Heat Advisory

Friday, July 22, 2011

EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING
Valid from July 22, 2011 5:52 a.m. EDT until July 23, 2011 at 8:00 p.m.

This is the message I woke up to this morning from the NBC 12 Weather app on my phone.  It really is a great way to wake up.  When I got in my car at 5:00 a.m. the temperature was already 82 °F.  Not only are these temperatures brutal for our staff, they are very, very tough on the turf.  We are thoroughly adjusting greens moisture with hand watering this morning to help the turf survive the day and then myself, Bobby, and the two interns will be syringing greens from 11:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. if not later.  We don't want to keep the greens wet because then the moisture in the greens will heat up and raise temperatures even more than they will be already.  We are just trying to keep the moisture available to the plant and then use syringing to cool off the surface.  Basically, we are just trying to survive the next 3 days.  We are doing everything we can to minimize stress to the plant but there is only so much you can do when soil temperatures are reading in the upper 90's.  Days like today really show which greens receive adequate air movement and which ones do not.  


Here are a few articles from the USGA dealing with Heat Stress.

Long Summer Days Equate To Intense Irrigation Management

What a difference a breeze makes
photo by Adam Moeller, USGA Green SectionCheck out the eight degree temperature difference in this image. The reading on the left was taken on a putting green that received very limited air movement across the surface as a result of surrounding trees. The reading on the right was taken on a green that received good airflow. 

In addition to the lower temperature, the green that receives plenty of air movement is far less prone to disease and other stresses.

If both greens are syringed, which one will benefit the most? As the wind moves across a green with good air movement the surface temperature will drop even further, much like the cooling effect that occurs when the wind blows across the sweat on your arms on a hot day.