Cultural
Soil Compaction Before and After a Rolling Stones Concert at Petco Park
At the Crop Science Society Meetings of America, which were held in November, 2006 in Indianapolis, IN, we presented the results of one of our more quirky, but enlightening projects, Soil Compaction Evaluation with the Spectrum Technologies' SC-900 Before and After a Rolling Stones Concert at Petco Park. (Document is large -- 1384 KB -- so it will open slowly)
In this study, we teamed up with Petco Park superintendent (and co-author) Luke Yoder to characterize the impact of a huge rock and roll concert on the performance of stadium's soils. To do this, we employed the use of several tools, including the SC 900 compaction meter from Spectrum Technologies, as well as the GPS and precision management equipment that we have previously described.
We found that:
- Soil compaction did increase after the concert, particularly in the areas where the four cranes (three 30-ton cranes and one 70-ton crane) were operating.
- Even though the soil was more compacted after the concert, the USGA root zone specification sand handled the traffic well, so that it remained below the threshold of 3 Mpa (435 psi) that can cause problems with turf health.
- The Spectrum Technologies SC-900 compaction meter performed well
Nozzle selection: more important than you think
Can one sprayer nozzle meet all of the competing demands that turf management places on it? This is the topic covered in our May 22, 2006 presentations at the California GCSA annual meeting in Temecula, CA. Topics covered included the role of nozzles in product efficacy, drift reduction, applications volumes, and the need to water in (or not).
"The great sprayer nozzle debate of 2006, Part 1" (230KB)
"The great sprayer nozzle debate of 2006, Part 2" (563KB)
Some bottom line conclusions:
- The nozzles that do the best job of enhancing product efficacy while at the same time reducing drift potential are flat fan and air induction nozzles. This is especially true for contact/foliar fungicides and insecticides and post-emerge herbicides
- The worst product efficacy is seen with flood style nozzles. Unless you are making fertilizer applications, flood nozzles should be avoided. They can reduce pesticide efficacy significantly!
- For application of contact/foliar products, application volumes of 1 ga to 2 ga/1000 sq ft (44 - 88 ga/acre) are optimal. For application of systemic products, application volumes of 2 ga/1000 sq ft (88 ga/acre) are optimal
- Contact products should not be watered in after application. Systemic products should be watered in, but only light (1/10") levels are required. In most cases, it is possible to wait until the evening irrigation cycle to water products in.
Evaluation of the Geonics EM38 for soil moisture assessment
Summary: The success of a turfgrass track lies in the balance between soil conditions that are ideal for horse racing balanced against the needs of the turfgrass plant. One of the most critical components of this complex soil-turf-horse system is soil moisture. Frequently, the high soil moisture conditions that favor ideal turfgrass growth results in conditions that are too wet and slow for ideal racing and horse safety. Conversely, dry conditions that favor racing may be too dry for uniform turfgrass growth and development. Under optimum conditions, the root zone would maintain constant soil strength regardless of soil moisture conditions. However, until that perfect root zone is identified, soil moisture will be a critical component of turfgrass track maintenance, safety and success.
The results provided here suggest that soil moisture measurement using a Geonics EM38 might provide assistance in delivering more uniform soil moisture conditions at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC). Further research is need to confirm that the EM38 readings predict the track performance as evaluated by horse traffic or using mechanical hoof developed by Dr. Michael Peterson.
Full print version of report (680 KB)
Investigator: Larry J. Stowell, Ph.D., CPPP, CPAg
Cooperator: Leif Dickinson, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
