Visit our website at www.gcduke.com

~.C'~rl£-~~-----,/~teceEQUIPMENT LTD.

ISO 9002 REGISTERED

1184 PLAINS ROAD EASTBURLINGTON, ONTARIO L7S 1W6

Burlington Area:Toronto Area:

All Other Ontario Areas:Fax:

(905) 637-5216(905) 338-2404(800) 883-0761(905) 637-2009

2 • MARCH 2002

Meet Our New Board MemberSTEPHEN TOLLEY JOINS THE STA TEAM

Stephen has 20 years of experiencein the landscape maintenance andconstruction industry, 11 of them

with the Town of Markham Parks Depart-ment, and most recently as the GroundsSupervisor at the University of Toronto atMississauga. A graduate of the OntarioDiploma in Horticulture Program at theUniversity of Guelph, Stephen was therecipient of the Award of Excellence from

OMAFRA in 1996. Heis a member of theOntario Parks As-sociation, Land-scape Ontario(Horticulture)and enjoys down-hill skiing, golf,and, of course,backyard gardening.

ASTM Standards AvailableVALUABLE GUIDES FOR SPORTS TURF MANAGERS

The following standards are avail-able from the American Societyfor Testing and Materials .

• Standard Guide for Construction andMaintenance of Skinned Areas on SportsFields, Guide F2107-01, $30 US, and

• Standard Guide for Fences forBallfields and Other Sports Facilities,Guide F2000-00a $25 US.

For further information or to order, visitthe ASTM website at www.astm.org ortelephone (610) 832-9585.

STA Membership FeesVisa & Mastercard Accepted

Thank you to all members renewing in2002! Invoices for membership fees willbe mailed at the end of March and aredue and payable on or before May 1.Please take a moment to verify yourcontact information as it appears on thememo accompanying your MembershipInvoice. The Membership Roster is com-piled from this information entered in ourdatabase. For any questions, pleasecontact Lee Huether at the STA office.

Please Note: Opinions expressed in articlespublished in Sports Turf Manager are thoseof the author and not necessarily those ofthe STA, unless otherwise indicated.

Words of Wisdom ...

Anyone who stops learning is old, whetherat twenty or eighty. Anyone who keepslearning stays young. The greatest thingin life is to keep your mind young.

-Henry Ford

SPORTS TuRF MANAGER • 3

The President's Desk PAUL TURNER

I wish all ourmembers a be-lated Happy NewYear for 2002 andlet's hope it

brings us contin-ued health and manysuccesses in ourendeavors. As your

new President for the next two years, Iwould like to take this time to say howhonoured I am to be following in the foot-steps of some very talented people, JaneArnett-Rivers and Chris Mark. I look for-ward to guiding our Association to con-tinued heights of excellence.

As all of you are aware, the events ofSeptember 11th have changed forever theway we value life and also the way busi-ness is conducted. I, for one, now valueeach minute of each day more than everbefore. Our thoughts and prayers go outto all those touched by that fateful day.

It is with great pleasure that I welcomeStephen Tolley to the Board of Directorsfor a two-year term and thank all thoseBoard Members who have committed toanother term. A sincere thank you is ex-tended to Andrew Gaydon who has ac-cepted the position of Vice-President. Imust however share some sad news withthe membership. Harold Van Gool, ourTreasurer for many years, has decided toleave us (a great deal of arm twisting didn'thelp!). Harold is diverting his energy to

obtaining his Masters in Business Admin-istration from the Richard Ivey School ofBusiness at the University of WesternOntario. We wish him all the very best onhis new project. The duties of Treasurerwill now be assumed by Rick Lane.Thanks Rick!

Recently at the Annual General Meet-ing, a membership fee increase was ap-proved for 2002. These fee increases werenecessitated due to rising administrativecosts, including increases in office insur-ance and the publishing and mailing of thenewsletter. The new rates are $130 for ini-tial members and $32 for each additionalmember. The student rate remains un-changed at $25. The 2002 advertising ratesare now available to prospective advertis-ers and I think you would agree that ourrates are very attractive for suppliers toshow people what's NEW in the market-place.

