BASED ON MY OWN OBSERVATIONS OF HANDS ON MAINTENANCE PRACTICES ON OVER 250 DIFFERENT SPORTS FIELDS

THESE PRACTICES SHOULD BE LOOKED AT LIKE A PYRAMID- THE CLOSER YOU GET TO THE TOP, GAINS WILL BE SMALLER.

1.IRRIGATION – INCREASE OF 10 TO 40% IN QUALITY OF TURF (DENSITY AND RECOVERY)

• We generally have an inch deficit of water per week from the second week of June to the first week of September in upstate NY. Find out what your deficit is and what your irrigation system capabilities are and try to match that. For example, if your irrigation system runs at ½ inch of water per hour, water two times a week during these times.
• Only water more than that if you need a lot of recovery and fast!
• If you do not have an irrigation system- GET ONE. Dormant turfgrasses do not have any recuperative or competitive potential AT ALL! If you do not have an irrigation system and your fields are used in the summer, you should expect to have accelerated wear.
• Irrigation scheduling should be scheduled around play. If you irrigate and your field takes time to dry, do not irrigate before games. Surface water or high moisture conditions at the soil surface are a leading cause of accelerated wear.

• Soil and tissue tests on a yearly basis should be the NORM! How do you know what to use and how much if you don’t know what you have in the first place?
• Just because your soil and/or tissue tests are "normal" doesn’t mean you don’t have to fertilize! You have to balance the amount of play, the skill level of play, and the size of the athletes with growth, recovery, density, and overall health by fertilizing on a regular basis. Look at it this way, If 2 different soil tests came back normal and one was a home lawn and the other was a NFL Football field, would you fertilize or not fertilize the two areas the same?
• The pH should play a major role in what fertilizers you use, how efficient they will be, and what challenges you will still have to face- i.e. calcareous soils.

• Studies have shown that raising and lowering the height of cut during the year will put more stress on the turf than if you left the height the same throughout the year.
• 1/3 rule- Do not cut more than 1/3 of the leaf tissue when mowing. If your height of cut on your field is 2", do not let the turf grow more than 3" before mowing. Disobeying 1/3 rule = ROOT LOSS
• Lower heights of cut (11/4" and lower) will promote density (more individual plants with fewer leaves) and make your turf to look like a carpet –these lower heights of cut might also triple your maintenance budget. Heights of >2&1/2 will cause your turf to have less individual plants with more leaves. Look at a golf course tee vs. a fairway vs. the rough in relation to height and density.

• Make as many holes as possible – 2"X 2" spacing is GOOD!
• Remove thatch balls as much as you can.
• Aerate 2 to 5 times a year depending on how much play you get.
• The use of solid tines can actually increase compaction.

• Addresses field safety in relation to playability, traction, and field smoothness.

• Addresses field safety in relation to playability, traction, and field smoothness.
• Rolling when the field is wet or using a roller that is too heavy can actually increase compaction.
• Rolling should be a last resort to correct field smoothness either after an event in which the surface was greatly disrupted and mowing might cause further harm, to eliminate frost heaves, or during the construction stages of a new field.
• Aerifying should accompany rolling.

• 2 biggest failures of seeding are poor soil to seed contact and seed drying out.
• Research has shown that if you overseed into an existing stand of dense turf, you will probably have very little survival. Seedlings cannot compete with mature, dense, turf stands.
• Fine Fescues have lower maintenance requirements than Ryes and Esp. Bluegrasses, but they do not have an acceptable rate of recovery.
• Newer varieties usually have the best characteristics- better wear-tolerance, better drought tolerance etc.- Find your right varieties at WWW.NTEP.ORG

• Grubs can devastate root systems- roots are everything in turf.
• Some insect infestations can actually "clean up" a field in which you can reduce the amount of poor varieties and species with these infestations for FREE!

• In your lifetime, you will probably never see turf taking over an area with a high concentration of weeds, but you can expect the opposite on a yearly basis with poor turf conditions.
• Weeds do not produce thatch like turf, which is extremely important for player safety in relation to field softness and traction.
• Some species of weeds can tell you a lot about your field such as if your field is compacted, excessively wet or if you have poor fertility conditions.
• Annual grassy weeds such as Crabgrass will out-compete beneficial grasses especially in the summer months. These grasses will usually die after the first frost leaving potentially large areas devoid of turf.

• Some diseases like Pythium and Gray leaf spot can devastate turf in hours!
• Moisture is the limiting factor with most diseases so drainage and proper irrigation are critical.

• Balance is the key for thatch production. Thatch can best be described as the ‘fat’ for turfgrasses. If the turf grows faster than microbes can breakdown thatch, the thatch layer can get too thick. A good starting point is 1/4 to 1/2 inch for baseball, 1/3 to ½ inch for soccer, and 1/2 to 3/4 inch for football.
• pH problems can also cause very little microbial activity causing excessive thatch.

• Soils that are too high in sand, silt, and/or clay can be modified over time to help drainage, fertility, traction and safety issues. This is usually done with aerification or similar machines.
• Sand based fields are extremely common on high-end fields such as professional baseball, football, and soccer. The biggest advantage that sand based fields have over other fields is that unless they are frozen, they drain 24/7. The biggest disadvantage for sand based fields is that unless they are frozen, they drain 24/7.
• Sand based fields require a lot more fertilizer, water, and other maintenance practices.
• Slope is critical for good drainage.

• IF YOU ‘MISS YOUR WINDOW’ ON ALL ABOVE, NO MATTER HOW SMALL OR TRIVIAL, GUESS WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN? POOR TURF.