SportsTurf 11www.stma.org

forms, we are especially interested in thetraffic tolerance and recoverability of thenew stoloniferous ryegrasses.

Synthetic Turf Research Projects: Sur-face temperature. In the June 2011 editionof this magazine, we published the results ofour study examining the effects of varioussynthetic turf components and systems onsurface temperature. We tested various infilltypes, infill colors, and fiber colors andfound little evidence of significant coolingwith any of the tested materials. In addi-tion to the laboratory study that was dis-cussed in the article, we collected surfacetemperature data this summer at our out-door research facility. We found very similarresults when comparing the laboratory andoutdoor data. Unfortunately, we still do nothave an answer to this problem, but wecontinue to test new methods and hope tofind a solution soon.

Fiber Wear Testing. With help fromfield managers and owners, we have col-lected samples of various synthetic turfproducts from new field installations and

tested fiber wearability under simulatedfield use. This is an ongoing project and theprogress report on our website is updatedregularly (http://cropsoil.psu.edu/ssrc/docu-ments/lisport-report.pdf ). We continue toinvite field managers and owners to contactus about submitting synthetic turf samplesfrom new field installations.

Human Performance and Safety. We re-cently completed a study in conjunctionwith Penn State’s biomechanics laboratoryexamining human performance and safetyon various playing surfaces. Data was gath-ered from human subjects performing vari-ous athletic maneuvers while wearing severaltypes of footwear. We are currently combin-ing these results with data obtained with ourtraction tester (Pennfoot) to further improveour understanding of how the playing sur-face affects performance and safety.

Surface Characteristics – Hardness,traction, and abrasion. We continue tomeasure and track various characteristics ofsynthetic turf playing surfaces such as hard-ness (Gmax), traction, and abrasion. Results

from our multi-year study comparing thesecharacteristics on various synthetic turf sys-tems can be found on the research sectionof our website(http://cropsoil.psu.edu/ssrc).

Baseball Research Projects. We alsocontinue to evaluate baseball infield mixesand how components of infield mixes influ-ence playability characteristics such as ballbounce and traction.

-Compiled by Tom Serensits

PURDUE UNIVERSITYThe turfgrass science program at Purdue

continues to work to provide informationto turf managers in the Midwest, the US,and internationally. Seven faculty membershave active turf research programs that aresupported by our many industry partnersand the Midwest Regional Turf Foundation.Our research efforts are complimented withan active extension program in order tomaximum the benefit and value to turfgrassmanagers.

Pest management studies. Weed biol-

12 SportsTurf | December 2011 www.sportsturfonline.com

FieldScience

ogy and control of various annual andperennial weeds using herbicides is ongoingwith specific projects evaluating herbicidesfor the control of annual bluegrass,broadleaf plantain, crabgrass, dandelion,goosegrass, ground ivy, wild violet, and oth-ers. This research includes work with noveland existing herbicides. Work is also ongo-ing looking into strategies for dormantseeding athletic fields with Kentucky blue-grass safely while simultaneously removingunwanted perennial ryegrass or annualbluegrass. Additional research on howmowing practices affect weed control isbeing explored.

Entomology research on the biology,ecology and management of insects asso-ciated with turfgrass environments is beingconducted as well. This work aims to im-prove the sustainability of turfgrass insectmanagement by 1) improving integration ofcultural and biological controls, 2) enhanc-ing basic understanding of insect biologyand ecology, 3) developing novel insecticidechemistries and usage strategies, and 4) pro-viding a framework for turfgrass managersto evaluate and implement alternative man-agement programs.

Research with fungal endophytes andentomopathogenic nematodes provides aunique platform for studying the integra-tion of cultural and biological controls andprovides a scientific approach for incorpo-rating these tools into sustainable turfgrassmanagement programs. Applied researchfocuses on improving the effectiveness ofexisting insecticide chemistries, evaluatingnew insecticide chemistries for usage in tur-fgrass environments, and enhancing insecti-cide formulations by incorporatingplant-stress-mediating compounds. Becausea combination of biological, aesthetic andeconomic factors will ultimately determinehow readily alternative pest managementstrategies will be adopted, our research isalso working to clarify how the incorpora-tion of scouting influences the economicbottom line for turfgrass managers.