For those who were not in attendance,the Ontario Turfgrass Symposium was,once again, a great success. The list ofquality speakers was astounding and froma personal standpoint, the change of dateto later in January was refreshing. A bigcongratulations goes out to the Sports TurfChallenge winners, Marjie Fraser, ReidPatterson and Tino Petrunti from the Cityof Vaughan.

The Field Day Committee is busy atwork putting the finishing touches on the2002 event. Exact dates and location will

be announced in the June issue of theSports Turf Manager. The committee didagree with membership input to move thefield day to September from August, amore convenient time since most summervacations are over. I think you would allagree that the Sports Turf Field Day con-tinues to be one of the best values in ourindustry and I look forward to seeing thosein attendance. Let's make 2002 the bestone yet!

The annual STA Field Day willbe moved from August to

September this year.

In closing, the Association is in greatshape and we look forward to fine tuninga few things in the upcoming year to makethings run even smoother.

Some projects that we are embarkingon in 2002 include revamping the currentweb site to make it more attractive anduser friendly and implementing paymentby credit card to allow you to register forthe Field Day and pay for your mem-bership and other services more conven-iently.

I welcome any comments or thoughtsfrom you, our members. You can email medirectly at paul.turner2@sympatico.ca orthrough the Sports Turf Association officeat sta@ gti.uoguelph.ca. •

r--------------------------------------·I NOW AVAILABLE! SPORTS tml\ T U R F Name II Understanding ?~~~--Facility/Company II Turf Management by Dr. RW. Sheard Address II A 'I I I h I I City Provo Ipracnca manua or t e management 0 sa er, natural turf lacilities lor outdoor sports. The

concepts are applicable lor any turf manager - Irom goll course superintendents to the parks Postal Code Phone II supervisor - whether maintaining golf greens, sports lields or race tracks lor thoroughbreds.

I E-mail I• 24 chapters' 161 pages

I Make your cheque or money order payable to The Sports Turf Association, and mail to: IORDER FORM (please print) Please send me _ copies.• $30 _ STA members and orders exceeding 10 copies Sports Turf Association, 328 Victoria Road South, Guelph, ON N1 H 6H8I For more inlormation: Ph: 519-763-9431' Fax: 519-766-1704' Email: sta@gtLuoguelph.ca I• $35 - Others

II Shipping and handling: $2.50 lor 1 copy Published with the generous support of ~c. Ir IPlease contact the STA office lor multiple copy rates, ~~

I (No GST*) TOTAL __ I J))Jb iU:",\-m RAIN~8IRD.L ~A:::~s~e~~a~l~d~supplie~gO~a~e~s~s~n~o~ ::9'::' _ --=-=~==-- ...J

4 • MARCH 2002

Life Styles and Life CyclesOTS HIGHLIGHT· FRONT COVER ARTICLE CONTINUED

who are hiring others to do the work. Sowe are eventually going to see less of theconsumer trade and more business goingto companies that provide horticulturalservices. In the residential sector, it willbe more of a service industry than a prod-uct industry.

• In the last ten years, there has been adrop in the domestic product, the level ofhousing starts and population growth. Weare slowly coming to grips with the eco-nomic realities of an aging population.Over the next decade, we will reach a statewhere more people are retiring than en-tering the work force. There are increas-ing employment opportunities for youngpeople, but there is also a tremendous chal-lenge for employers looking for skilledlabourers/tradespeople. In many sectors,there will be more jobs than people. Thefuture will bring an increasing reliance onimmigration to fill a variety of positionsin the Canadian workforce. The US willcontinue to raid our workforce.

• Lifestyles since September 11 havechanged. There are more demands on whatis available in North America. Interna-tional travel has slowed, especially by air.More tourist dollars are being spent athome. Internet services have reached thelevel of sophistication where we don'teven need to leave our house - everythingcan be obtained online.

• Golf, tennis and bingo are niche orlifestyle markets, they are not lifecyclemarkets. On the surface, statistics appearto show that as you age, you start playingbingo. Average household spending onbingo in the under 25 age group is $119per year. In the 55 and older age group,annual bingo expenditures are muchhigher. Yet digging deeper into the datashows that only 10% of the population ineach age group, more or less, play bingo;therefore, those that play in the older agegroups, playa great deal and spend more- on average $1,000 a year! Increasedspending on bingo is not age related butlifestyle related.

