Q & A WITH DR . GRADY MILLER

Our baseball field has developed a significant lip around the perimeter of the clay , especially between second base and third base . What are the best ways to repair it , and how can I keep it from happening in the future ?

Lip development , which is a buildup of infield material on the turfgrass edge , is a fairly common occurrence on baseball and softball fields . A lip is unsafe , as it can cause erratic ball bounce and tripping hazards . Lips also hinder surface drainage from the infield skin to outside perimeter drains . The resulting ragged edges also look bad . Lip prevention requires management of the turfgrass and the skinned surfaces .

Lips should be removed before they become a safety issue . This job is easiest if undertaken when the grass is actively growing and there are no scheduled events on the field for a few weeks . For bermudagrass fields , lip removal is often included with other summer repairs . The best removal options are a sod cutter or a fraise mower . If the lip is fairly abrupt and localized near the clay edge , a sod cutter is usually the easiest way to remove excess material . The site will often require some grading before re-sodding . If the infield material has accumulated several feet into the surrounding turfgrass , it will require expansive material removal that is not easily accomplished with a sod cutter . It will be more effective to contract with someone to come in with a fraise mower to strip out a larger arc around the infield . Another advantage of this method is that fraise mowing should leave a smooth surface that may not require further grading before sodding .

After re-sodding , the desired infield edge should be marked and mechanically edged . In many cases , additional infield material may need to be added . Rototill the area to thoroughly mix the added and existing infield materials . Pack the new material to match the existing infield firmness and to establish a smooth transition from infield to turfgrass surface .

To prevent the lip from developing in the future , perform preventative maintenance practices after every practice and game . Practices that are often used include brooming ,

blowing and / or raking material from grass edges . Experiment to see what tools and techniques work best with your field and labor . Blasting the turfgrass edge with water under pressure every few weeks is also helpful to aggressively flush deposited material from the grass edges .

A large part in preventing lips is to reduce bermudagrass encroachment into the clay areas . Periodically edge bermudagrass along the infield skin , baselines , mound , plate and warning track with a power edger to retain the original field specifications and to maintain crisp edges . Remove any rooted stolons with a loop or scuffle hoe . Some managers apply a high rate of pre-emergence herbicide to the infield skin to prevent bermudagrass stolons from tacking down . The stolons can then be easily trimmed with a power edger and removed with a leaf rake .

Keeping proper moisture in the infield skin area to reduce wind-induced clay movement is very important , as wind can accelerate lip formation . The use of conditioner on the infield can help with moisture management .

My last piece of advice is to re-train yourself and anyone who drags or rakes your infield . Nothing causes lips to build faster than improper dragging or raking . It is easy to get in a hurry on a piece of equipment when dragging , and toss excess materials onto the turfgrass . When dragging with a machine , stay away from the turfgrass edges to prevent accidently tossing material onto the turfgrass . If possible , manually pull smaller drags for basepaths , base cutouts , infield edges , and home plate . When hand raking , always rake parallel to the turfgrass edge , not toward it . 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 | November 2021 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com