Turf diseases are among the most impor-tant and least understood constraints tomaintaining healthy, high-quality turf inthe eastern and Midwestern U.S. A maingoal of the turf pathology research at Pur-due is to enable turf managers to make dis-ease management decisions from a more

informed perspective thereby improvingtheir capacity to effectively and efficientlymitigate disease-related damage utilizing avariety of control options. The general ob-jective of program is to increase the depthof knowledge of factors that influence theestablishment, spread, and management ofinfectious diseases on amenity turf. Specificprojects are addressing the 1) deposition,depletion, and maintenance factors that in-fluence fungicide performance against dis-eases affecting high quality turf and 2)environmental factors that promote out-breaks of diseases important to the lowerMidwest including dollar spot, brownpatch, anthracnose, Rhizoctonia large patchon zoysiagrass, and spring dead spot onbermudagrass.

Sustainability. As an industry we con-tinue to strive for “sustainable turfgrass sys-tems”; in other words, turfgrass areas thatrequire fewer inputs, namely water, fertil-izer, mowing and pesticides. In order to dothis we must select and properly establishan adapted species/cultivar or species mix-ture/blend. Research at Purdue is evaluatingvarious cool and warm-season turfgrassspecies for their adaptation to the cool-humid region. Special interest is focused ongrasses that require fewer cultural inputs(water, fertilizer and mowing). Research isre-evaluating conventional wisdom relatedto lawn nitrogen management programs;nitrogen sources and timings, phosphorusneeds and potential loss during establish-ment, and also soil organic matter accumu-lation with respect to soil carbon levels andgolf green surface firmness. Additional re-search is being initiated on grasses that arebred for their ability to retain their greencolor during drought periods in coopera-tion with the Turfgrass Water ConservationAlliance.

A better understanding of how turf-grasses respond to stress conditions andmechanisms of stress tolerance benefits ge-netic improvement and management of tur-fgrass. Research on the characterization ofthe physiological mechanisms influenc-ing turfgrass stress tolerance and adapta-tion is ongoing. This research impactsmanagement programs by: 1) selecting ade-quate cultivars for growing turf on soilssubjected to flooding; and 2) improvingsite-specific irrigation management and

water conservation through mapping turf-grass water status and utilizing low-mainte-nance grass.

Synthetic/artificial turf. Methicillin-re-sistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is adisease-causing bacterium that is associatedwith approximately 19,000 deaths and300,000 debilitating infections yearly in theUS. In 2005, a survey published by a Na-tional Football League physicians group re-ported that MRSA infected 3.5% ofprofessional football players. While this ratedropped to 1.9 % infection rate three yearslater, it still exceeded the infection rate ofthe general population (0.03%) by 63-fold,suggesting that despite improvement inMRSA surveillance and control, unidenti-fied reservoirs still exist. Of the many riskfactors identified for acquiring MRSA, sev-eral are of considerable relevance to athletesparticipating in contact sports, and profes-sional football in specific. Since mountingevidence exists supporting the role of syn-thetic turf fields in harboring and poten-tially transmitting MRSA to humans,research at Purdue is focusing on the gen-eral microbial ecology of artificial turfgrassand the prevalence, distribution and fate ofMRSA on artificial turf football fields.Completion of the current research canhelp categorize the role of one potentialMRSA reservoir, the playing surface, as asource for the bacteria.

Carbon sequestration. Reducing theamount of atmospheric CO2 via carbon se-questration has become one of the most re-searched topics in the past decade.Interestingly, one of our most intensivelymanaged and rapidly growing agroecosys-tems, the urban environment, has receivedthe least study. Understanding carbonmovement in turfgrass systems willstrengthen our understanding of carbon se-questration and improve our ability to ad-just management practices to increasesequestration. Greater understanding of theturfgrass system’s influence on atmosphericcarbon will ultimately shape public policyand assist in communicating the benefits ofturf.-Compiled by Aaron Patton for CaleBigelow, Yiwei Jiang, Ron Turco, RickLatin, Doug Richmond and Tim Gibb: De-partments of Agronomy, Botany and PlantPathology, and Entomology at Purdue.

SportsTurf 13www.stma.org

OHIO STATEThese are challenging times for land

grant institutions like Ohio State that pro-vide research, teaching and outreach serv-ices. Reductions in funding have meanttuition fee increases for students and pro-grams within the university having to be-come self-sufficient. Big changes are alsoafoot at Ohio State in that we are switchingfrom quarters to semesters in summer 2012and we are changing the major to “Sustain-able Plant Systems” with a turfgrass scienceoption. In keeping with the new major,the focus of our research at Ohio State hasalso been more focused on the issue of sus-tainability and IPM practices.

