Best time to seed cool-season turf: late summer, early fall
24 Aug, 2007 Athletic Turf NewsTrying to renovate turf areas in the spring is usually a big challenge. Aggressive weedy grasses like crabgrass often out-compete the desirable grass and take over. Generally, the weather in the fall is much more conducive to the establishment of seedlings because the temperatures are cooler and the soil moisture begins to come back up, reducing the need for constant attention to irrigation. For that reason, the recommendation for successful seeding/renovation in the Midwest has been to renovate in the fall months.
In the Midwest, the best time to seed is between August 15 and September 15, says Dr. David Gardner, associate professor of turfgrass science at The Ohio State University.
For those who need to establish turf from seed in the spring, help may be on the way. A new product due to be released this fall is a herbicide that contains the active ingredient mesotrione. Mesotrione is a new herbicide that can be used to control crabgrass and several broadleaf weed species such as dandelion and white clover either pre- or post-emergence in turf. It also has pre-emergence activity on yellow nutsedge and nimblewill, and post-emergence activity on orchardgrass, reports Dr. Gardner.
A recent study at The Ohio State University looked at using mesotrione at the time of seeding to evaluate weed control properties and to see if the herbicide had any detrimental effect on the desirable turf, he says.
The trial was seeded in May 2007 with perennial ryegrass (at 8 lbs/1,000 sq.ft). mesotrione was applied at the time of seeding. The plots treated with mesotrione have virtually no weeds, while the untreated plots have between 60% and 80% weed cover, including crabgrass, goosegrass, yellow foxtail, yellow nutsedge, and purslane. Mesotrione nearly completely controlled the weeds while causing no detrimental effects to the ryegrass seedlings.
Visit the Web site http://buckeyeturf.osu.edu for other practical information about the latest turfgrass research and management strategies from the OSU turf team. On the site you can download a pdf file containing a guide to seed identification, also a pdf file that contains some of the steps necessary to successfully establish from seed.
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