This is the third part of an interview with
Geoponics Corp and Justin White of
WinField Solutions, who has approximately 20 years experience in turfgrass management and as a golf course superintendent.
In the
first article, White offered the benefits of using colorants, pigments and paints in golf course maintenance. The
second article White shared how to transition from using pigments to using paints and offered four suggestions to consider prior to painting.
[caption id="attachment_221" align="alignleft" width="667"]
Learn how different growing conditions, desired outcomes and turfgrass species all factor into selecting the best colorant.
Endurant turf colorants repeatedly are selected as the #1 choice among turfgrass professionals. Choose the best of the four available concentrations and shades of green grass in the Endurant paint colorant line or the
Endurant TE pigment for a spray indicator dye or color enhancement on growing grass.[/caption]
In this final segment, White shares his turfgrass colorant knowledge regarding:
- Colorants used on various species of turfgrass, including tips on when to use pigments and when to use paints.
- Features and effects of using colorants on both cool season and warm season grass varieties.
- Water conservation, turfgrass dormancy and varying turfgrass conditions across climates.
Q. Geoponics: You've worked in a lot of states, with warm season grasses and cool season grasses and with many turfgrass species. Can you share a few tips from working with these different variables in regards to colorants?
A. White offered the following 8 tips:
- Anywhere that experiences turfgrass dormancy will benefit from using Endurant paints versus overseed to save water, get the aesthetics golf course members expect and conserve resources in general.
- Texas goes into full dormancy, but it differs in north Texas versus south Texas by a few weeks. Once the chlorophyl is lost, it's time to have paint on the turf instead of pigments. The Endurant paint colorants give a better look than the Endurant TE pigment on dormant turf.
- Texas and California have the most critical water situations. Colorants are a tool for water conservation. It's critical moving forward, especially as the population expands in Texas.
- Things start to cook in Texas in the summertime. Throughout the summer, a lot of places experience heat stress. Colorants can help through this time to keep the golf courses looking great and conserving water in an attempt to mitigate that stress from high temperatures.
- Cool season turf management can be a bit different. I spent 5 years in Nebraska with fescue on the fairways, as well as bluegrass that came from a Lake Tahoe sod farm. Fine fescues have less vibrant, more subtle color. Membership wants to see consistent green. Supplementing with colorants can help. The golfcourse closed in the winter so from Nov. through May, we weren't worried about grass.
- Zoysia paints really well because of the rigidity of the leaf.
- In Nebraska, for example, with bentgrass on greens and tees, fine fescue on the fairways, it doesn't look like bluegrass or rye grass. So supplementing the fescue with colorant applications is great.
- Tennessee, the Carolinas, that transition zone they've got the colorants and paints down. They've created an impressive look. When golf course superintendents see that, it goes a long way.
More articles of interest for golf course superintendents using Endurant turf colorants:
