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/49194
FieldScience tivars that did considerably well, even at 5/8 mowing height, so watch out for those! New this fall we have established a Ken- tucky bluegrass trial that includes common types, compacts, hybrids, monostands and blends. With some pretty intense manage- ment at the onset, we were able to go from "seed to play" in about 7 weeks and we will be evaluating wear tolerance in the spring of 2012. Also new this winter is an over- seeding study that we will continue as long as the ground isn't snow-covered. We are looking at germination of annual, perennial and tetraploid ryegrasses during the winter months. Lastly, we are very fortunate to have a great relationship with the Director of Sports Medicine, Dr. Tim Hewett, who has joined forces with us on some grants and research projects. His specialty is ACL in- jury, so his input on traction research is in- valuable. We recently acquired a pneumatic foot that can simulate athlete maneuvers like starting, stopping and cutting. The beauty about this equipment is that we do not have to have plots of turf installed at the turf facility at cost to a sponsor, as we can test small samples in the lab. We continue to test & look at synthetic turf hardness in relation to Gmax and Head Injury Criteria (HIC) and we would Title of Research Study, Ohio State The use of FeHEDTA herbicides as biorational broadleaf weed controls Timing of application of Cavalcade PQ for post/Pre emergence control of crabgrass Herbicide programs for seeding/overseeding Broadleaf weed control products Microclover and turfgrass ecosystems Dispersible granular technology The effect of various cultural practices on put- ting green firmness Athletic field protection systems Turfgrass physiology in shade Impact of dew on turf health The effect of enhanced ultraviolet light on turf- grass physiology The effects of compost topdressing on native soil health and sports turf playing quality Models to measure carbon sequestration in the landscape Ecologically sustainable turfgrass Drought resistant perennial ryegrass Natural and synthetic fertilizers Granular plant growth regulators Winter over-seeding with annual, perennial, and tetraploid ryegrasses Kentucky bluegrass establishment and wear tolerance Effects of surface characteristics on the traction and hardness of synthetic and natural turf Fungicide efficacy trials Bacterial wilt Insecticide efficacy trials like to further investigate critical fall heights in relation to sports like rugby and football, to make sure our playing surfaces do not contribute to concussions. There are many projects we'd like to do, we just need the funding! For more info on our Sports Turf Program, see our website: Buckeyeturf.osu.edu or visit us on Face- book (Buckeye Turf) and Twitter (Osu- turf ).-by Pam Sherratt, sports turf extension specialist >> THIS PNEUMATIC FOOT can simulate ath- lete maneuvers like starting, stopping and cut- ting, and Ohio State researchers can test small samples in the lab rather than having to install costly plots. RUTGERS UNIVERSITY The following is a synopsis of ongoing and future sports turf research projects at Rutgers. Traffic stress research concluded on the 14 SportsTurf | December 2011 Joe Rimelspach & Todd Hicks Dr. Dave Shetlar & Jen Andon 2006 National Turfgrass Evaluation Pro- gram (NTEP) Tall Fescue Trial at Rutgers Hort. Farm II in North Brunswick, NJ in 2011. Wear and compaction were applied to the trial in Spring 2009 and 2011; Sum- mer 2008 and 2010; and Fall 2007 and 2009. Wear stress was applied with the Rutgers Wear Simulator, a modified M24C5A Sweepster in which the steel brush on the unit was replaced with rubber paddles. The rotational movements of the paddles causes wear. The simulator allows control of both forward operating speed as well as paddle rpm. Compaction was ap- plied with a 1.5-ton roller. Results suggest that attention should be given to tall fescue variety selection for www.sportsturfonline.com Dr. David Gardner & Emily Horner Principle Investigator Dr. John Street & Deb Holdren All turfgrass science team Arly Drake (MS) & Dr. T. Karl Danneberger Matt Williams (PhD) & Dr. T. Karl Danneberger Aneta Studzinska (PhD) & Dr. T. Karl Dan- neberger (completed 2011) Dr. T. Karl Danneberger Ed Nangle (PhD) & Dr. David Gardner Marcela Munoz (MS) & Dr. John Street (com- pleted 2011) Gina Zirkle (MS) (completed 2011) Andrew Muntz (MS) & Dr. David Gardner Pam Sherratt & Dr. John Street