by Dr. R.W. Sheard, ISBN 0-9686568-1-1

Within five years of the printing of 1,000 copies of the first edition of Understanding Turf Management the supply has run out. The author, R. W. (Bob) Sheard, kindly agreed to prepare a second edition for the Sports Turf Association which was printed in time to be used by the 2006 class of the University of Guelph's Turf Managers' Short Course. Bob says few changes have been made in the second edition; the principal revisions being the correction of typo's and grammatical errors and upgrading prices and application rates to conform to 2005 recommendations. The quick sale of the first edition and the lack of suggestions for changes or additions to be made in the second edition are strong indications that Understanding Turf Management is fulfilling an important niche as an inexpensive, but authoritative text for the novice turf manager as well as a handy reference for the more experienced practitioner.

The concepts in this book are applicable for any turf manager, from the golf course superintendent to the parks supervisor, whether maintaining golf greens, sportsfields or race tracks for thoroughbreds.

The contains 24 chapters and 164 pages and is illustrated throughout with photos and diagrams.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - The Soil
Chapter 2 - Sand, Silt and Clay
Chapter 3 - Soil Structure, Density and Porosity
Chapter 4 - Soil, Air and Water
Chapter 5 - Movement of Water in Soil
Chapter 6 - Efficient Irrigation Scheduling
Chapter 7 - Soil Compaction
Chapter 8 - Building the Sports Field
Chapter 9 - Soil Organic Matter
Chapter 10 - Soil Nitrogen
Chapter 11 - Soil Reaction or pH
Chapter 12 - Phosphorus
Chapter 13 - Soil Potassium
Chapter 14 - Trace Elements
Chapter 15 - The Fertilizer Act
Chapter 16 - Estimating Fertilizer Needs
Chapter 17 - Topdressing
Chapter 18 - Mowing
Chapter 19 - Pest Management
Chapter 20 - Species Identification
Chapter 21 - The Bluegrasses
Chapter 22 - The Ryegrasses
Chapter 23 - The Fescues
Chapter 24 - The Bentgrasses
Index

• Structure is a phenomenon of most natural surface soils, but it is totally absent from sand based rooting systems. In natural soils structure influences density and porosity; in sand based systems particle size distribution dictates density and porosity.
• The concepts of the science of soils have been combined with the knowledge of the physiology of plant growth to design a set of guidelines for the construction of root zones for the optimum conditions for plant growth. Following those guidelines can lead to success; deviations from the guidelines may result in disaster.
• Although there are 14 elements required for the growth of grass, nitrogen is the key to successful grass production. Nitrogen is found in all protein. Protein is fundamental to growth because all enzyme systems contain protein.
• During the past century, more research effort in time and money has been expended on the study of phosphorus in the soil than any other element. The research reflects the problem of the generally low concentration of phosphorus in soil and its importance in plant nutrition.
• Mowing is detrimental to turf species as it drastically changes the normal reproductive physiology of the grass plant from one which is designed to reproduce by seed with secondary tillering to a plant which relies entirely on tillering. Root growth, carbohydrate production and storage, disease incidence and water relationships are all affected. Yet the species survives and prospers when continually mowed at 5cm or less.