Smoke in the air can increase grass growth

A few years ago, golf course superintendents in the Pacific Northwest told me that they were measuring increased clipping volume from putting greens when the air was thick with smoke. I didn't know why that was. In fact, I would have expected growth to decrease, because the smoke reduces the daily light integral (DLI).

I've now learned that the scattering of light as it passes through smoke increases the diffuse light, and this increase in the diffuse light actually increases…