SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/433388
50 SportsTurf | December 2014 www.sportsturfonline.com Q&A with Dr. David Minner Questions? Send them to David Minner at Iowa State University, 106 Horticulture Hall, Ames, IA 50011 or email dminner@iastate.edu. Or, send your question to Grady Miller at North Carolina State University, Box 7620, Raleigh, NC 27695-7620, or emailgrady_miller@ncsu.edu. Professor, Iowa State University I know the history of this field since it is just down the road from my office and it gives me the opportunity to let you follow the decision process. Chris is a coach and also has become an excellent, self-made groundskeeper who instills baseball facil- ity pride in his players and community. About 5 years ago this small town decided to give the old baseball facility a face lift that resulted in new dugouts, fencing, and con- cession area. The infield was also re-graded, seeded with Kentucky bluegrass, and top- dressed to make a very tight grass surface. After re-grassing, the field was mowed at a tight ¾ inch height with a borrowed walk behind striping mower specifically made with a rear roller. The appearance and play- ing quality of the infield was identical to many of the MLB fields I have visited. The mower was great for the schools' needs, but with only enough funds to buy one mower, this 20-inch walk behind mower was not sufficient to mow the expanse of both infield and outfield. The outfield has been a different story since it was a Kentucky bluegrass/perennial ryegrass mix that was dominated by ryegrass. The outfield was never laser graded so there are surface undulations that cause high and low spots exceeding one inch. The out- field was mowed at a 2-inch height with a 72-inch rotary deck mower and the surface has always played rougher compared to the infield. Last year Chris used the rotary deck mower to mow the infield at 1 inch and the outfield at 2 inches and the result was a less than desirable infield playing quality com- pared to the walk-behind striping mower. And this brings us to the root of this question: With the new riding reel mower what single mowing height should be used when mowing a very smooth infield that will tolerate a ½ inch and a rougher outfield that is bumpy and has never been mowed lower than 2 inches, with a rotary mower? I'm sure some of you are thinking just get a more versatile mower that will mow both heights since there are some really good easily adjustable striping riding rotary mowers on the market that could mow a smooth infield at about an 1 ¼ and then also mow the rougher outfield at any height desired. But the choice given here is a riding reel mower that will be set at one height. The maximum height I suggest for this infield situation would be 1 ½ inches; my preference would be 1 inch for the infield but that would cause scalping and a rough ride on your bumpy outfield. But grasses both infield and outfield will perform well at a mowing height of 1 ½. It is difficult to tell how well the bumpy outfield will take reel mowing at that height. I do believe that repeated reel mowing does help smooth the surface over time because of the micro rolling that occurs. The rotary deck mower without rollers that has been used in the past has done nothing to smooth the field and in fact when it is mowed slightly wet the wheel tracks just add to the bumpiness. If you are getting into the reel mowing business there are some additional things to consider such as, bed knife/reel adjust- ments, back lapping, bed knife grinding, selecting the right number of blades on the reel to match the ground speed and clip rate. It's winter now but get a plan together. In the spring just as the grass begins to green up take whatever rotary mower you can find and set it just below the planned reel mow- ing height of 1 ½ inches. Mow the entire field to remove all the dead grass; the field will immediately appear greener but that's not what you are looking for. What you are trying to do is to get the height below the planned reel mower height. Then immediately start mowing on a routine schedule with the reel mower when the grass reaches the 1 ½ inch. If the outfield is simply too bumpy try some light rolling to make the reel mower more effective. All for one and one for all sounds good but a versatile mower that cuts cleanly and is easily adjusted between mowing heights of 1 inch to 2 inches is what is really needed for your field. Enjoy the winter; spring baseball is just around the corner. ■ All for one I have finally convinced my high school to purchase a riding reel mower for our showcase baseball field. It is a good used reel mower but unfortunately it does not easily change mowing heights so I am faced with the challenge of selecting an "all for one" deal; that is a single mowing height for both the infield and outfield. What should the mowing height be and what am I getting myself into with this type of mowing strategy? — Chris Hill, head baseball coach, Story City, IA The maximum height I suggest for this infield situation would be 1 ½ inches; my preference would be 1 inch for the infield but that would cause scalping and a rough ride on your bumpy outfield. ››