37. The Park Grass Experiment
and the Fight Against Dogma
Sometimes the value of a turfgrass management practice
takes a long time to become apparent.
BY MICAH WOODS AND FRANK ROSSI
It seems we are inundated with new
technology for golf turf management.
Technology can be a vital aspect of
turf management, yet it can also be
BACKGROUND
In 1856, 11 fertilizer treatments and
two unfertilized control plots were laid
out on a meadow at the Rothamsted
multiple applications to modern turf-grass
management. Yet the Park Grass
Experiment seems to go unnoticed by
turfgrass scientists and managers.
A close-up view of potassium (K) versus no potassium and
dandelion growth. Copyright Rothamsted Research Ltd.
A spring view of dandelion growth in a plot receiving
potassium (K), and no dandelions in the adjacent plot
receiving no potassium. Copyright Rothamsted Research Ltd.
Woods & Rossi. Green Section Record, 2011.

38. We need to know 3
quantities
L-93 creeping bentgrass
Ithaca, New York
1. How much of
an element is
present in the soil?
2. How much of
an element is
needed in the soil?
3. How much of
an element does
the grass use?

39. Reference
September, 2014
Minimum Levels for Sustainable Nutrition
Soil Guidelines
The Minimum Level for Sustainable Nutrition (MLSN) Guideline is a new, more sustainable ap-proach
to managing soil nutrient levels that can help you to decrease fertilizer inputs and costs,
while still maintaining desired turf quality and playability levels. The MLSN guidelines were devel-oped
in a joint project between PACE Turf and the Asian Turfgrass Center. All soil analyses were
conducted at Brookside Laboratories, New Bremen, OH.
MLSN Soil
Guideline
pH >5.5
Potassium (K ppm) 37
Phosphorus (P ppm) 21
Calcium (Ca ppm) 331
Magnesium (Mg ppm) 47
Sulfur as sulfate (S ppm) 7
Nitrogen requirements are best determined based on turf growth potential, which incorporates
VLWHVSHFLoFZHDWKHUDQGWXUIWSHWRFDOFXODWHQLWURJHQGHPDQG*HOHUQWHUDQG6WRZHOO*ROI
Course Management, p. 108-113, March, 2005).

40. http://www.paceturf.org/journal/global_soil_survey

41. Studying the soil conditions
that are producing good turf Global Soil Survey year 1 locations

42. choosing grasses maintenance
inputs to produce good turf Hua Hin, Thailand

43. seminar.asianturfgrass.com/2014_mirabella.html