Dr. John Street and Deb Holdren wererecently awarded a major Specialty CropsGrant to investigate the integration of mi-croclover and turfgrass as an environmen-tally viable turfgrass ecosystem. In addition,many of the pest control products we evalu-ate are organic or biorational (non-toxic) innature. We also continue to look at com-posts, organic fertilizers and low mainte-

nance turfgrass varieties and species, such astall fescue.

From an agronomic standpoint, we havedone a lot of work with The Andersons overthe past 4 years, evaluating their advanceddispersible granular technology. One ofthese products has been the granular versionof the plant growth regulator trinexapac-ethyl, which could be a useful tool for re-

ducing mowing frequencies while improv-ing turf quality. For the past several yearswe have been working with the stolonifer-ous ryegrasses and this year we evaluateddrought and heat tolerance of those culti-vars. In what is considered to be one of thehottest and most humid summers onrecord, with sand rootzone temperatureswell over 100 F, there were a couple of cul-

>> OHIO STATE was recently awarded a major Specialty Crops Grant to investigate the integration ofmicroclover and turfgrass as an environmentally viable turfgrass ecosystem.

tivars that did considerably well, even at5/8 mowing height, so watch out for those!

New this fall we have established a Ken-tucky bluegrass trial that includes commontypes, compacts, hybrids, monostands andblends. With some pretty intense manage-ment at the onset, we were able to go from“seed to play” in about 7 weeks and we willbe evaluating wear tolerance in the springof 2012. Also new this winter is an over-seeding study that we will continue as longas the ground isn’t snow-covered. We arelooking at germination of annual, perennialand tetraploid ryegrasses during the wintermonths.

Lastly, we are very fortunate to have agreat relationship with the Director ofSports Medicine, Dr. Tim Hewett, who hasjoined forces with us on some grants andresearch projects. His specialty is ACL in-jury, so his input on traction research is in-valuable. We recently acquired a pneumaticfoot that can simulate athlete maneuverslike starting, stopping and cutting. Thebeauty about this equipment is that we donot have to have plots of turf installed atthe turf facility at cost to a sponsor, as wecan test small samples in the lab.

We continue to test & look at syntheticturf hardness in relation to Gmax andHead Injury Criteria (HIC) and we would

like to further investigate critical fallheights in relation to sports like rugby andfootball, to make sure our playing surfacesdo not contribute to concussions. Thereare many projects we’d like to do, we justneed the funding! For more info on ourSports Turf Program, see our website:Buckeyeturf.osu.edu or visit us on Face-book (Buckeye Turf ) and Twitter (Osu-turf ).-by Pam Sherratt, sports turfextension specialist

RUTGERS UNIVERSITYThe following is a synopsis of ongoing

and future sports turf research projects atRutgers.

Traffic stress research concluded on the

2006 National Turfgrass Evaluation Pro-gram (NTEP) Tall Fescue Trial at RutgersHort. Farm II in North Brunswick, NJ in2011. Wear and compaction were appliedto the trial in Spring 2009 and 2011; Sum-mer 2008 and 2010; and Fall 2007 and2009. Wear stress was applied with theRutgers Wear Simulator, a modifiedM24C5A Sweepster in which the steelbrush on the unit was replaced with rubberpaddles. The rotational movements of thepaddles causes wear. The simulator allowscontrol of both forward operating speed aswell as paddle rpm. Compaction was ap-plied with a 1.5-ton roller.

Results suggest that attention should begiven to tall fescue variety selection for

14 SportsTurf | December 2011 www.sportsturfonline.com

FieldScience

>> THIS PNEUMATIC FOOT can simulate ath-lete maneuvers like starting, stopping and cut-ting, and Ohio State researchers can test smallsamples in the lab rather than having to installcostly plots.

