Soil water content (SWC) influences the consistency and performance of athletic field surfaces. Two studies were conducted at the University of Tennessee Center for Athletic Field Safety, Knoxville, TN, to determine how SWC affects wear tolerance of hybrid bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. × C. transvaalensis Burtt‐Davy, ‘Tifway’] on root zones composed of either silt loam (cohesive) or sand meeting US Golf Association specifications (noncohesive). Soil water content treatments for cohesive root zones averaged low (0.06–0.13 m3 m−3), medium (0.14–0.21 m3 m−3), medium‐high (0.22–0.29 m3 m−3), and high (0.30–0.37 m3 m−3); comparatively, SWC on noncohesive averaged low (0.05–0.11 m3 m−3), medium (0.12–0.19 m3 m−3), and high (0.20–0.27 m3 m−3). Differences in the amount of ranges between root zones were due to plant available water of the soil texture. Plots were subjected to 50 traffic events for 5 wk each fall over a 2‐yr period. Green turfgrass cover was reduced four times faster at high SWC than the low and medium SWC treatments on cohesive soil. All SWC treatments on noncohesive soil lost green turfgrass cover at a predictable rate. Surface hardness increased as SWC decreased for both root zones. Turfgrass shear strength decreased with traffic for all treatments on cohesive soils. Soil water content of noncohesive soils did not compound the effect of traffic on turfgrass shear strength. The optimal mean SWC ranges to maximize hybrid bermudagrass wear tolerance on cohesive soils were low to medium, and low to medium on noncohesive soils.
Crumb rubber (CR) generated from recycled tires has been used as a topdressing medium on cool‐season turfgrass athletic fields to increase tolerance to simulated traffic events (STE). Research was conducted at the University of Tennessee Center for Athletic Field Safety (Knoxville, TN) to determine optimal CR particle size and topdressing depth combinations for use on ‘Tifway’ hybrid bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. × C. transvaalensis Burtt Davy]. Five CR topdressing materials varying in particle size and uniformity were evaluated; however, all were within 2.0 to 0.5 mm in diameter. Topdressing was applied to plots during 2011 and 2012. Each CR topdressing material was evaluated at three depths: 0.6, 1.3, or 1.9 cm. A non‐topdressed control was included for comparison. Twenty‐five STE were applied using a Cady Traffic Simulator. Traffic tolerance was quantified using digital image analysis to measure percentage green cover. Surface hardness differences were assessed using a Clegg Soil Impact Tester. Non‐topdressed control plots had percentage green cover reduced to <50% after only 12 STE compared with 18 to 20 STE for plots receiving CR at 0.6 to 1.9 cm (P < 0.001). No practical differences in percentage green cover were detected among CR particle sizes. Surface hardness decreased as topdressing depth increased, with minimal effects of CR particle size. Our findings indicate that CR topdressing can improve hybrid bermudagrass tolerance to STEs and that application depth was a more important factor in selecting CR topdressing than particle size.
Two instruments are used to measure impact attenuation on athletic field playing surfaces: the F355 Apparatus A (F355) and the Clegg Impact Soil Tester (CIST). Although both devices use weighted missiles equipped with accelerometers to measure impact attenuation, Gmax, little information is available in the peer-reviewed scientific literature comparing data collected with these devices on natural and synthetic turf athletic field playing surfaces. A 2-year field study was conducted at the University of Tennessee Center for Athletic Field Safety in 2012 and 2013 to determine whether data collected with a CIST could be used to predict values with the F355. Ten different synthetic turf and four natural turfgrass surfaces constructed over four root zone types were subjected to 30 simulated traffic events at two rates (three events wk−1 and 10 events wk−1). Three impact attenuation samples were collected with both devices on all surfaces for each rate of simulated traffic. Two regression analyses were conducted: one using all 252 data points collected annually and a second that incorporated blocking to account for within surface sampling. In both years, associations between impact attenuation data collected with the CIST and the F355 were weak. CIST values only explained 9 % of the variability in F355 data in 2012 (R2 = 0.09) and 24 % in 2013 (R2 = 0.24). When accounting for surface sampling, CIST values only explained 46 % of the variability in F355 data in 2012 (R2 = 0.46) and 56 % in 2013 (R2 = 0.56). Residuals around these best-fit regression lines were ±25 Gmax, indicating that the CIST cannot accurately predict impact attenuation values with the F355 within this range. Future research should continue to explore relationships between the F355 and CIST across diverse playing surface types and environments.
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