8/29/2012 - By Dr. Raymond Snyder

Have you ever considered how rolling your greens is impacting disease incidence?  Well, a recent scientific study published in the Agronomy Journal (Volume 104, Issue 4, 2012) and conducted at Rutgers University over the course of 3 years was designed to evaluate roller types, rolling location, and mowing on anthracnose incidence, turf quality, and ball roll distance of annual bluegrass maintained at putting green height.

Several interesting and counter-intuitive conclusions were made by the researches at Rutgers.  While it has been suspected that increased wear on the perimeters of golf greens makes annual bluegrass more susceptible to anthracnose, the results of this study suggest that regular mowing and rolling did not increase anthracnose development.  Disease development, however, did increase when rolling and mowing were initiated while anthracnose symptoms were present, so initiate rolling early in the season to minimize potential disease development.

With regards to rolling, reductions in disease severity were observed by lightweight rolling.  It is theorized by the researchers that lightweight rolling increases the firmness of the green, thereby better supporting mowers which reduces scalping and increases overall plant health associated with heat stress and disease.  Finally, it was also observed that the sidewinder roller reduced disease more than the vibratory roller on many observation dates in 2007 and 2008.

Look up the article in the July-August 2012 edition of Agronomy Journal or contact the researchers for more specific details and insight regarding the effect lightweight rolling and mowing on anthracnose incidence of annual bluegrass.  Anthracnose season is nearing, so be prepared this season with the latest research from the scientists at Rutgers University.