EVALUATION OF SAND-SOIL-COMPOST ROOT ZONES DEVELOPED FOR ATHLETIC FIELDS

Athletic fields for sports such as USA football and soccer need to provide quality turfgrass to maximize playing conditions and provide a safe surface.
An experiment was conducted to compare playability for a range of root zone treatments.
Root zone treatments included a range of sand-soil mixes (0, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 100% soil by volume), a sand-soil-compost mix (20% soil, 5% compost), and sand-organic matter mixes (10% peat; 15% compost). Traction, assessed with a shear unit, and shock attenuation (playability or surface hardness) were within expected ranges for most treatments.
Infiltration rates were higher for the 90% sand-10% peat and 100% sand treatments (26.7 cm/hr average) compared to the other treatments; however, the sand-soil (10%) treatment was similar (20.7 cm/hr average) and only about 22% lower.
Recommendations from this study suggest that appropriate playability of athletic fields can occur with sand-soil mixes.

II International Conference on Turfgrass Science and Management for Sports Fields

C.C. Follis, S.H. Anderson, B.S. Fresenburg, E.H. Ervin

infiltration, playability, shock attenuation, surface hardness, surface traction, turfgrass quality

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2008.783.9