Category: Athletic Fields

Tremendous progress has occurred since our last update, 17 May, on the projects to enhance the football practice and game fields at Purdue University. These have been exciting times for all those associated with the Turf program as we have...

After nearly a week of steady rain in West Lafayette and across the region, work was finally able to continue on the Ross-Ade stadium and South football practice field renovations. The existing Kentucky bluegrass/perennial ryegrass turf in Ross-Ade was removed...

We are suspecting more and more instances of actual nematode damage or at least secondary effects of nematodes in golf greens. Effects of nematode feeding would include yellowing, thinning, enhanced drought stress, and other symptoms reflective of a poor root...

Tremendous improvement in the artificial turfs has renewed interest in these turfs for sports fields. The decision to use artificial turf is difficult because these fields are a huge investment to install, maintain, and eventually replace. This technology is relatively...

For anyone who watched major college football in the Midwest this fall, you’ve noticed that the fields are tearing up with divots and blow outs. Some major universities have even resodded their fields after the opening few games in hopes...

The summer’s heat and humidity have taken an unusually high toll on turf in lawns, athletic fields, and golf courses. Most of the decline can be attributed to poor root growth weakening cool-season grasses and starting an avalanche of secondary...

Persistent air temperatures of 90F and soil temperatures greater than 80F combine with high humidity and adequate rainfall (in some areas) is doing in the Poa annua (annual bluegrass)and Poa trivialis (rough bluegrass)on golf courses. After a week or two...

Persistent air temperatures of 90F and soil temperatures greater than 80F combine with high humidity and adequate rainfall (in some areas) is also doing in the Poa annua (annual bluegrass)and Poa trivialis (rough bluegrass)on lawns and athletic fields. Patches of...

Dollar spot has arrived on golf courses. The standard mid- to late May fertilization of 0.75-1.0 lb N/1000 sq. ft. with primarily slow release N should have helped minimize some dollar spot. On golf courses with a long history of...

Fertilizing sports turf is critical in order to maintain turf vigor in spite of intense wear and tear. However, too little fertilizer or poorly timed fertilizer are common mistakes on sports complexes. Following are our recommendations for sports field fertilization:...

The end is near for Fall-use athletic fields, either literally or figuratively. With the recent wet weather, football and soccer fields have taken a beating. Don’t give up on these fields yet, because after the last game or practice is...

Poa annua (annual bluegrass) and Poa trivialis (rough bluegrass) in athletic fields and lawns are starting to show signs of stress. The signs of stress include laying over (poor mow-ability), yellowing, and thinning. Patches of these fine-bladed grasses seemingly die overnight with even a...

The small white flowers of white clover are very visible right now and it may appear that clover is taking over, especially under-fertilized turf areas. Clover is a legume and is very competitive under low N conditions, so increasing annual...

Though flooding damage so far this year is not as bad as last year, a number of areas have been hard hit with rainfall the last week (see the photo of Lafayette Municipal Golf Course). We don’t expect damage to...

If you’re lucky enough to be in the areas of Indiana that have received ample rainfall, you are unfortunately starting to see dollar spot. The excess rain in parts of the state triggered rapid plant growth and infrequent mowing, which...

As a follow up to last week’s Turf Tip, Poa trivialis control in athletic fields is far more complicated than in lawns. Poa trivialis is a weed because it will go dormant in July or August (perfect timing before the football season), but will...

There’s been some interest in the new low-mow varieties of Kentucky bluegrass for fairways in IN. In response to this, we initiated a research study in August of 2002 where we established a blend of top-performing low-mow Kentucky bluegrasses on...

Annual bluegrass (Poa annua) and rough bluegrass (Poa trivialis) are becoming common weeds in lawns and athletic fields, though they have been a problem on golf courses for a long time. Both of these grasses are very visible right now...

As stated in last year’s Turf Tips on 4/14/03, seeded Bermudagass is a great grass for southern IN athletic fields. We now have a brand new extension publication on our web page entitled AY-325-W: Bermudagrass for Southern Indiana Athletic Fields....

A research study was initiated at Purdue University to evaluate two sand topdressing products for their ability to enhance creeping bentgrass spring green-up. Treatments were applied at three application rates in the third week of January 2004 to a ‘Crenshaw’...