>> Figure 1. PANELS TO THE LEFT show high maintenance soccer field while the panels to the right show low soccer maintenance field receiving the same level of use of 146 hours for the season.
Surface smoothness and overall field quality also improved as the bulk density increased (r = 0.81 and r = 0.58, respectively), largely a result of a firmer surface due to greater sand content. We previously had found a highly significant correlation between surface hardness and bulk density.
USE AND INJURIES The only effect from hours of use was on turf density, hardness and penetration resistance. As the hours of use per year increased, turf density decreased while hardness and penetration resistance in- creased. A loss in turf density was related to an increase in player to surface injuries. This accounted for 39% of injuries related to the field surface with higher densities associated with fewer injuries. These results underscore the relative importance of sustaining higher turf density for better cushioning and safer playing surfaces. To that end, overall field quality increased with higher N with an average seasonal N rate in this study approaching 4.5 lbs per 1000ft2. We found no relationship between overall field conditions and hours of use. See Figure 1 in which hours of use were the same for two fields but maintenance input differed. An increase in mainte- nance input was closely associated with an increase in shoot density, surface smoothness and overall field quality; the likely reason for fewer injuries being reported. Shoot density was the single most im- portant factor accounting for 39% of field related injuries with higher densities associated with fewer injuries. ■
W. M. Dest is Associate Extension Professor emeritus, University of Connecticut Storrs and sports turf consultant specializing in soil physi- cal properties. J. S. Ebdon is Associate Professor of Turfgrass Manage- ment at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
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