Keynote Speaker David Baxter

• Economic conditions in 1990 resultedin a very high demand for sod - demanddropped in 1991. In 1998, Ontario wassupplying 57% of Canada's sod needs. By1999, the percentage dropped to 49% assod prices dropped in value and in acre-age sown to 10,820 acres.

• The number of people attending livesporting events peaks in the 35-44 rangeand drops off after that, as does the spend-ing at these same events. These events willdecline in the future. We will see manynational and city sporting teams disappear.There will be more community leagues,which are still popular, and renewed in-terest in neighbourhood sports and indus-trial leagues is anticipated.

• In the golf industry, there are two mainpopulation segments, the most significantis the under 35 age group, the young groupwith no children, followed by matureadults, many of whom are in the avidgolfer category. The latter are the peopleto focus on to play more rounds and tomaintain their avid golfer status to agreater age.

• The US population will grow by two'Canada's' in the next 25 years providinga major market, tremendous export indus-try and continental tourism potential.Remember, people do not playgolf because they like playingwith a little white ball, theyplay golf because they getstories, experiences that tieinto their lifestyles.

Pay attention to the cus-tomer. Study your market, look at whatyour market is doing. You cannot sellcheaply and provide a high level of serv-ice as well. Investigate value-added cus-tomer services. Boomers are willing to payfor quality experiences and products.

When Tina Turner appeared on the ad-vertising scene, ladies' hosiery sales wentup 400% in one month. People buy tinyperfect containers of goat cheese withbasil and other expensive specialty items.What causes such swings in consumerbehaviour? Don't assume your market, goout and find your market! Good luck - thetimes, they are changing ...•

- Summarized by Michael Bladon

PICKSEED@good things growing ...

Doug MacMillanLindsay, ONCell: 705-878-6426

Larry WhiteLondon, ONCell: 519-649-8777

Jason LehmanKingston, ONCell: 613-328-1628

PICK8EED Canada Inc.Box 304

Lindsay, ON K9V 4831-800-661-4769FAX (705) 878-9249

SPORTS TURF MANAGER • 5

Something New in Sports Field RestorationIAN MILNE· COMMUNITY SERVICES· CITY OF GUELPH

Back in April of 2001, the GuelphYouth Soccer Club asked me if Icould have the four mini soccer

fields at Bristol Street Park regraded. Thefields were getting to be in pretty roughshape - they were starting to take on thelook of a mogul run. To add a little bit ofhistory, this park is located over a 1960era landfill site and continues to settle.

With soccer registration at an all timehigh, a common problem with schedul-ing repairs to soccer fields is decidingwhen to do the work and how to keep thefields in operation. We put together a plan- topdress the two better fields and keepthem in play and regrade and reseed thetwo others as soon as the soccer seasonwas over.

The topdressing was accomplishedearly in the season with no disruption to

play. Now came the hard part, how to getthe other two fields regraded with a goodstand of turf ready for play by May 1,2002.

I had considered reseeding, though thishas worked in the past with less than idealresults. You must get the seed down earlyand be fortunate enough to get some mois-ture into the ground in the form of rain.Considering the time factor, this was a bitrisky. Re-sodding the fields was a betteroption but with the cost of sod, the labourto put it down and Guelph's water short-age, I felt that option was out too.

I went searching for alternatives and

6 • MARCH 2002

remembered hearing Chris Morrison ofOrganic Express talk about Terraseeding.Chris had been looking for a site to con-duct further testing of their product in asports field situation. These two small soc-cer fields fit in very well for him and thetiming was just right.

After some discussion with Chris, aplan was put in place. First we had thehigh spots scraped off and a layer of muchneeded good quality screened topsoil wasadded. This would give the turfgrass rootsample depth of soil to grow down into.With the existing topsoil and the 330 cu-bic yards of screened material hauled in,we had about 4-6" of topsoil, not ideal,but a great improvement over existing soilconditions. The second week of Septem-ber we had the fields ready for fine grad-ing; the soil was dry and the surface

worked up verynicely. We werenow ready for Christo come in and com-plete the job.

On Sept. 13, Or-ganic Express rolledin with their blowertruck and startedwork; the job wascompleted the sameday.

