14 SportsTurf | May 2016 www.sportsturfonline.com
FIELD SCIENCE
need to completely re-establish a bermuda
field is something of the past. We can
focus on building roots and developing
a healthy field year round. How strong
of a root system are we developing if
we are constantly overseeding a field
only to remove that grass months later?
How strong of a root system can we be
developing on our bermuda fields if we are
struggling to re-establish each season?
THE PROCESS
In the fall of 2009 we inter-seeded two
soccer fields with one of the newer
rhizomatous perennial ryegrasses (RPR)
with the thought of leaving it in the
following season and start growing
the field as a mix. We inter-seeded two
soccer fields at 6.3#/1000sq ft and began
our experiment. From this point on, the
mistakes began. We thought that we could
manage the field as a cool season field
in the spring and fall and then change to
warm season management in the summer.
We fertilized with the wrong products
trying to push growth on the bermuda in
the summer months. We were also lacking
a solid fungicide program since we did not
have a lot of pressure on bermuda in the
past. Needless to say we had some setbacks
that first summer but we also learned
some valuable lessons. If you are going to
grow your fields as a mix then you need to
manage your fields as a mix.
The mix is working and is successful for
us. We decided to try a bluegrass bermuda
mix in 2014. In May we fraze mowed our
Quickstand and Patriot bermuda fields,
then topdressed the surface with ¼ to ½
inch of sand and then seeded. One field
was seeded at a rate of 2.2#/1000 and the
other was seed in two directions totaling
4.4#/1000 sq ft. In the spring of 2015 we
converted two more fields to the blue/
bermuda mix. The process was the same
as before except this time we introduced
Northbridge and Latitude by sprigging
after fraze mowing.
All turfgrasses have the same basic
requirements for growth: water, sunlight,
air, soil and nutrients. It is our job as
managers to determine how the plants
Eight weeks after fraze mowing and seeding.
Kentucky bluegrass and bermudagrass mix in June 2015.
receive each one. We understand that the needs of one grass might not coincide
with that of the other species and this may cause competition. We are sports turf
managers; we manage for competition on the field so why do we shy away from it
when it comes to our turfgrasses? Isn't competition a good thing? Don't we want
the strongest to survive? Again it's about managing the field, not a particular grass.
By making mistakes the first season, we were able to adjust our management
practices the following season. By having the warm and cool season grasses
growing together, we had good cover on the field year round. Now, we no longer
worry about the 100 days of competition-free growth and pushing the bermuda to
If you are going to grow your fields as a mix
then you need to manage your fields as a mix.
