Q & A WITH DR . GRADY MILLER

Our city wants to host more multipleday travel tournaments on top of our heavy weekday schedules . Do you have any tips to improve recovery so we can sustain this additional wear and keep our field standards high ?

Too much use on the limited number of fields continues to be an issue in areas of the country that are experiencing rapid population growth . Adding synthetic fields or replacing some percentage of natural grass fields with synthetic surfaces has been the answer for some towns and schools . I am partial to natural grass fields , but when there is a desire to schedule fields like they are tennis or basketball courts — with no downtime — I understand the need for synthetic surfaces .

Some cities like the idea of building “ mega parks ” or multi-sport complexes that can host larger tournaments and generate local revenue from sales and lodging taxes . In many cases , these do not replace the smaller community-based facilities , which are useful for daily play and smaller tournaments . Consequently , new tournament mega parks often have a positive influence on the field conditions of smaller parks .

The four major components of a well-constructed field are a good soil medium , appropriate drainage , a well-designed irrigation system and establishment with an adapted turfgrass . Afterward , it is all about controlled use , water management and field maintenance .

Your first line of defense in keeping a field in the best shape possible is to control field use . Moving field sidelines or goals ( as allowed by the sport and available field area ) can be effective at changing your dominant wear areas . Over the season , this can be extremely effective . If the amount of use continues to escalate , at some point it can overwhelm routine maintenance practices . This is why it is paramount that field managers have the ability to influence field scheduling and closure . Part of that influence should include a rainout policy for the fields .

With respect to maintenance practices , turfgrass should be mowed regularly based on growth rate and desired mowing height . Most grasses / fields have a “ sweet spot ” for mowing height . For hybrid

bermudagrass in the transition zone , that sweet spot is usually somewhere between 0.75 and 1.5 inches . I have also seen some great fields mown at 0.5 inch and others at 2 inches , so it may take some experimenting to find where your field performs best .

For a turfgrass to recover from wear , it must be actively growing . Bermudagrass will respond to nitrogen fertilizer ; in general , the higher the rate , the faster the recovery from damage . Also , well-fertilized grasses are darker green and generally will have fewer weeds . A good rule of thumb is to apply one pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per growing month . Some turfgrass managers will selectively increase rates in the high-wear areas in addition to the blanket applications .

Proactively core aerify the fields on a regular basis . In addition to reducing compaction , this practice helps with water infiltration , fertilizer efficiency and gas release . Using solid tines or venting the field between core aeration can also help during the season when you do not want surface disruption . The more a field is used , the more it should be aerified . My recommendation is to core aerify high-use fields a minimum of three to four times per growing season . There are more practices and products that could be used , but these usually come at a much greater cost . Construction alternatives include using sand-based soil profiles with extensive subsurface drainage , and replacing high-wear areas during play with thick-cut sod . Managing surface temperatures with growth covers or managing light levels with grow lights can improve recovery , but at a substantial investment cost . In the end , a budget usually draws the line as to what is possible . SFM

Grady Miller , Ph . D . Professor and Extension Turf Specialist North Carolina State University

Questions ? Send them to Grady Miller at North Carolina State University , Box 7620 , Raleigh , NC 27695-7620 , or e-mail grady _ miller @ ncsu . edu

Or , send your question to Pamela Sherratt at 202 Kottman Hall , 2001 Coffey Road , Columbus , OH 43210 or sherratt . 1 @ osu . edu

50 SportsField Management | May 2024 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com