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: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/107950
infield mix that has a higher sand content, lower silt percentage to help reduce the amount of dust, and have an SCR (silt:clay ratio) ideally of ~.5:1. You will need to get your infield mix tested to see what the percentages are in the blend. Conditioners can be added to help retain water that is either applied on a limited basis by the turf manager or from rain that falls on the field. This will be a temporary fix and a short-lived solution to making the field playable. • The turf manager should become creative in ways to water the field. We have heard of fire departments adding water to the field the night before a tournament. • If water is available, try to do deep heavy watering to saturate the infield mix. As the field dries, the water will move to the top of the skinned infield and help keep it playable. If you have ever had a field too wet (muddy) for a game, then you know the limits that your field can take when it comes to watering. • Water on a routine basis to help keep the field consistent. A well maintained field plays its best when it is consistent day in and day out. With any field, that is what the turf manager should strive for and give the play- www.stma.org ers the best opportunity to be successful in the game.-Glenn Lucas and Bill Marbet, Southern Athletic Fields USING CONDITIONERS A MUST Managing infield skins with limited water is where the importance of a product like Pro's Choice comes into play. Because Pro's Choice conditioners are made from calcined montmorillionite clays they have the ability to absorb moisture, release it and absorb again. When properly installed throughout the top 3 inches of your infield mix, these conditioners will absorb the water from rain, hold it in the granules, and release it back into the surface as the base clays dry out. Pro's Choice conditioners help keep moisture in your profile when you don't have the benefit of a hose.-Dave Cygan, Pro's Choice/Oil Dri. TOPDRESS WITH CONDITIONER AT THE MINIMUM Moisture management is key to the success of an infield. When a sports turf manager is unable to add water to a field, it becomes critical that they conserve the water that does reach the infield. This can be ac- complished by adjusting infield mix composition, adding an infield topdressing, tarping, and adjusting dragging techniques. Choosing an infield mix with a higher percentage of silt and clay and a lower percentage of sand allows the infield to store water longer. Fields with higher silt and clay content move water more slowly through the profile. Those same field surfaces will become extremely hard when dry. Fields with higher sand content lose their store of water faster and can become too loose when dry. Adding an infield topdressing can help shield the infield mix from losing moisture through evaporation. Effective topdressings include calcined clays, vitrified clays, or crushed aggregates. Likewise, placing a tarp over the infield traps and conserves that much-needed moisture. Finally, field managers can adjust their maintenance practices. Avoid deep tine dragging which brings more infield mix to the surface. This dries and loosens the field. When dragging is necessary, disturb as little of the infield surface as possible by mat dragging or light nail dragging.-Dena DiVincenzo, Waupaca Sand & Solutions SportsTurf 37