The Terraseedingmaterial consists ofa layer of compostmaterial approxi-

mately 2 em deep with a particle size nolarger than 1em. The seed and the initialfertilizer are blown on with the compostand are evenly distributed throughout the2 cm depth of compost. The compost is aweed seed free organic matter; thus, anyemerging weeds would have to come fromthe screened topsoil or the existing soil.The seed mixture used was 50% turf typeperennial rye grass and 50% turf type tallfescue. This mixture provides optimal ger-mination, fast growth and will stand up todrought conditions.

We had five days of very dry conditionsafter the compost and seed was put down.

This made me a little concerned, so I ap-plied for a watering permit. This accom-plished, a nearby community ice rink 1"water outlet was activated with 500' ofwater hose and a rain train sprinkler. Oneday of irrigation was all that was neededas the skies opened up and we settledinto some very nice moist conditionsthat had the seed germinated nicelywithin a week.

Composted material retains signifi-cantly greater moisture than topsoil, soonce the moisture is in the ground, theneed for irrigation is greatly reduced. Al-though there was good seed germinationoverall, one small section at the west endof the field was a little sparse and a bitslow to germinate.

Chris was reasonably pleased with theearly results but found that germinationcould have been more even. His companyconducted some additional testing of thecompost material used and found the car-bon concentration to be a little high. Theybelieved this affected seed germinationand early seedling growth stage. As a re-sult of this new information, Organic Ex-press has corrected the carbon problem inthe compost.

By early October, we had a nice seed-ling coverage, 5120/20 fertilizer was ap-plied and the weather throughout the fallwas ideal for seedling growth and turfdevelopment. In fact, the turf must havelooked pretty good to a group of Saturdayafternoon football players who found thefield and had themselves an impromptugame - needless to say, this did nothingto improve the new turf.

Snow cover has been less than ideal thiswinter, although the low temperatureshave not been too unkind. So, it is with agreat deal of anticipation that I look for-ward to the result of this experiment insports field restoration in the early springof 2002.

Due to the positive early results of thisexperiment, I will give consideration inthe future to the Terraseeding method oftopdressing sports fields during the sea-son to keep overused fields in play. •

e Improving Your Turf in FallDR. ZAC REICHER· SUMMARIZED BY MICHAEL BLADON

Dr. Reicher gave a very interest-ing talk and in the time frameallotted, answered many ques-

tions which he invited from the audience.The following is a synopsis of his session.

Fertilization RecommendationsFertilizer treatments applied in August

and September help improve turf densityand lateral growth of bluegrasses andbentgrasses which spread by rhizomes andstolons. There is very little vertical growthduring fall months and fertilizing thenimproves density. Slow release forms ofnitrogen (N) are preferred for early fallapplications, but if your budget doesn't al-low it, fast release forms are better thanno fertilizer.

Final fertilizer applications should beapplied close to the last mowing when thegrass is still green. There is a fair amount

of time between when the turf stops grow-ing and when it turns brown. Late fall fer-tilizing increases the amount ofcarbohydrates built up for winter survivaland early spring greenup. Don't apply fer-tilizer to dormant areas; turf must be ac-tive and photosynthesizing to reapfertilization benefits.

For late fall applications, it's importantto use fast release forms of N so it is takenup by the plant immediately. Fast releaseforms like urea or ammonium nitrate arefine, plus they're cheap! Rates of 1.0 to1.5 lbs N/l,OOO sq. ft. should be used atthis time. An immediate green colour willbe seen and it lasts.

What you do in September, Octoberand November translates into how wellyour grass will survive next summer. Theeffects of good fall management practiceswill also be seen next spring with faster

greenup and good root growth. Do notapply fertilizer in spring until after thespring growth flush, because you will getall kinds of top growth at the expense ofroot growth. If you must go out, employ avery light application of nitrogen at 0.5lbs N/l,OOO sq. ft.

SPORTS TURF MANAGER • 7

Don't forget the obvious in thatspreader patterns are also important whenapplying fertilizer. Be sure to calibrate thespreader and your overlap - with a rotaryspreader is 50% where the edge of yourpattern should touch the spreader track-ers from the previous pattern. Be carefulwithpotassium as it is overrated - onlyapply if a soil test indicates you need it.

