SportsTurf

September 2012

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.

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Plex crews to finish. Staggered staffing and overtime make up the time to finish each cycle because 2 weeks un-interrupted by weather or play does not exist. Increased efficiency reduces those challenges. This discussion ultimately connects us back to my previous post on confidence and aggressiveness. Taking on such tasks such as renovation in-house is a large undertaking! As is the operation of larger equipment. But in the end, it establishes a maintenance program that is absolutely always on "offense"! turfgrass maintenance program. The European market is full of tech- nologies that stem from open minds that are always improving the quality of the pitches. The following ideas are things that I viewed: Desso Grassmaster: A reinforcement system with synthetic fibers May 29 Having an open mind is important when it comes to evolution of a sewed into the sand profile of a natural grass field. A few fields in the US use the technology, but it has not caught on because the fibers make it impossible to sod into, so seeding is required for renovations. Fiber sand: A reinforcement system with synthetic fibers mixed into the sand profile to reduce compaction potential and provide stability in sand. Our stadium pitch at SoccerPlex has fiber sand and we have fan- tastic results. Again, this is not a system that is common in the US. But the potential for it is big. The success stories are endless with using the product and managing it correctly. Crumb rubber on sand for cushion: Many facilities use crumb rub- ber topdressing to attempt to soften the goal mouths and goal keeping practice areas. I have considered crumb rubber for the same, but also to help to reduce compaction and to add heat to bermudagrass fields more quickly in the spring. Mixed results are being found with crumb rub- ber... so the jury is still out. Fescue into ryegrass: Turf type tall fescue genetics have created a su- perior plant that is able to be used in a ryegrass and/or bluegrass stand. Some of the fescues that I observed are absolutely fantastic especially blended with ryes for more wear tolerance. With that, we used fescue to overseed our bermudagrass last fall/ this spring, and it is by far the most durable overseeding we have ever had. Performance testing: During several visits, testing officials from the Sports Turf Research Institute were on site doing performance testing of the turfgrass stand. Infiltration rates, compaction/ hardness testing, ball speed, tinsel strength, root depths, etc, etc. I know of a few tests that we have done/can be done in the US, but I know of no one testing religiously to give an established baseline of conditions during the sea- son. It is a perfect way, in conjunction with tissue and soil testing, to know how well changes in a maintenance program work! These, and many other open minded ideas, were common place in discussions and maintenance programs around Europe. Other tech- nologies like SubAir, glycol heating, and most importantly, grow lights, make growing turfgrass in challenging conditions more successful. Combine those ideas with the aggressive nature of the complete renova- tion each year. It would see that here in the US we are lagging behind on creating new create, open minded ideas. With that, do we have things to learn from our European counterparts? I say YES. ■ www.stma.org SportsTurf 19

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