Determining Wear Tolerance of Turfgrass Species for Athletic Fields in the Transition Zone

A study to evaluate the performance of four different turfgrass varieties under simulated athletic field traffic in the transition zone was conducted in Tennesseeand Arkansas. ‘Thermal Blue’ hybrid bluegrass (Poa arachnifera Torr. x P. pratensis L.) has been introduced as a bluegrass variety bred for increased heat and drought tolerance. This variety provides a possible alternative to bermudagrass varieties in transition zone athletic fields. ‘Thermal Blue’ was compared to common bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L. Pers.) varieties ‘Riviera’ and ‘Quickstand’ and the hybrid bermudagrass (C. dactylon L. Pers. x C. transvaalensis Burt-Davy) variety ‘Tifway’. Each turfgrass species was tested with and without a 2 cm crumb rubber topdressing application in their first year of establishment. The Cady Traffic Simulator was used to simulate athletic field traffic on each plot. Low and high traffic conditions were obtained by applying 1 and 3 traffic applications, respectively week^-1. ‘HTBG’ proved to be acceptable for use in transition zone athletic fields. ‘Riviera’ showed comparable wear tolerance to ‘Tifway’. ‘Quickstand’ showed the lowest wear tolerance of the varieties tested. Crumb rubber topdressing resulted in a significant increase in turfgrass wear tolerance, and a decrease in surface hardness, soil bulk density, and shear resistance.

Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) was tested to see if it could be used to detect soil compaction incidences in athletic field environments. GPR readings were compared to Clegg Impact Soil Tester (Clegg hammer) readings taken from Shields-Watkins Field in Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tenn. Visual comparisons between the two methods showed that maps produced using GPR were comparable to those produced with the Clegg hammer. GPR can possibly be a method for predicting compaction in athletic field soils.