Microbiological Communities in Greens

Like any soil-plant ecosystem, turfgrass ecosystems have abundant and diverse microbiological communities.

Microbial biomass increases with the age of the greens similar to the increase in plant organic matter content, Kerek et al., 2002. Microbial biomass records range from several hundred micrograms of carbon/gram of soil in young greens to over a thousand in older greens.

The C/N ratio is critical, with around 8 being the most suitable for the growth of microbial flora.

There is a symbiosis between the roots that leads to the secretion of humic acids and the micro-organisms that degrade humic acids, thus releasing nutrients for the turf.

Bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, pseudomonads, Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria are the most representative microorganisms and values from 100,000 cfu (colony forming units) to 100,000,000,000 cfu have been found, Elliot el al., 2004.

Today there are microbiological tests for their qualitative and quantitative detection.

Evolution of organic matter over time:

Age (years) Location Depth C-Org (%) Ref

10-50 Golf Course 0-7.5 cms 1.3-2 Higby & Bell, 1999

1.5-45 Putting green 0-11 cms 0.6-3.4 Qian & Follet, 2002

1.5-45 Fairway 0-11 cms 1.8-4.2 Qian & Follet, 2002

4-24 Golf Course 0-15 cms 0.6-1.2 Kerek et al., 2003

1-95 Golf Course 0-5 cms 1.0-7.2 Shi et al., 2006

3-97 Golf Course 0-7.5 0.8-4.8 Shi et al., 2006

The type of microbiology is fundamentally influenced by parameters such as the pH, humidity y soil atmosphererather than maintenance practices

Nowadays there is the possibility of supplying micro-organisms by inoculating them with commercial preparations, so we have different active materials based on fungi and bacteria.

In relation to mushrooms, the most commonly used are the Trichodermas and Mycorrhizae, and on the bacterial side, Rhizobacteria. Among the Trichodermas, Trichoderma harzianum strains, for example, produce antifungal metabolites and act in competition against other common turf diseases, such as Rhizoctonia, Phytophora, Sclerotinia and Fusarium, among others.

Other fungi, such as MycorrhizaeThey are one of the most abundant types of symbiosis in the biosphere, which improve the absorption of water and nutrients from the root, and can be Endomycorrhizae or Ectomycorrhizae, depending on whether or not they penetrate the root cells.

The Rhizobacteria for their part interact symbiotically with plants, e.g. Pseudomonas spp. also known as growth promoters and disease suppressors.

The most important thing to maintain and increase the microbiological community once inoculated is the maintenance of optimal conditions for its growth.