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/32290
Q&A Protecting our precious water I BY DR. DAVID MINNER Professor, Iowa State University Questions? Send them to David Minner at Iowa State University, 106 Horti- culture Hall, Ames, IA 50011 or email dminner@iastate.edu. Or, send your question to Grady Miller at North Carolina State University, Box 7620, Raleigh, NC 27695-7620, or email grady_miller@ncsu.edu. WAS DRIVING THROUGH SOUTH DAKOTA on my way to the Bighorn River in Mon- tana to set myself right with the world by way of a tranquil float with rising trout when the phone beep interrupted my favorite an- nual dream. With trees left behind in Iowa the open expanse off bluffs, buttes, and badlands helps me imagine what it would look like to first take away the telephone poles and wires, then the fences, railroad, and boundaries, then buildings, and all those annoying “Wall Drug” signs. Once everything created since 1870 is gone I can just about see Sitting Bull on the horizon with a band of Hunkpapas, Lakota, Oglalas, and Sioux; I’ll spare you my living in a tipi dream. The phone beep instantly recovers the earth with technology and progress as I decide to take another call be- cause there is no phone service in Fort Smith on the Bighorn River; an important point when you really want to get away. The Iowa DNR Source Water Protection Coordinator needed athletic field nitrogen recommen- dations for community planning teams who are addressing high ni- trates in the source water capture zone for high schools. The simple answer is 2 to 4 lbs N/1000sqft/yr for soil-based fields and 4 to 6 lbs for sand-based fields. It’s also important to consider nitrogen source and timing of ap- plication to reduce nitrogen con- tamination of public water supplies. At least 50% of N applied should be from a slow release source. Soluble applications of N, such as urea and ammonium ni- trate, should be made in a manner to avoid runoff from rain events and should never be applied to frozen ground where N easily runs off in winter or early spring. Leave 46 SportsTurf | June 2011 at least a 10-foot nitrogen-free buffer around all open grate drains and avoid fertilizer application on hard or impervious surfaces. We are correct to point out that there is good evidence that a thick stand of grass slows surface water movement and reduces nitrogen runoff, but intense traffic areas having less than 50% turfgrass cover can experience a two-thirds increase in surface runoff, so a rapid re-vegetation strategy is not only necessary for playability but also important to reduce nitrogen loss. Athletic fields are usually built with a network of subsurface drains and a crown or surface slope up to 1.5% for the sole purpose of encouraging drainage and reduc- tion of soggy fields. Think about it; that water goes somewhere down the stream of flow, and what you should be asking yourself is does it contain some of the products I have applied and am I doing every- thing possible to reduce contami- nation of water that leaves the property under my control? Does your environmental report card contain any of these positive steps to reduce nitrogen runoff on your entire facility and not just the field? Examples are slow release ni- trogen, bioswales, maximum turf density, maximum turf height, re- duced or no fertilizer buffer zones near water ways, water catchment and water reuse systems, and rain gardens. Also, avoid or sweep up any in- advertent fertilizer application on hard surfaces such as sidewalks, streets, or parking lots. Do not use a hose to wash fertilizer down the drain or storm water system, it all ends up in our rivers or lakes that may be used for drinking water. So, every time I momentarily lift one of these amazingly beauti- ful trout from many of the rivers fished from Iowa to Montana, I ask myself, is my turfgrass industry doing everything possible to reduce contamination of the precious water they live in? You can answer that for me by turning your aware- ness into action. Tell me your envi- ronmental stewardship story and I’ll make sure it gets told to those who need to hear it. I really wanted this message to be about making sure you take some time to recharge your spirit along the way as I know you put in many long seasonal hours to get your fields ready during the play- ing season. Trout fishing is a pas- sion that rekindles my spirit and also reminds me that we all have a role to play in conserving and protecting our precious water supply. ■ www.sportsturfonline.com