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/306114
16 SportsTurf | May 2014 www.sportsturfonline.com Field Science | By Jim Hermann, CSFM O ver the past year, I have had the opportunity to become involved in the day to day management of an irrigation system installed 3 years before a newly reconstructed sports complex. I must admit that since becoming a sports field manager 25 years ago, I have never had the opportunity to become so intimately involved in irrigation management. However, on this particular field, problems had arisen which required serious consideration of all the facets of the turf management program. Conceptually, irrigation management is simple. Just replace the water lost to evapotranspiration; the combined effects of soil evapo- ration and moisture loss thru turf transpiration. I was told by one employee that the previous year he had gotten daily evapotranspiration data from a local weather-related website. A basic understanding of his irrigation system allowed him the ability to use this information and program the system to apply what was required. As I ran through the different irrigation zones on the field, I noticed some heads were not rotating, others were puddling and still others were watering in the wrong direction. Irrigation heads within the same zone were randomly fitted with different size nozzles. An irrigation audit completed by a certified irrigation auditor later reported that the system was only about 60% efficient. Examination of the soil profile revealed major differences in soil compaction. In some areas of the field I could insert a soil probe 7 or 8 inches, in other areas only two or three. By coincidence, areas of sod replaced the year before due to fungus, coincided with these areas of heavier compaction. The areas of heavy compaction were programmed to receive the same amount of water as areas with much less compaction. Poor drainage in the heavily compacted areas was causing standing water to accumulate after irrigation. I can only assume that wet feet coupled with restricted root development had some bearing on sod loss. In an attempt to optimize the effectiveness of the irrigation, I pur- chased a soil moisture meter. I did this intent on gaining a better Soil dynamicS and effective irrigation management Image ©istockphoto.com/AdShooter.