Soccer fields with considerable wearcan handle three fall applications: after theheat in August; and l Ib. in September andOctober. The risk with this fertilizing strat-egy is that it will increase snow 'mold, but.this risk is normally justified on' areas un-der severe wear pressure. Slow releaseshould be used for the first two applica-.tions and fast release for the last one.

Reduce your fertilization rates and youhave to reduce your expectations. Yourbest bet is to let the grass plants dictatefertilization. Ifyou see clover, dollar spot,red thread or rust in your fields, you havetoo little nitrogen. If you have perennialbrown patch, pythium, snow mold and/orPoa annua problems, your fertility mightbe too high. You can't make up for missedfall applications in spring. Furthermore,leaching is not as much of a problem infall because plants take up the fertilizerimmediately - but that doesn't give uslicense to over-apply or apply care-lessly.

Fall SeedingThough Kentucky bluegrass is the pre-

ferred grass in lawns and athletic fields,it's not very competitive as a seedling.Perennial ryegrass is easier to overseedbecause of its tremendous competitivenessas a seedling, but it is more sensitive todiseases and does not spread like Ken-tucky bluegrass. When overseedingthinned out grasses, Kentucky bluegrasswill work fine if it is a very thin turf andthe area will not be trafficked for six grow-ing weeks or more. But it'the turf is "in'play" and is needed constantly, use per-ennial ryegrass. Though many people usesod for a quick fix during a playing sea-son, newly laid sod doesn't handle trafficwell and overseeding may be a betterchoice.

The best time to seed is August, butdon't seed any later than mid-September.If time restraints are a problem, then do it

8 • MARCH 2002

in September. A rule of thumb is if thefield is seeded the first of September un-der normal conditions, it will be availablefor play by the first week of June. Dor-mant seeding works very well combinedwith aggressive aerification at the end ofthe year.

Seeding at the wrong time of year isalways a problem with weed control. Mostherbicides have some kind of restrictionwhen it comes to seedlings. Whether youspray over the top or prior to seeding,make sure you read the label carefullybecause every herbicide differs in its re-strictions with use around seedlings. Thebest way to control weeds in seedlings isthrough mowing and most people don'tmow a new stand soon enough. In orderto maximize establishment, good seed tosoil contact is required. The applicationof high phosphorous fertilizers prior to

seeding will also help establishment.Finally, Dr. Reicher does not recom-

mend perennial rye when establishing newfields. He recommends 100% Kentuckybluegrass blends instead. He maintainsrecommended seeding rates are too high.Regardless of the seeding rate, a turf standcan only support a given number of seed-lings.

In terms of fall broadleaf weed control,Dr. Reicher referred to a Michigan StateUniversity study showing you can still getgreat weed control in the late fall as longas the target weeds are green andphotosynthesizing. They will take up theherbicide but will show little effect onlyto die during the winter. Where aerificationis concerned, you cannot kill turf or overaerify provided you are not doing it at 90F.Lastly, he recommended keeping mowingheights the same year round. •

Industry News· STA New MembersExecutive Director AppointedKen Cousineau, CAE, has beenselected to succeed Vince Gillis,CAE, as Executive Director of theCanadian Golf SuperintendentsAssociation. Mr. Cousineau, whoassumed his new duties February11th, brings to the CGSA strongassociation managementexperience, both in managinginternal administrative functions andexternal relationships withgovernment and stakeholders.

Breeding and Evaluation ofTurfgrasses Technical ConferenceMay 1-2, 2002. Organized by the

Sports Turf ResearchInstitute, the conference,being held in WestYorkshire, will interest all

turfgrass breeders andevaluators, turf scientists

~ and other turf professionals.A panel of 8 speakers will present 10conference sessions. Further detailscan be obtained from Anne Wilson,Head of External Affairs, STRI,

telephone 01274 565131, emailinfo @stri.co. uk.

TPI Confirms England for 2003Winter ConferenceFor the first time in its 35-year history,the Mid-Winter Conference andExhibition of Turfgrass ProducersInternational will be held outside ofNorth America. The 2003 meeting willoccur from February 26-28 inBirmingham, England. Open toeveryone in the green industry,anyone interested in repeivinginformation about exhibiting orattending should contact TPI at 800-405-8873 or 847-705-9898, email canbe sent to info@TurfGrassSod.org.

