strength was constant or decreased from June through August, indi- cating that very little root development occurs from June through August. Very few increases in rooting strength occurred from May to June, indicating that installation by early April would be highly desirable.
Late fall sod installation is an attractive alternative to traditional spring sod installation for three main reasons: 1) sod rooting strength will be considerably greater than spring or early summer installed sod throughout the growing season, 2) the greatest root de- velopment occurs fairly early in spring (i.e. April to May) when sod installations are typically difficult due to wet soil conditions, busy contractors, or anticipated athletic field use, and 3) based on the rooting strength data collected, athletic fields established in early December will likely be ready to use in May of the next year. The primary advantage to late fall sod installations is having the ability to re-establish an athletic field during a time when typical field use is minimal. A more comprehensive form of this research has been published
in Applied Turfgrass Science, an online journal for applied turfgrass science professionals. Editor’s note: The author would like to thank Bob Hudzik, Head of
Stadium Operations and Athletic Grounds at the Pennsylvania State University, a well-respected industry leader, innovator, and mentor in the turfgrass profession, for sparking the idea for this research. ■
Figure 4. ROOTING STRENGTH of Kentucky bluegrass in relation to sod in- stallation and root pull dates, 2007. Means within a root pull date followed by the same letter are not significantly different (P < 0.05).
Jason J. Henderson, Ph.D., is assistant professor, Turfgrass and Soil Sciences, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at the University of Connecticut.
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