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/484138
www.stma.org April 2015 | SportsTurf 15 every annual budget. Beyond this, two of the next best practices are fertility and seeding. If the field manager can maintain the highest possible mowing height allowed (up to 3.5 to 4 inches), overseeding and fertility will help to maintain the highest turfgrass density possible for safety, playability, and weed com- petition (reducing annual weeds by 80%). When overseeding, always provide good seed/soil contact to get the highest level of seed germination. Always select turfgrass blends or mixtures best for your area with the highest degree of disease resistance possible. Often seed and fertilizer is spread on bare, compacted soil surfaces providing very little benefit for the dollars spent. Cool-season grasses (tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass) are optimally overseeded and fertilized in the fall of the year. Spring overseeding and fertility may be an option if spring play occurs. However, late spring fertility can be detrimental to cool-season grasses as it relates to turfgrass diseases. Cool-season grasses, like fescue, are more suscep- tible to brown patch disease if fescue receives excess nitrogen late spring to early summer. Type of fertilizer and timing are key to managing diseases. If a budget only allows minimal overseeding and fertility (one or two applications), fall is the optimum time. Warm-season grasses (bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, etc.) are re-established and fertilized during the late spring and early sum- mer months for rapid growth and recovery. Seeding is the most economical means of re-establishment followed by sprigging. Soil testing is another inexpensive practice to consider as a means to save money. Sports turf managers can determine what the needs are for nutrients as well as what the soil pH is. If soil pH falls outside the desirable range (pH 6 to 7); applica- tions of fertilizer may not benefit turfgrass plants as nutrients may be locked up in the soil colloid. Soil test results may also indicate sufficient levels of some nutrients like phosphorus and potassium; therefore saving dollars on purchasing fertilizers containing these nutrients and apply that savings to additional nitrogen fertilizers or other practices. To avoid fertilizer waste, determine the exact square foot- age of fertilized areas. Accurately measuring the square footage of treated areas helps determine some of those costs figures of many maintenance practices. Accurate fertilizer applications are dependent on purchasing the correct amount of fertilizer for a known square footage. Also, slightly reducing the fertil- izer application rate (adjusting from 1 lb N/1000 sq. ft. to ¾ lb N/1000 sq. ft.) can make a difference when it comes to budgeted dollars. Spreading your fertilizer over several applications will be more beneficial than all at once (i.e., two applications of 0.50 lb of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet versus one application of a pound). Rotary walk-behind spreaders are very economical and