The use of FeHEDTA herbicides as biorationalbroadleaf weed controls

Timing of application of Cavalcade PQ forpost/Pre emergence control of crabgrass

Herbicide programs for seeding/overseeding

Broadleaf weed control products

Microclover and turfgrass ecosystems

Dispersible granular technology

The effect of various cultural practices on put-ting green firmness

Athletic field protection systems

Turfgrass physiology in shade

Impact of dew on turf health

The effect of enhanced ultraviolet light on turf-grass physiology

The effects of compost topdressing on nativesoil health and sports turf playing quality

Models to measure carbon sequestration in thelandscape

Ecologically sustainable turfgrass

Drought resistant perennial ryegrass

Natural and synthetic fertilizers

Granular plant growth regulators

Winter over-seeding with annual, perennial,and tetraploid ryegrasses

Kentucky bluegrass establishment and weartolerance

Effects of surface characteristics on the tractionand hardness of synthetic and natural turf

Fungicide efficacy trials

Bacterial wilt

Insecticide efficacy trials

Dr. David Gardner & Emily Horner

Dr. John Street & Deb Holdren

All turfgrass science team

Arly Drake (MS) & Dr. T. Karl Danneberger

Matt Williams (PhD) & Dr. T. Karl Danneberger

Aneta Studzinska (PhD) & Dr. T. Karl Dan-neberger (completed 2011)

Dr. T. Karl Danneberger

Ed Nangle (PhD) & Dr. David Gardner

Marcela Munoz (MS) & Dr. John Street (com-pleted 2011)

Gina Zirkle (MS) (completed 2011)

Andrew Muntz (MS) & Dr. David Gardner

Pam Sherratt & Dr. John Street

Joe Rimelspach & Todd Hicks

Dr. Dave Shetlar & Jen Andon

Title of Research Study, Ohio State Principle Investigator

SportsTurf 15www.stma.org

sports fields scheduled for fall use; entry dif-ferences were more pronounced after trafficin Fall 2009 than Spring 2009 and Summer2010. In addition to traffic stress data, turf-grass quality and brown patch susceptibilitywere assessed in the absence of wear sincethe inception of the test. Data are currentlybeing summarized for a Rutgers Coopera-tive Research and Extension Fact Sheet.Data are also available at www.ntep.org andin the Rutgers Turfgrass Proceedings (Seehttp://turf.rutgers.edu/research/reports/index.html).

Wear tolerance research was initiatedon one-hundred-four entries comprisingthe 2010 Cooperative Turfgrass BreedersTest (CTBT) at North Brunswick, NJ. Themachine described previously was used toapply 16 wear passes during 3 weeks in July2011. Turf quality and brown patch wereassessed in the absence of wear. Wear toler-ance will again be assessed in 2012. Datawill be available at www.ctbt-us.info.

Seeded in September 2010, wear was ap-plied in fall 2011 to four Kentucky blue-

grass varieties and selections, four tall fescuevarieties, and mixtures of the two speciesseeded at 90% tall fescue and 10% Ken-tucky bluegrass (by weight). Recovery fromwear will be evaluated in Spring 2012. Theperformance of individual Kentucky blue-grass and tall fescue entries, as well as mix-tures, during wear stress will continue to beevaluated in 2012.

The Rutgers Center for Turfgrass Sci-ence acquired a Brinkman Traffic Simulatorand initiated studies comparing this ma-chine, the Cady Traffic Simulator, and Rut-gers Wear Simulator in 2011. These studiesexamined the effects of the three machineson tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, andperennial ryegrass. Additional studies com-paring the three machines are slated for2012.

In addition to research conducted atNorth Brunswick, the Rutgers TurfgrassBreeding Program evaluates varieties andexperimental selections for wear tolerance aswell as screens new turfgrass collectionsspecifically for wear tolerance at Rutgers

Plant Science Research and ExtensionFarm, Adelphia, NJ. A second RutgersWear Simulator was constructed and is usedto apply wear at Adelphia. In 2011, cool-season sports turf species including Ken-tucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and tallfescue were evaluated. The wear tolerance offine fescues was also examined. This re-search will continue in 2012. Data gener-ated from these trials is available at theCTBT website as well as in the RutgersTurfgrass Proceedings.

Research is sponsored by the NationalTurfgrass Evaluation Program, RutgersCenter for Turfgrass Science, and New Jer-sey Agricultural Experiment Station.

Rutgers research personnel include: BradPark, Sports Turf Research & EducationCoordinator; Dr. James Murphy, ExtensionSpecialist in Turfgrass Management; BillDickson, Research Farm Supervisor; JoeClark, Research Technician; Dr. BruceClarke, Director, Center for Turfgrass Sci-ence; and Dr. William A. Meyer, AssociateDirector, Center for Turfgrass Science. ■

16 SportsTurf | December 2011 www.sportsturfonline.com

FieldScience | By Dr. Grady Miller

Turning fields green using turf colorants

pick/purchase a colorant, addwater plus colorant to yoursprayer, and begin spraying. If thecolor is not even or dark enough,you can go over the area again.There is some clean-up, but noseason-long care like with over-seeding.

