While many enjoyed a peaceful white
Christmas, it wasn’t long before many throughout New England received a coating
of ice! Since then arctic weather has had a strangle hold on New England with
air temperatures well below freezing, many below zero. Yesterday winter storm
Grayson hammered most of New England with at least 6 inches of snow. Experienced
turfgrass managers have already started their clocks and asked themselves; How
many days have my greens been under ice or snow? When should I clear it off? What
can I use to melt ice if I have any when the time comes?
Historically, many have turned to a
product called Milorganite. It was developed back in the roaring 20’s and has
been used on greens ever since. Milorganite, is a finely ground black pelletized
sewage sludge particle with a 6-2-0 minimum nutrient analysis. Applied to the
ice on sunny days Milorganite flows with water and collects in low areas. As turf
breaks dormancy, the nutrient release in those low areas can be excessive and
concerning. Today, black sand has proven to be a great option. It’s simply
high-quality topdressing sand treated with a black pigment. Sand, of course, has
a cation exchange level of 2 or less. Applied on a sunny day it also quickly
melts ice but it has zero nutrient release and only a limited increase in
canopy temperature in the early spring. Another ice melt option has been to use
sunflower seeds. They are easy to apply, they melt ice and birds love them. Unfortunately,
many superintendents pick sunflower sprouts out of aerifiction holes.
Are there other options? Yes. Many
turf managers apply Solu-Cal gypsum. The greens grade or regular grade particle
has a dark brown to black color. Gypsum
is calcium sulfate. Applied at 5-10 lbs./1,000 sf on a sunny day it too will melt
and bore into ice. The particle slowly dissolves to smaller forms of soluble
calcium and sulfur. Calcium and sulfur improve cell wall thickness and
chlorophyll formation, respectively. Another interesting option is Profile.
Profile is a porous ceramic inorganic soil amendment. The greens grade or
regular grade particle is 74% pore space which allows it to hold water and
oxygen in perfect balance. The particle
is available in an emerald green color or a natural reddish color. Applied to
ice at 5-50 lbs./1,000 sf it will also bore into and melt the ice on a sunny
day. As it nestles into the turf canopy it will merely improve the nutrient
holding capacity and help balance air and water pore space in the rootzone.
As we roll
into 2018 all of us at Atlantic Golf Turf resolve to support, serve and promote
the Turfgrass Industry and the Professional Turfgrass managers of the
Northeast! Please call us at 413-863-4444 or visit us at www.atlanticgolfandturf.com.
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