Purdue News

July 14, 2000 Turf day tips can turn an athletic wasteland into a field of dreams WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Some athletic fields take such a beating it's no wonder they're bad sports. At the 2000 Midwest Regional Turf Field Day, Purdue University turf experts will share tips on keeping grass from throwing in the towel under the barrage of cleats, insects and diseases. Scheduled for 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 25 at Purdue's W.H. Daniel Turfgrass Research and Diagnostic Center near the West Lafayette campus, the event also features research test plot tours, a trade show, equipment demonstration and workshops on subjects as wide-ranging as irrigation management and controlling white grubs. The annual field day is geared toward sports turf managers, lawn care professionals and golf course operators. This year, special emphasis is being placed on athletic field management, said Zac Reicher, Extension turfgrass specialist. With youth sports growing – especially soccer – many fields are overused and undermaintained, Reicher said. "Some athletic fields are used three or four times a day for five or six days a week. Turf can't stand up to those conditions without proper maintenance," Reicher said. The field day schedule includes a choice of three morning test plot tours at the turf center and Purdue's Ackerman Golf Course. During the tours, participants will learn about such sports-related topics as using zoysia and Bermuda grasses as alternative athletic turf, field painting, fairway renovation, bentgrass cultivars for greens and applying herbicides and pesticides. "We'll also look at gray leaf spot, a potentially devastating disease of perennial ryegrass common in most of Indiana's lawns, athletic fields and golf courses," Reicher said. "We'll show how to predict when it's coming so preventative measures can be taken." An afternoon workshop will examine white grubs, the larvae that become destructive Japanese beetles. White grubs can severely damage a lawn by eating the grass' roots. Turf managers who attend the field day can earn up to four Continuing Certification Hours toward maintaining their pesticide applicator's licenses (CCH in 3b). For more information about field day or to register, call Bev Bratton of Purdue's Turfgrass Science Program at (765) 494-8039, or visit the turfgrass Web page. The W.H. Daniel Turfgrass Research and Diagnostic Center is located at 1340 Cherry Lane, adjacent to the Purdue Kampen Golf Course. Source: Zac Reicher, (765) 494-9737, zreicher@purdue.edu Writer: Steve Leer, (765) 494-8415, sleer@aes.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page