Of course with anything good,there are also some downsides. Thebiggest issue is that it does not pro-vide a wearable playing surface likean overseeded grass. Once the dor-mant bermudagrass tissue is wornaway, there is no regeneration untilspring. So, the “wear factor” mustbe considered. And while the un-knowing observer may be fooledlooking at a painted field, to a fieldmanager it will be easy to noticethe duller finish from painting ver-sus the nicely stripped, shiny sur-face of a freshly mown, overseededfield.

Over the last few years, we haveconducted numerous studies atNorth Carolina State University toevaluate various colorant products.Our first detailed studies were ap-plied to putting greens in fall 2008and 2009. Subsequent trials haveincluded evaluations on bermuda-grass mowed at heights similar tothose commonly used on athleticfields.

Colorant brands that were usedin the original trails included:Green Lawnger (Becker Under-wood), LESCO Green (JohnDeere Landscapes), Mtp Turfgreen(Missouri Turf Colorant,), Titan

But the spring transition from overseededgrasses to bermudagrass is often problematicdue to drought resistant cool-season grass vari-eties and extended cool and wet conditions inlate spring. Applying colorant to semi-dormantto dormant bermudagrass fields provides an al-ternative to overseeding, while still providing anattractive, playable field surface. Before youstart painting, it is important to research to findthe pros and cons of the practice because thepractice may not be a good fit for everyone.

One benefit associated with colorants ratherthan overseeding is affordability. A gallon ofturf colorant will run from $30 to $75, withmost distributors giving volume discounts. Theaverage cost of colorant needed for a 2-acrefield using the higher recommended applicationrates would be about $600, with a range of

$400 to $1,000 an application, depending onthe colorant brand and application rate. Over-seeding establishment can costs can easily top$1,000 (not including season-long maintenancecosts). So colorant can be a less expensive alter-native. And with seeding, there are all the issueswith picking your seed, ground preparation,seeding, watering, fertilizing, mowing, pest con-trol, spring transitioning, etc.

The painting process can be boiled down to

It has been called “instant overseeding”—the practice of applying agreen turf colorant to dormant grass. Turf managers in the southeasternUnited States have traditionally overseeded dormant bermudagrassfields to have a green field during the winter and early spring months.

If the color is not even or dark enough, youcan go over the area again. There is someclean-up, but no season-long care like withoverseeding.

>> APPLYING FIRST COAT of colorantto dormant bermudagrass.

SportsTurf 17www.stma.org

Problem: Green and brown turfTurfgrass area: Football fieldLocation: Miami, FloridaGrass Variety: 419 bermudagrass

Answer to John Mascaro’s Photo Quiz on Page 33

Can you identify thissports turf problem?

Bac

kgro

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illus

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John Mascaro’s Photo QuizJohn Mascaro is President of Turf-Tec International

18 SportsTurf | December 2011 www.sportsturfonline.com

FieldScience

Green Turf (Burnett Athletics), Turf in a Bottle (US SpecialtyCoatings), Regreen (Precision Laboratories), Wintergreen Plus(Precision Laboratories), Ryegrass (Pioneer Athletics), Ultrad-warf Super (Pioneer Athletics), Ultradwarf Plus (Pioneer Ath-letics), Bermudagrass (Pioneer Athletics), and Bermuda Green(J.C. Whitlam Manufacturing).

It is worth noting that by the time this article is in print, wewill have initiated new trials that will include most of these col-orants plus at least thirteen others. Manufacturers/Distributorsthat have provided products (to date) for these trials include thecompanies listed above, plus products from D. Ervasti Sales,Enviroseal, Geoponics, Harrell’s, Milliken, Poulenger USA, So-larfast, and World Class Athletic Surfaces. Some of the col-orants we will be testing were from existing product lines butmany are newly introduced colorants. The rapid increase innew products is in response to the growing interest in usingcolorants.

