John Mascaro's Photo Quiz Answers from page 17
THE PLASTIC MESH is a result of several compounding problems. When this football field was constructed a few years ago, new soil was brought in and then large roll 419 Bermudagrass was installed. An inexperienced contractor laid the sod without removing the plas- tic netting that was backing the sod to keep it together during tran- sit. The plastic netting is sometimes left on the back of sod when it is installed on hills or sloped areas but should never be left on the back of sod when the sod is laid on a sports field. This field was then subjected to several years of minimal main- tenance and fell into a state of disrepair with volunteer bahiagrass taking over almost 50% of the playing surface. As high school stu- dents practiced and played football on the under-fertilized turf, the bermudagrass began to wear away and the football cleats dug down to the underlying net, pulling it up to the surface and caus- ing two different players to twist their ankles over 1 month. The net began appearing in so many wear areas that parents were out on the field with scissors trimming the net off. I suggested they pad lock the gate closed and rebuild the field immediately to prevent any further injury. Photo submitted anonymously
If you would like to submit a photograph for John Mascaro's Photo Quiz please send it to John Mascaro, 1471 Capital Circle NW, Ste # 13, Tallahassee, FL 32303 call (850) 580-4026 or email to john@turf-tec.com. If your photograph is selected, you will receive full credit. All photos submitted will become property of SportsTurf magazine and the Sports Turf Managers Association.
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