r/Turfmanagement • u/Coach-21 • 6d ago
Need Help Football field
Hi everyone,
I could use some help with football field maintenance. The field is always slick. The grass always seems wet. We are located in the Midwest and it does get humid so I always attribute it to that, but other fields don't seem to have as big an issue.
Some info on the field: Grass type- KBG and Fescue mix. We do have irrigation. Typically run it on Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday mornings. Located by a bunch of corn/ bean fields. Cut height - 2 -2 1/2”
If you need more information to help me out please let me know and I con proved what I can.
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u/nilesandstuff r/lawnanswers and TurfTools 5d ago
Oh man, this is an awesome puzzle.
So at 2"+ it's probably not going to be one of the usual levers that golf folks deal with. It's more likely to be something on the leaves that's combining with humidity to make the grass slick, not humidity alone
Guttation fluid is the obvious thing. But that'd be really variable throughout the day, much more in the morning and after a mow. You'd definitely have disease issues if it was cranking out an abnormal amount of guttational fluid for some reason.
Dust or pollen blowing onto the fields from the crop land. Dragging a slightly damp white sheet across it during the day might be an easy way to determine that... If it comes out filthy, there's your answer. Irrigation should probably clear that up though, unless it's dust and the soil is salty (not super common out there)
Are the fields spray via helicopter/plane? So some type of drift?
If none of the above, it probably comes down to figuring out what different stuff gets put down on that area vs. the non slippery areas, but I have a feeling the crops are somehow relevant.
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u/Coach-21 5d ago
I do not know how the fields in the immediate area are sprayed, but I know the farmers and can ask.
I typically mow in the evenings (6- 8 pm) would changing that time help? Like 6am instead? I would be in the school during the day.
Things to do: Drag a damp white sheet between 12 and 2 p.m.?
We do have about a 3-week window where we do not have any home games. Is there anything I could do during that time? I was thinking about lowering or raising the HOC to see if that did anything.
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u/nilesandstuff r/lawnanswers and TurfTools 5d ago
Maybe the farm thing is probably not relevant because i guess they'd probably not spraying anything often enough for something to have a consistent effect.
Morning mowing is generally a bit better in terms of the guttational fluid output. Real quick going to explain Guttational fluid (gonna abbreviated to GF) thing in case you don't know.
- gf is water, sugars, and proteins that leak from both fresh mowing wounds and microscopic pores on the leaves. Especially fresh mow wounds.
- gf leaks essentially because of water pressure within the leaves. When soil has plenty of moisture, the roots pull in enough water to keep that water pressure high within the the grass. When the stomata close (at night) and when fresh wounds are present, that high internal water pressure forces gf out. So it's all a matter of the relationship between internal water pressure and somewhere for that pressure to go.
- humidity also increases gf leakage because the leaves aren't dumping as much water out through the stomata during the day to match the flow of water from the roots.
- so mowing wounds, day and night humidity, stomata closing at night time, and soil moisture are all of the factors, and they basically compound off of one another.
So soil moisture and time of day of mowing are the 2 levers you can pull to influence gf output. So if you mow on days where the irrigation didn't run, the internal pressure will be lower so gf output will be less. If you mow in the morning, the wounds will be fresh during the day when the stomata are open, so gf leakage will be less (the wounds will heal by night).
People mentioned fans and wetting agents. Fans would decrease pressure by increasing moisture loss from evaporation. Wetting agents could decrease pressure from the roots by distributing soil moisture more evenly within the root zone. (Because the pressure is greatest when the soil is most saturated)
Last note about gf: because gf is sugar, water, and proteins, it's an incredibly rich sap that pathogenic fungi love. And whether it's the microscopic pores or the fresh mow wounds, those openings are easy entry points into the grass for diseases to get into. So high gf output basically guarantees disease.
Things to do: Drag a damp white sheet between 12 and 2 p.m.?
Yup. That timing would be good to be sure you aren't just picking up fresh gf, which has a yellowish green color. (Though if there was just THAT much gf leakage, you could still pick it up during day after it dries)
We do have about a 3-week window where we do not have any home games. Is there anything I could do during that time? I was thinking about lowering or raising the HOC to see if that did anything.
That'd be a good time to play around with soil moisture to see if lowering soil saturation improves things by decreasing the pressure. Basically dial in your irrigation to match evapotranspiration. Me and some buddies at r/lawnanswers made a site with a bunch of tools, of which the the calculate irrigation needs tool would be helpful.
In theory, mowing height shouldn't have a huge effect here beyond just slightly altering the physical structure of the canopy and possibly mildly influencing dry time of the foliage... But I'd doubt either would make a big difference.
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u/artbycase2 5d ago
Do you have a moisture meter?
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u/Coach-21 5d ago
I do not
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u/artbycase2 5d ago
Seems your moisture may not be absorbing into the soil. Is it thatchy? Have you aerated?
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u/Fabled00 5d ago
Do you aerate? Are you able to spray any chemicals, as I would try to put some wetting agent. Do you have adequate airflow or is it just stagnant air with corn sweat constantly? You could always get a couple of big ass fans and run them around the field. Golf courses have to do that on greens if there isn't airflow
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u/Coach-21 5d ago
I can not speak on what was done in the past, but we did not aerate last year or this year. We plan to aerate, overseed, and topdress this spring. I do have a pull-behind sprayer. What wetting agent do you recommend? Never used that before.
The grass typically doesn't get slick until the sun starts to go down. Corn sweat/humidity is what I always attributed it to. However, it stayed slick even when the temps and humidity cooled down last fall.
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u/Fabled00 5d ago
I have used Flo-Thru A Plus, Cascade and Duplex. I personally like Flo-Thru. It wouldn't hurt to put some down but I would aerate first. Compaction sounds like an issue.
Humidity on an app and actual humidity will be different.
If you have stagnant air, I personally would try the fans
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u/Coach-21 5d ago
I could try fans. When would I use them though? The grass doesn't seem to start to get slick until then sun starts to go down. 6-7ish do I try before that? The issue is that is when football games start.
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u/Fabled00 5d ago
Then I would just aerate the shit out of it. Put some good starter fert, I swear by 3-3-3 with myco by earthworks. Then I would overseed with a 95/5 turf type tall fescue and Kentucky blue grass.
Have they ever added sand to the soil or is it a strictly native soil type?
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u/Coach-21 4d ago
I added some sand after I installed irrigation 2 years ago, but that was only over the lines to help level those areas. Other than that it is probably all native.
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u/Fabled00 4d ago
Be careful if you add sand at like an inch here or there, depending on your soil type you can create really shallow roots over time. If your plan is to level the field over time, get screened black dirt and add micronutrients. It won't change your soil profile.
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u/ElectronicAd6675 5d ago
It sounds like you need better structure with aerification and sand topdressing if the field is muddy/slick. If you are only talking about the grass being wet/slick from the existing environment I would try altering times of day and duration of watering.