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/484138
www.stma.org April 2015 | SportsTurf 41 Why STMA Should conSider your field A Winner? Every turf manager deals with a variety of challenges year in and year out, but by far the most challenging issue, in my opinion, is the weather and how quickly it can change. The total precipitation amount we have accumulated in Lexington is 47.41 inches, to date. The average amount of precipitation is 35.69, that's a difference of +11.72. Rain is beneficial in so many ways; it is a key ingredient in pro- ducing strong healthy turf that we as turf managers strive for. One major concern is that we cannot control the amount of rainfall, like we can with irrigation. Too much and we will have a flooded infield, an unsafe and sloppy outfield, or a moat where your warning track once was. Depending on the time of year and geographic location, rainfall can freeze, which gives you more challenges to figure out. This past softball season brought many challenges both profes- sionally and personally. The 2014 season would be my first at UK Softball. I have never maintained a 100% ryegrass field or dealt with native soil with heavy clay content. I have done minimal snow/ice removal in the past (parking lots), but never on an athletic field. Plus, being separated from my wife and daughter as we tried to finalize an ongoing adop- tion only added to my list of challenges. I had circled February 28 on my calendar. That was the date I had to have the field ready to go for the UK Tournament, the first of two tournaments we were hosting this season. One of the biggest challenges we faced all season was with the infield going through multiple freeze/thaw periods leading up to February 28. If I knew it was going to rain/snow I would not hesitate to put on the tarp. However, the problem I encountered was that snow and ice removal has to be handled differently than after a heavy rainfall. The tarp needs to be kept free of holes or tears, which is why we purchase a spare just in case. We learned quickly that spreading Urea on the tarp or on the frozen warning track expe- dites the melting process. On February 10, I used the JD 800 walk behind aerifier to pen- etrate the frozen surface of the infield with minimal to no success. We then applied bags of "Sure Dry," hoping to get some product below the surface and help draw out moisture. Once the thawing had begun, we applied pallets of "Sure Dry" to continue drawing the moisture out. We initially tried this method in January and had good results, so the process was repeated several times leading up to the 28. Once satisfied, we would remove the top layer of unwanted material before applying conditioner to the infield. The warning track was handled in a similar fashion; Urea, JD 800 walk behind aerifier, "Sure Dry" and the addition of adding track material/grading. The warning track would show signs of wear anytime there was snow removal. During the snow removal process, all the snow from the outfield is pushed to the track and then hauled away with a tractor and Pro Gators. I was surprised by how well the ryegrass responded to all that was happening on and around it. I am fortunate that the team has an indoor facility in which to practice so early in the year. Because of the new indoor facility, only two full field snow removals were required before the weather broke. I am glad the weather broke when it did FielD oF the Year Softball field equipment liSt John Deere #2653B triplex Mower "Whale" Super Sopper Buffalo turbine troy-Bilt #tB554 lawn edger troy-Bilt #tB110 21" rotary Push Mower (2) echo #SrM-266 Weed eater (2) echo #PB-755St Backpack Blower echo #Pe-266S Stick edger John Deere, Pro Gator John Deere, 1200a three Wheeler John Deere, tC125 John Deere, #800 Walk behind aerifier lesco Push Spreader turfco, Mete-r-Matic iV topdresser John Deere, #4320 tractor redexim, #7416 Verti Drain