Cultivation, cultivar, and topdressing moisture effects on settling of topdressing sand.

Two desirable traits consistent in emerging creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) cultivars are increased canopy density and fine leaf texture. Although the former is often associated with reduced incorporation of applied materials into the turf system, the effects of the latter have not yet been characterized. Some practitioners believe these boundaries can be overcome by topdressing with a dried sand, which they propose settles differently than conventional moist sand. In 2018, two topdressing studies were conducted to evaluate incorporation of moist and dried topdressing sands when applied to six creeping bentgrass cultivars of varying textures into vertically mowed and uncultivated systems. Cultivars were topdressed with dried sand or with moist sand and then incorporated with one of two brushing systems. Across trials, neither brush consistently outperformed the other. A larger proportion of applied topdressing sand was retained by the vertically mowed system and was unaffected by the moisture content of sand. Less sand was retained by uncultivated systems, and the distribution of both sands changed significantly. For moist sands, finer-textured cultivars, in general, corresponded with greater removal of coarse fractions and a greater retention of fine fractions. Therefore, we provide supporting evidence that topdressing into vertically mowed systems, regardless of sand moisture content, results in enhanced sand incorporation. When topdressing uncultivated, fine-textured bentgrass putting green systems, however, practitioners could benefit from topdressing with dried sands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]