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 | Dr. Grady Miller >> APPLYING FIRST COAT of colorant to dormant bermudagrass. pick/purchase a colorant, add water plus colorant to your sprayer, and begin spraying. If the color is not even or dark enough, you can go over the area again. There is some clean-up, but no season-long care like with over- seeding. Of course with anything good, Turning fields green using turf colorants I t has been called "instant overseeding"—the practice of applying a green turf colorant to dormant grass. Turf managers in the southeastern United States have traditionally overseeded dormant bermudagrass fields to have a green field during the winter and early spring months. But the spring transition from overseeded grasses to bermudagrass is often problematic due to drought resistant cool-season grass vari- eties and extended cool and wet conditions in late spring. Applying colorant to semi-dormant to dormant bermudagrass fields provides an al- ternative to overseeding, while still providing an attractive, playable field surface. Before you start painting, it is important to research to find the pros and cons of the practice because the practice may not be a good fit for everyone. One benefit associated with colorants rather than overseeding is affordability. A gallon of turf colorant will run from $30 to $75, with most distributors giving volume discounts. The average cost of colorant needed for a 2-acre field using the higher recommended application rates would be about $600, with a range of 16 SportsTurf | December 2011 $400 to $1,000 an application, depending on the colorant brand and application rate. Over- seeding establishment can costs can easily top $1,000 (not including season-long maintenance costs). So colorant can be a less expensive alter- native. And with seeding, there are all the issues with picking your seed, ground preparation, seeding, watering, fertilizing, mowing, pest con- trol, spring transitioning, etc. The painting process can be boiled down to there are also some downsides. The biggest issue is that it does not pro- vide a wearable playing surface like an overseeded grass. Once the dor- mant bermudagrass tissue is worn away, there is no regeneration until spring. So, the "wear factor" must be considered. And while the un- knowing observer may be fooled looking at a painted field, to a field manager it will be easy to notice the duller finish from painting ver- sus the nicely stripped, shiny sur- face of a freshly mown, overseeded field. Over the last few years, we have conducted numerous studies at North Carolina State University to evaluate various colorant products. Our first detailed studies were ap- plied to putting greens in fall 2008 and 2009. Subsequent trials have included evaluations on bermuda- grass mowed at heights similar to those commonly used on athletic fields. Colorant brands that were used in the original trails included: Green Lawnger (Becker Under- wood), LESCO Green (John Deere Landscapes), Mtp Turfgreen (Missouri Turf Colorant,), Titan If the color is not even or dark enough, you can go over the area again. There is some clean-up, but no season-long care like with overseeding. www.sportsturfonline.com By