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/73468
ance was affected similarly by nitrogen fertility. The lowest N regime (2.0 lb/1000 ft.2) applied all at once at seeding, resulted in the highest traffic tolerance during both years of the study. Let's get back to our big question: is tall fescue a viable alterna- tive to perennial ryegrass during summer establishment of an ath- letic field? Our research shows that if you can restrict use for at least 14 weeks after seeding, TTTF would be an acceptable alter- native to perennial ryegrass for late spring/summer establishment. To maximize ground cover at the end of the fall playing season, TTTF should be seeded using at least 6 lb/1000 ft.2 and that you should apply 2.0 lb N/1000 ft.2. We recommend that the 2.0 lb N/1000 ft.2 should be applied with a slow release nitrogen fertil- izer (about 30% water insoluble nitrogen) early in the grow-in to speed establishment, but inputs should be backed off during the season. During both years of our study additional nitrogen inputs during the establishment and/or fall traffic period resulted in lower percent ground cover in November. If adequate time does not exist to grow-in your athletic field before field use in the fall, perennial ryegrass may be the better option. Perennial ryegrass establishes and matures quicker than tall fescue and appears to better tolerate traffic stress when play begins 10 weeks after seeding. Before beginning a summer reestablishment with TTTF, a few important considerations should be made. Irrigation should be accessible for at least the first 2-3 weeks to allow the turfgrass plants to germinate and mature enough to tolerate the summer heat. We applied adequate but not excessive irrigation throughout the establishment period in order to avoid significant drought stress. Also, precautions should be taken to monitor brown patch (a common disease of tall fescue that can be exacerbated by excessive nitrogen fertilization during hot, moist weather) although the same issue exists when establishing perennial ryegrass during the summer. Lastly, maintenance of these fields will be just as important as the renovation process. Continual overseeding will be just as nec- essary as before to assist in divot recovery. In the past, tall fescue use on athletic fields was limited. Tall fescue had a tendency to form clumps, was aesthetically unap- pealing, and established from seed slower than perennial rye- grass. These obstacles often influenced field managers to choose perennial ryegrass over tall fescue. In lower maintenance situa- tions, tall fescue can outperform perennial ryegrass because it is more tolerant of summer heat, drought, and to some degree dis- ease outbreaks. The use of newer TTTF cultivars may be appropriate for ath- letic fields established during a short time period in the summer. When given at least 14 weeks to establish, prior to play, our re- search at Penn State has shown that TTTF appears to form a traf- fic tolerant canopy that is comparable to perennial ryegrass. ■ McNitt at Penn State University. Tom Serensits is the Research Man- ager for Penn State's Sports Surface Research Center. Michael Shelley is an MS candidate studying under Dr. Andrew www.stma.org SportsTurf 11