Welcome New STA Members '• Jim Nelson, City of Kitchener, ON• Tim Ernst, City of Kitchener, ON

• Jorg Hermanns, HermannsContracting Ltd., Schomberg, ON

• LaurieWeatherall,City of Ottawa,ON• Bruce Warren, Parc Downsview

Park, Toronto, ON

eOrganic Amendments - Soil Elixir or More Snake Oil?DR. BRIAN uou- PROFESSOR EMERITUS, UNIVERSITY OF sc- lAMORNA ENTERPRISES lTD.

The maintenance of high qualitysports turf under intensive useand management is an on-going

challenge. The exploitation of various de-signs of sand or amended sand root zoneswas initiated primarily to address issuesrelated to drainage and compaction, par-ticularly in regions with high rainfall andperiods of significant winter play. Never-theless, the sand-based root zone bringsits own challenges - effective water andnutrient management is essential for anyturf, but can be particularly critical on thesand base. It is not an uncommon experi-ence to see the investment of significantcapital resources in new field constructionprovide inadequate performance and poorreturns on investment as a consequenceof insufficient provision for subsequentmaintenance resources.

In addition to their more conventionaluses, modern recreational sports turf isoften subjected to a diversity of other ac-tivities, including festivals and concerts.

The impact of stage construction, vehicletraffic, 25,000 rambunctious fans and an-cillary requirements for concessions andportable toilets can result in excessivewear. Communication of the conse-quences of severe traffic and wear to usergroups is often a significant challenge. Wehave found the following conversion ofwear from conventional soccer play intoa per metre expression of foot traffic to bean effective means of communicating thepotential for damage to the turf.

On a soccer field, 70% of the play oc-curs on 30% of the field. Each player trav-els approximately 10 km/game - thatproduces 250,000 foot imprints per game(excluding the referee and goalies). At 42foot imprints per square metre per game,a 100 game season results in 4,200 footimprints per square metre! Given the ad-ditional impact of the referee, linesmen,goal tending pressures and other sidelineactivity, the real surprise is the ability tomaintain any turf under this kind of traffic.

Holistic ManagementIn assessing management options to

improve the performance of sports turf,there has been considerable interest in or-ganic amendment and supplementation ofsand-based turf in particular. In additionto the range of materials that are availablefor new construction, there are many ad-ditional products available for fertilization,topdressing and supplementation. Organicamendment use should be part of a moreholistic approach to turfgrass managementreflected in the concept of Integrated Cul-tural Management (ICM) - "the processof managing sports turf by considering andanalyzing all environmental factors, pests,maintenance processes and player-appliedstresses which affect the health of theturfgrass culture" (Puhalla, Krans andGoatley. Sports Fields; A Manual for De-sign, Construction and Maintenance.Sleeping Bear Press 1999).

In this article, I will review briefly someof the underlying principles of organic

~I.L.-~~tIKe EQUIPMENT LTD.ISO 9002 REGISTERED

Paul TurnerSales Representative

Cellular: (416) 566-0211

1184 PLAINS ROAD EAST, BURLINGTON, ON L7S 1W6Burlington (905) 637-5216 Toronto (905) 338-2404

1-800-883-0761 • Fax: (905) 637-2009 • www.gcduke.com

Red and grey clayproducts designed for

baseball, cricket and tennis,along with groundskeeping

tools and accessories.

MAR-CO CLAY PRODUCTS INC.Tel. 519-669-3657 Fax: 519-669-8799

www.marcoclay.on.ca

www.rittenhouse.cQ• New & Used equipment• Thousands of exploded

parts breakdowns

• On-line specials• Much more than just a

website

R.R.#3, 1402 Fourth Avenue, St. Catha rines,Ontario, Canada, L2R 6P9Toll Free: 1-800-461-1041Phone: (905) 684-8122 • Fax: (905) 684-1382E-mail: sales@rittenhouse.ca

nu-g..

Brian RosenbergTechnical Sales RepresentativeTel: 519-757-0077Cell: 519-574-2013Fax: 519-632-9376E-mail: brosenberg@nu-gro.ca

Nu-Gro Professional10 Craig StreetBrantford, ON N3R 7J1Product Info Line: 1-800-268-2806

SPORTS TURF MANAGER • 9

amendment use and factors to consider inassessing the selection and application ofa particular amendment type.

