SportsTurf

www.stma.org June 2016 | SportsTurf 9 melted and before mowing begins; removing the dead turf greatly improves color and promotes new growth. Seeding should be done as much as possible but can be quite expensive. Push for a minimum of twice per year in conjunc- tion with fall and spring aerifications. And any supplemental seeding you can do throughout the year is a plus especially in high traffic areas. I prefer to use a drill seeder as much as pos- sible and we always go two directions. Rates will vary on your climate and turf types, but always go as heavy as you can. Weed control is an essential component of any turf manage- ment program, but can be a relatively easy task by keeping your turf healthy throughout the year. On athletic fields we never used pre-emergence herbicides. I want to have the ability to seed or aerate at any time, and if we are doing everything else as planned weed pressure was never a big deal. Having said that we were not completely immune to weeds and applied post- emergence herbicides in early spring and late fall. If you only have the budget for one application I strongly recommend the fall app over spring. Aerating throughout the year as much as possible is a must and will yield the most tangible results of any of your cultural practices. Parks and recreation fields are often overused and compaction can become a huge problem. We used a mechanical aerator on our sports turf versus a ground driven unit on general turf. This allows us to be more aggressive while not doing unintentional damage to the turf. With limited applications we worked on 2-inch spacing with the largest tines available for the aerator. Note what direction was used to aerate and vary the direction of the subsequent aeration to provide for optimal results. We always aerated, drug (after ample time for cores to dry), mowed, blew, fertilized, topdressed, re-drug and then ir- rigated. Your budget will dictate how much of this you are able to accomplish, but at a minimum the cores should be collected or drug in. Ideally I would have liked to remove all the cores and topdressed heavily, but I had neither the time nor resources for either. We would however collect cores from infield turf and stockpile these cores to use as topdressing for seeding opera- tions in high traffic areas. Topdressing is necessary to prevent thatch and promote a safe and level playing surface. We planned on topdressing twice a year in conjunction with fall and spring aeration using either a compost material of USGA sand at a rate of ¼ to ½ inch. To determine what best suits your needs a soil test and analysis should be performed annually. Fertilization should be dictated by your soil test. My soil tests were very consistent and my needs did not vary much from year to year. On an average year I would fertilize with my spring and fall aerations with an organic slow release fertilizer. We also did an early June application of an extended release fertilizer. I also spoon feed as many athletic fields each year as budget allows; this program varies based on soil tests, budget and number of events. In addition to our fertilizer applications we focused on other chemical inputs as well. We applied growth regulators twice a month at the lowest recommended rate supplemented with iron throughout the growing season. I am a huge advocate of growth regulators and this would be the last chemical input I would cut from my budget outside of the three granular fertilizer applications. We also applied a specialized long-term soil surfactant type wetting agent twice per year depending on weather conditions. In our high desert environment in northeast Utah we did not have to apply fungicides but I recommend keeping a broad spectrum curative fungicide on hand just in case. While it is important to map out these important inputs with all of them leading to the common goal of making your facility shine; you cannot lose focus on the day to day operations that are imperative to your success. Daily, weekly and monthly schedules should be created and distributed to your crew ensur- ing that everyone is well informed of the processes that are vital to your shared success. All of these schedules should be tailored to your individual facilities and expectations. We always tried to be on the lookout for ways to save money and time while not sacrificing our end product. We tried to eliminate as much hand watering of skinned areas as possible by both installing skinned area automatic irrigation systems as well as using roller base irrigation heads. This allowed one person to water several fields at once. One person could water seven fields for us at once while handling other tasks such as picking up trash or cleaning restrooms. We rid ourselves of costly puddle pillows and began using memory foam pillows; this saved on average $20 per pillow and performed just as well. Try spending money to save money. For checking irriga- tion systems we purchased a remote control for $750. Making this a one-person job instead of two paid for itself within a couple of months. Keep good inventory of all supplies eliminat- ing costly downtime and runs to the store. 2 WEEKS OUT You've worked hard all year and you are on schedule now it's crunch time. The last 2 weeks of tournament prep are essential to its success. If any sod needs to be laid it should be done so no later than 10 days before the tournament starts. This allows the sod to root and blend in while providing a safe playing surface. To ensure that the sod matches in color and depth use sod from your own facility and then either replace the nursery Weed control is an essential component of any turf management program, but can be a relatively easy task by keeping your turf healthy throughout the year.

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