Turf care is essential for maintaining high-quality turf. The attached maintenance schedule covers cultural practices from highest to lowest care levels.

Attachment: 

TurfMaintenance2011.pdf

The Mt. Ayr athletic field was part of the turfgrass management project.

The front of Knoxville West Elementary.

Articles in this issue:

• Exterior Pests: Hawthorn Rust
• Evolution of School IPM in Minnesota
• Interior Pests: Mice

Attachment: 

school_ipm_2003_03.pdf

Articles in this issue:

• Horticultural Tips: Basic Tree Care
• Exterior Pests: Why Weeds?
• Interior Pests: Fly Management
• Will IPM Be Required in Schools?

Attachment: 

school_ipm_2002_06.pdf

Articles in this issue:

• Interior Pests: Head Lice
• Mold Prevention in Schools
• Horticultural Tip: Pruning Young Trees

Attachment: 

school_ipm_2003_01.pdf

Articles in this issue: Moles Shrubs in Bloom Pantry Pests

Attachment: 

School IPM Newsletter June 2004.pdf

Turfgrass Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is not a predetermined set of practices, but is a stepwise process for improving management of pests in turfgrass areas. This process, which is prescriptive to the site and school district, focuses on long-term prevention or suppression of pest problems with minimum impact on human health and the environment.

Attachment: 

MinimumCriteriaForTurfIPM.pdf

Covers the following information:

• Cultural practices
• Turf goal and expectation
• Turf quality
• Irrigation
• Weed tolerance
• Aeration
• Fertilization
• Mowing height and frequency
• Per and post-emergent herbicide use
• Insect control
• Overseeding
• Topdressing
• Troubleshooting

Attachment: 

SchoolTurfMaintenanceSchedule.pdf

By Dave Minner, Extension Turfgrass Specialist, Horticulture Department, Iowa State University

There are many good Kentucky bluegrass varieties to select from when choosing cool season grasses. Your decision should involve a consideration of the strong and weak points of a particular variety and how you intend to care for the turfgrass areas. For example, aggressive and traffic-tolerant bluegrass varieties sound good for sports turf, but they may not be the best choice on non-irrigated fields. A better choice for this site would be a low maintenance drought tolerant variety.