In the earlier studies we applied colorant treatments to com-pletely dormant turfgrass in late October to early Novemberusing a boom sprayer calibrated at 40 gallons per acre (gpa).Each plot was sprayed in two directions to provide uniformcoverage, resulting in application rates of 80 gpa for each col-orant. A few of the colorants were applied at alternative ratesdue to their label recommendations and to verify the influenceof rate and longevity. Applied to bermudagrass, colorant in-creased turf color from 38 to 67 percent relative to the controlat the time of painting. Of course there was some variation inhow the color was judged over time. But remember the saying,“beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

We felt that at 56 days after treatment the colorants Rye-grass, Ultradwarf Plus, Bermudagrass, and Bermuda Greenfailed to provide acceptable colorant color when applied to dor-mant bermudagrass. Only Turf in a Bottle had acceptable color56 days after treatment on bermudagrass. This illustrates thatmost of these products will have a date in which they will needto be re-applied to get season-long green color.

In another study applied to semi-dormant turfgrass, the

Green Lawnger80 gpa

LESCO Green80 gpa

Mtp Turfgreen80 gpa

Titan Green Turf80 gpa

Turf in a Bottle80 gpa

Regreen80 gpa

Wintergreen Plus80 gpa

Ryegrass80 gpa

Ultradwarf Super80 gpa

Ultradwarf Plus80 gpa

Bermudagrass80 gpa

Bermuda Green80 gpa

Green Lawnger160 gpa

Turf in a Bottle160 gpa

Ultradwarf Super160 gpa

Treatment/rateBermudagrass

Day 0 Day 56

Table 1. The progression of colorant color using Pantone® Color chipsfollowing colorant treatment.

>> NUMEROUS STUDIES at North Carolina State University have evaluatedvarious colorant products, including use on bermudagrass mowed atheights similar to those commonly used on athletic fields.

>> SMALL SPRAYER COLORANT APPLICATION on semi-dormantbermudagrass athletic field.

SportsTurf 19www.stma.org

products performed much better due to the greater backgroundcolor at the time of application. This is a very important point.Subsequent tests have proven that some background color goes along way. Applied to semi-dormant turfgrass, the color will lookbetter and may last longer. For optimum results, do not wait untilthe turfgrass is straw brown.

Some of the colorant-treated turf took a bluish tint over time(56 days after treatment). Regardless of application volume, Re-green had the greatest propensity to turn a bluish tint. Titan GreenTurf also turned bluish when applied to dormant turf. Further-more, Bermuda Green turned a bluish gray to blue on both grasses.These products may not be as color-stable over time compared toothers but if the product is reapplied, even at a lighter rate, thismay not be a significant issue. So, it may be important to thinkabout how you want to use these products before selecting the

product. Some field managers like to put lighter rates on theirfield more frequently. If that is the case, then color stability is lessan issue.

Applying the colorants at 160 gpa provided turf color increasesup to 44 percent greater than the 80 gpa treatments. Applying col-orants at rates above 80 gpa also resulted in increased colorlongevity over the winter season. We did not expect to see such asignificant rate response in longevity of the products. More re-search is needed in this area to fully understand how to best usethis information.

I often get asked, what is the best colorant? But in fairness, noone turf colorant was clearly superior on both grasses in terms ofnatural green color at the time of application and 56 days after ap-plication. Results from our earlier studies generally indicated thatthe colorants with the best natural green color did not generally lastas long as some of the others. And with almost double the numberof products available to field managers today versus just a few yearsago, I can hardly wait to see how some of the newer products com-pare to some of the industry standards. There is no doubt, someturf colorant products can provide an attractive green putting sur-face at a reduced cost compared to overseeding. ■

Dr. Grady Miller is a professor with the Crop Science Departmentof North Carolina State in Raleigh.

Some of the colorants we will betesting were from existing productlines but many are newly introducedcolorants. The rapid increase in newproducts is in response to thegrowing interest in using colorants.

20 SportsTurf | December 2011 www.sportsturfonline.com

Facility&Operations

THE SYNTHETIC TURF BUSINESS has expanded to a pointwhere there is not enough time to limit installations to justwarm-mild weather. More time is needed which translates intoinstallations and repairs in the cool and/or cold weather of earlyspring, late fall and throughout the winter. However, there issome cold weather factors that should be kept in mind regard-less of the methods and/or products used.

Almost everything slows down when it gets cold. Rain waterevaporates slower in Winter than in the Summer; automobilebatteries get weaker, their oil gets thicker and they perform bet-ter after they “warm up”; chemical reactions, such as adhesivecuring, either slows down or stops, depending on the adhesive;turf get stiffer and harder to handle; sewing get tougher, etc.

