JOHN MASCARO’ S PHOTO QUIZ
CAN YOU IDENTIFY THIS TURFGRASS PROBLEM?
PROBLEM: Yellow turf in a circular pattern
TURFGRASS AREA: High school baseball field
LOCATION: Northeastern United States
TURFGRASS VARIETY: Kentucky bluegrass and perennial rye
Your
opinions,
Your rewards *
Scan to start earning!
* Rewards may vary.
ANSWER
The yellow turf in a circular pattern on this high school municipal baseball field is probably something familiar to everyone who hosts baseball. It’ s the disease known as the“ CircleOfDeathSporium,” and is usually caused by coaches who remove baseball mound tarps and leave them laying on the turf after batting practice is over. In this instance, the team took it off and left it overnight— and a day or two after the practice. When the maintenance crew arrived to do maintenance on the field, they found the circle. Hopefully it was a learning lesson for the coach not to do this again after he saw the effects of leaving the tarp on the turf. In this instance, the turf was able to recover. If it occurred during the heat of the summer, renovation and re-seeding would have been needed.
Photo submitted by Ryan McGillivray, vice president of operations, DMSE Sports, Inc., Boston.
John Mascaro is president of Turf-Tec International
If you would like to submit a photograph for John Mascaro’ s Photo Quiz, please send a high-resolution digital photo to John Mascaro at john @ turf-tec. com. If your photograph is selected, you will receive full credit. All photos become property of SportsField Management magazine and the Sports Field Management Association.