Much of the interest in organic amend-ments is derived from:• Increased construction and use of sand-

based turf systems and increased use(and degradation) of soil-based fields.

• Greater societal emphasis on "organic"approaches to turfgrass management inthe context of "going green."

• The production of organic materialsthrough a variety of recycling pathwaysand waste streams and regulatory andcommercial pressure that perceivesturfgrass as a desirable route for the re-introduction of these materials into theecosystem.

• Increased understanding of the role andnatural benefits of soil organic matter.

• Literature that attributes multiple ben-efits to organic amendments in the turfecosystem, including provision of nutri-ents, improved soil structure, enhancedplant growth, higher stress tolerance, im-proved ability to recover from diseaseor insect damage, enhanced beneficialsoil microbial populations and diseasesuppression.The key to any good sports turf begins

with a suitable growing medium and goodturf management. A "typical" native soilincludes solid components (mineral andorganic matter) and pore space (air andwater). Levels of approximately 3% arecommonly quoted for the organic matter(OM) content of such "typical" soils. Thephysical properties of a good root zoneinclude total porosity of 35-55% distrib-uted between air-filled and capillary po-rosity, with a saturated hydraulicconductivity of 15-30 cm/hr and moistureretention of~2.5 cm/30 em depth (Sheard,R.W. Understanding Turf Management,Sports Turf Association of Ontario 2000).These basic characteristics reflect the im-portance of physical composition and per-formance characteristics of the soil profile.Based on the figures above, it might bepresumed that organic matter (OM) is arelatively insignificant component of theroot zone mix. In fact, organic mattermakes a disproportionate contribution tothe soil-plant relationship. The signifi-cance of naturally occurring OM in water

10 • MARCH 2002

On a soccer field, 70% of the play occurs on 30% of the field. Each playertravels approximately 10 km/game - that produces 250,000 foot imprints pergame (excluding the referee and goalies). At 42 foot imprints per square metreper game, a 100 game season results in 4,200 foot imprints per square metre!

relations and in stabilizing soil aggregatesand nutrient cycling has led to consider-able interest in the use of organic soilamendments, especially for sand-basedturf.

Assessing OrganicsWhat are some of the issues that need

to be considered in relation to an assess-ment of organic materials and their appro-priate use in turfgrass management?

The keys to this assessment includeevaluation of:• C/N ratios of the starting material• Soil O2 levels and gas exchange• Soil microbial populations• Physical and chemical nature of the ma-

terial, including formulation• Continuity and quality control of supply• Independent substantiation of product

claimsOrganic amendments include peat, soil,

peanut shells, sawdust, composted urbanwaste, composted sewage sludge(biosolids), organic fertilizers derivedfrom a variety of sources (including com-posts), humates and biostimulants of vari-ous types. These diverse materials arecomposed of various amounts of sugarsand starches, amino acids and proteins,cellulose, hemicellulose, lignins, fats andwaxes. It is not surprising, therefore, thatorganic sources differ markedly in physi-cal and chemical composition, rates of

decomposition and contribution to theplant-soil ecosystem.

Organic matter decomposition involvesreaction with microbes in an aerobic en-vironment to produce humus, carbon di-oxide and microbial biomass.Decomposition rates are influenced by C/N ratios, the physical and chemical for-mulation of the material and the soil con-ditions - particularly water and oxygen(good gas exchange is an essential featureof effective organic matter turnover). Formaterial with the same surface area (par-ticle size), the higher the C/N ratio of theorganic material, the slower the decom-position process will occur. High C/Nmaterials may also result in temporaryimmobilization of soil N, making it una-vailable for plant growth in the absenceof adjustments to the fertility program.Compacted or waterlogged soils will alsohave significantly poorer OM decompo-sition, and are more prone to developingmicrobial communities that include del-eterious bacterial species.

CompositionMajor interest in organic amendments

has been focused on the increasing avail-ability of compost and compost-based fer-tilizer products in the market place. In anative soil, good quality compost shouldincrease particle aggregation, improvepermeability, reduce surface compaction