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/726375
22 SportsTurf | October 2016 www.sportsturfonline.com FIELD SCIENCE cover of grass. The sprigged plots are growing in effectively; however, they will require much more growth to completely }fi ll the area. It is diffi cult to determine if the AquaSmart treatments are providing benefi ts to establish the turf more quickly with reduced irrigation, but hopefully the weed pressure will be managed more effectively with our second planting date to more effectively evaluate the potential benefi ts. An application of pre-emerge herbicide (oxidiazon) to non-seeded plots will hopefully limit weed pressure and provide improved data collection. As of 2 weeks post planting, there was limited evidence of turf growth from the second planting date, but we should start seeing some new growth very soon from these treatments. The ultimate goal and potential benefi t of this research would be to determine if the polymer-coated sands could maintain improved moisture around sprigs or seeded bermudagrasses to reduce the irrigation requirements to establish grasses on an athletic fi eld. Turf researchers have successfully demonstrated effective management practices and products that can reduce the water requirements of established turf species and cultivars; however, limited research has proven effective techniques to reduce water requirements when establishing turf. If this product can effectively reduce water needs at establishment, this could be a major breakthrough for sports fi eld managers undergoing renovations or overseeding practices in the spring. There are a number of companies that provided products for us to conduct this research that should be acknowledged. RainBird provided new irrigation valves, heads, and a controller for us to alter the irrigation system into three independent zones. Sod Solutions provided sod that was cut into sprigs, and Johnston Seed Company provide Riviera bermudagrass. AquaSmart donated a large quantity of their product and additional fi nancial support was provided through Texas A&M's Turf Research, Education, and Extension Endowment. Joseph Young, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Texas Tech University. Joey also serves as the Technical Editor for this magazine. He can reached at joey.young@ttu.edu. The variations between AquaSmart and control treatments from a green color perspective. AQUASMART NA AQUASMART A CONTROL A CONTROL NA JULY 22, 2015