Monitor soil salinity and leach before aeration

Over the past two weeks, we have seen declines and death in almost every turfgrass due to high soil salinity including: Poa annua, Kentucky bluegrass, ryegrass, kikuyugrass, bermudagrass and paspalum. Monitor soil salinity using a soil EC meter. If salts are high, leach prior to aeration so that water flow through the soil profile will be uniform. If drainage is the cause of salt accumulation, the drainage problems will have to be corrected before salts can be leached from the…