Turf Care

There are 11 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction - Turf Varieties
2. Turf Grass Physiology
3. Turf Establishment
4. Soils
5. Turf Weed Problems
6. Turf Pests & Diseases
7. Turf Maintenance Techniques
8. Irrigation - An Overview
9. Playing Fields & Bowling Greens
10. Managing Established Turf
11. Establishing Ornamental Turf

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

• Identify the range of grasses and other species available for turf culture.
• Explain the management of soils for growing turf.
• Identify methods for the establishment of turf.
• Explain the management of problems in turf including weeds, pests and diseases.
• Explain maintenance practices used in turf management.
• Plan the development of different turfs used for sport.
• Develop plans to establish a turfed area.
• Develop management strategies for the care of established turf.

• Turf is unlike any other area of horticulture in one major respect: the plants are subjected to traffic!
• Traffic can take numerous forms when we are talking about the wear and tear of turf. The most obvious examples might be vehicular and human movement. This should be extended to include all activity in which the turf surface is subjected to some sort of foreign physical contact.
• Examples of traffic then, include:
• Golf course -golf carts and buggy wheels which compact soils
  • human shoes, often with sprigs that rip and tear turf
• golf clubs and ball which cause divots and ball marks or plugs.
• animal grazing (which tends to be more of a rural problem).
• Parkland -human use including walking, laying down, might include erecting temporary structures such as a marquee, tent.
  • ball games of all varieties.
• irresponsible vehicle use.
• animal use
• The amount of damage caused by traffic is relative to the amount and type of traffic, but other factors such as environment and turf species are also important factors. The resultant damage that does occur is called turfgrass wear.