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/183915
search from Drs. Alec Kowaleski and Trey Rogers at Michigan State University. SUMMER MAINTENANCE During the summer maintain the turf at the in-season cutting height and work to keep the turf as stress free as possible. Irrigate on an as-needed basis to ensure that the turf is not too dry. Fertilize with organic fertilizer or a synthetic fertilizer that contains at least 50% slow release nitrogen in late-May and again in early August. Consider applying fungicides as needed to keep disease pressure at a minimum and apply grub control in July. Furthermore, deep tine aerification and/or another core aerification should be considered in early June followed by a light topdressing. Overall, the goal of the summer season is to keep the turf as healthy as possible. IN-SEASON MAINTENANCE The games begin, where will the wear take place? The same places that wear took place in previous seasons. With that said, create a seed bank across the playing sur- www.stma.org face, with the concentration taking place in the anticipated wear areas. I have a saying, "If you wait until you see wear in wear areas, it is too late!" Seed early and seed often. As far as type of seed used, I prefer using a seed blend that consists of bluegrass and perennial ryegrass. Why? The ryegrass is necessary to take immediate traffic. At the end of the day, these plants will probably be removed by traffic each week. The time to establish straight bluegrass is in a dormant seed situation or in the early spring. A general rule of thumb is applying one 50 lb bag of ryegrass through the hashmarks every week during the playing season. This equates to a seed rate of 3.14 lbs of ryegrass per 1,000 sq ft per week. Along with overseeding, a light topdressing can follow or simply let the athletes "cleat the seed in." Consider reading a research project from Dr Dave Minner at Iowa State to learn more about seed bank research. A simple pre-game and post game plan: Thursday, overseed hashmarks with one 50 lb bag of perennial ryegrass (optional light topdressing); Friday (or game day), blow off/sweep surface using a pull behind blower or pull behind sweeper. Mow field and fill divots and lightly roll field to push in any plants that may have been slightly pulled from the soil. Irrigate playing surface to alleviate plant stress POST-SEASON MAINTENANCE After the games are completed, core aerify and topdress the playing surface. Consider using 3/4 inch coring tines and tight spacing. This is the one time to aggressively cultivate the field and topdress. Fertilize with a product containing 100% water soluble fertilizer at a rate of 1.5 lbs/1,000 sq ft. When weather demands, winterize the irrigation system and get ready for next year. n Jamie Mehringer is president of J & D Turf, Fishers, IN and a member of the STMA Editorial Committee. Check out his blog, Smart Turf, at janddturf/blogspot.com SportsTurf 13