While the laws of physics regarding cold vs. hot can’t bechanged there are some products and methods that can not beused when cold; others that are extremely slow and difficult; andothers which although slower are useful for cold weather instal-lations and/or repairs.

REGARDING ADHESIVES: There are some that freeze, crys-tallize or otherwise solidify in their container when cold. Hotmelts adhesives are designed to go from solid to liquid whenheated but they often prematurely re-solidify when applied toa cold sub-surface; paste adhesive become almost impossibleto spread when cold; others do not cure when the temperaturefalls below otherwise workable temperatures. However, therealso is a group of one-part urethane adhesives in which the man-ufacturer says can be used at any low temperature in which theinstaller can work.

REGARDING SEWING: Sewing machines become sluggish,plus the turf and sewing thread gets stiffer, which makes sewingmuch more difficult.

REGARDING INSTALLATION AND REPAIR: They proceedslower when cold than when hot because, installers can notwork as efficiently; cold is also often accompanied by wind; theturf gets stiffer and harder to handle plus the options for sewingand/or adhesives selection are greatly reduced.

Cold weather installations and repairs are slower than whenwarm, but in cold weather it’s much better and more profitableto work than the alternative of not starting or stopping an in-stallation while waiting until it gets warm. However, investigatefirst and then be selective on the products and methods to usein cold weather. ■

Norris Legue, aka The Guru of Glue®, is president of SyntheticSurfaces Inc.

How colder weatheraffects synthetic turfinstalls and repairs

He has been installing artificial turfsurfaces since 2004 and now ismaintaining synthetic fields as wellas installing them. “For installationpurposes I have always gone by try-ing to install turf in above-50 degreetemperatures,” he says. “I guess itmight be possible to install when itscolder but you run the risk when thetemperatures go back up into the80's and 90's that the material willexpand and create issues for you.

“The cold weather definitely willaffect timelines with installations.Up here in the northern states themost hectic months are end of Mayuntil the end of August. The sched-ules of the colleges and high schoolsgreatly dictate the installation time-line,” Smetana says.

“There are pros and cons to eachsewing and using adhesives whenbonding seams. Sewing is less expen-sive but a lot more labor intensivethan gluing,” he says. “For example,sewing will require 10-12 laborersand multiple days; sewing is a goodway to seam turf but to glue thebelly of a field can take as few as fourlaborers and one day to complete.

“Another reason why some peo-ple do not sew is because a turf witha real thick backing would be diffi-cult to sew. Secondly, when you sewa seam it has a prominent lump onthat edge that can be buried in theaggregate underlayment. If you use adrainage mat for your drainage thenyou can't sew,” Smetana says.

Patrick Maguire is principal forthe sports division of Stantec Con-sulting, which specializes in civilengineering services for outdoorathletic facilities. “We typically rec-ommend that no work take placeunless the temperature is 40 andrising,” he says. “Clearly that is aluxury in some climates and at cer-tain times of the year. When it iscolder we ask that the installersmake provisions to deal with thetemperatures. For example it isnever a good idea to roll out afrozen carpet. The secondary back-ing can crack, which can be a bigproblem.

“Cold weather—like any in-clement weather—can affect instal-lation timelines because it can causedelays in getting started in themorning due to frost or ice and inwaiting for materials to reach work-able temperatures,” says Maguire.“Additionally human beings gener-ally are not as efficient in coldweather, particularly for things like

Editor’s note: We asked some experts these questions: Is there a temperature thresh-old below which it is considered “too cold” to install or repair synthetic turf? Howcan cold weather affect installation time lines? What exactly is affected—buildingthe base, for example, or using the adhesive? Is sewing seams recommended in coldweather vs. using adhesives? Is sewing that much of a slower process?

Wisdom from The Guru of Glue

Steve Smetana, a former professional baseball playerand current high school baseball coach in northernOhio, is a partner with former STMA president

David Frey in a venture called Pro Turf Clean.

I have seen needles getbrittle and break in cold tem-peratures. . .There is nothingthat slows a job down like abroken sewing machine.— Patrick Maguire

Below: Adhesive beingsprayed to bond number in-serts during a cold weatherturf installation. Right: Adhe-sive coated seaming tape forbonding a loose-laid seam.