Date

Updates / News

Southern States' ammonium sulfate 21-0-0 + Wolf Trax Iron + minors was applied to all outfields at the rate of 1 lb of N per 1,000 square feet.

Starter fertilizer 18-24-12 was applied to all outfields at the rate of 1 lb of N per 1,000 square feet.

The malfunctioning center infield irrigation rotor on Field 3 was replaced with a Rainbird Falcon 6504 High-Speed stainless-steel full-circle rotor with a #14 nozzle.

The malfunctioning zone 3 right field irrigation rotor on Field 4 was replaced with a Rainbird Falcon 6504 full-circle rotor with a #18 nozzle.  This fix should improve the turf quality in deep right field of Field 4.

Fall Overseeding - Perennial Ryegrass

This fall's overseeding with perennial ryegrass was completed on Wednesday 10/16.

The overseed product is a blend of 3 perennial ryegrasses from Southern States: IQ Perennial Ryegrass, Caliente Perennial Ryegrass and Passport Perennial Ryegrass.

The seeding rate is 13 lbs per 1,000 sq. ft.

After seeding, the outfields were dragged with a 6' x 3' steel 1" flexible mesh and then rolled.

Coaches' boxes are supposed to be 3' deep and 15' wide.  The example below is a little on the small side.

Two spot applications of FMC Dismiss, a selective post-emergent herbicide (active ingredient sulfentrazone) that targets sedges and a long list of broadleaf weeds, were made to two small infestations of white clover on fields 2 and 3.  The application rate was 0.092 oz of product per 1,000 sq. ft.

All infields lips were edges and dressed.  Invasive bermudagrass was removed with a scuffle hoe.  This process produces a temporary sharp edge which may exaggerate some ball hops.  Coaches are encouraged to remind players to "play the lip" as a precaution.

The draft TGSA Turfgrass Protocols 2.0 document  has been completed and is now under review by various agronomists.

The outfields were sprayed with a blend of Quali-Pro T-Nex 1 AQ Plant Growth Regulator (11.3% trinexapac-ethyl) at the product rate of 14 fl. oz. per acre, Wolf Trax DDP Iron (47% Fe) at the product rate of 1.0 pounds per acre and Wolf Trax DDP Manganese (33% Mn) at the product rate of 0.5 pounds per acre.  This application of the Wolf Trax micro-prilled nutrients product is designed to improve the color for the turfgrass.

The effects of the Wolf Trax were seen in additional, deeper greening within four hours of the application - just wicked. Wolf Trax totally rocks.

The fall batch of perennial ryegrass seed (1600 pounds, equating to an overseeding rate of about 13 pounds per 1000 ft²) from Southern States has arrived and is being stored at the Parks & Rec workshop until overseeding occurs in mid-October.  This year's blend is a three-way mixture of IQ Perennial Ryegrass, Caliente Perennial Ryegrass and Passport Perennial Ryegrass.

The Field 4 pitching area sustained minor damage to the underlying clay subsurface (under the layer of crushed red shale) during the USFA Septemberfest last weekend.  The eroded areas were repaired with 50 pounds of Turface Red Mound Clay.

The grassy areas immediately adjacent to the outfields have been treated with a broadcast application of 5-5-25 with Barricade^® Herbicide (Anderson's product code APT5BR50.2).  The intent of the application is to lessen weed pressure on the edges of the outfield turf.  Care was taken not to allow any of the Barricade to fall onto the outfield turf, due to the proximity of overseeding (mid-October).  Barricade cannot be applied to turfgrass with 60 days of overseeding.

The Field 3 pitching area sustained damage to the underlying clay subsurface (under the layer of crushed red shale) during the USFA Septemberfest last weekend.  The eroded areas were repaired with 50 pounds of Turface Red Mound Clay.

The infield edges, fence lines and outlying areas were spot sprayed with a solution of Lesco Prosecutor Pro (2.0 fl. oz. per gallon; active ingredient: glyphosate) and Dow Agro Scythe (4.0 fl. oz. per gallon; active ingredient: pelargonic acid).

All infields lips were edges and dressed.  Invasive bermudagrass was removed with a scuffle hoe.  This process produces a temporary sharp edge which may exaggerate some ball hops.  Coaches are encouraged to remind players to "play the lip" as a precaution.

All infields were tine-groomed with the Rahn Groomer following the 9.2" of rain from Tropical Storm Fay.

The outfields were sprayed with a blend of Quali-Pro T-Nex 1 AQ Plant Growth Regulator (11.3% trinexapac-ethyl) at the product rate of 14 fl. oz. per acre, Wolf Trax DDP Iron (47% Fe) at the product rate of 1.0 pounds per acre and Wolf Trax DDP Manganese (33% Mn) at the product rate of 0.5 pounds per acre.  This application of the Wolf Trax micro-prilled nutrients product is designed to improve the color for the turfgrass.

The effects of the Wolf Trax were seen in additional, deeper greening within four hours of the application - just wicked. Wolf Trax totally rocks.

Spot applications of three selective post-emergent herbicides were made to all outfields:

FMC Dismiss, a selective post-emergent herbicide (active ingredient sulfentrazone) that targets sedges and a long list of broadleaf weeds, was applied at a rate of 0.092 oz of product per 1,000 sq. ft.

BASF Drive 75 DF, a selective post-emergent herbicide (active ingredient quinclorac) that targets crabgrasses, other grassy weeds, clovers, black medic, speedwells and dollar weed) was applied at at rate of 0.367oz of product per 1,000 sq. ft.

Gowan Sedgehammer, a selective post-emergent herbicide (active ingredient halosulfuron - one of the older sulfonylurea herbicides) that targets purple and yellow nutsedges was applied at a rate of 0.9 grams of product per 1,000 sq. ft.

To enhance the effectiveness of the above brew of herbicides, Lesco Hawkeye surfactant (proprietary blend of polyalkyleneoxide modified polydimethylsiloxane and nonionic surfactants) was added to the tank mix at a 0.5% v/v mixing concentration.

The infield edges, fence lines and outlying areas were spot sprayed with a solution of Lesco Prosecutor Pro (2.0 fl. oz. per gallon; active ingredient: glyphosate) and Dow Agro Scythe (4.0 fl. oz. per gallon; active ingredient: pelargonic acid).

A spot application of Dismiss, a selective post-emergent herbicide (active ingredient sulfentrazone), was made to recently germinated purple nutsedge in Field 1 and Field 3.  The application rate was 0.092 oz of product per 1,000 sq. ft.

Additional sod was added to the infield edges of Field 2 and Field 3 to help mitigate erosion of the SafCoat infield amendment.

A broadcast application of RegalKade 25 on a 9-23-30 carrier was made at the product rate of 150 lb/acre.  This application of the pre-emergent herbicide prodiamine (a member of the dinitroaniline family) is made 60 days prior to overseeding with perennial ryegrass to prevent germination of undesirable annual grasses and certain annual broadleaf weeds.

Outfields were sprayed with Wolf Trax Iron Dry Dispersible Powder at the product rate of 1lb/acre.  This application of a micro-prilled 47% Fe (iron) product is designed to improve the color for the turfgrass.

Outfields: Outfield mowing height was increased to 1.25" from 1.0" in an effort to improve the appearance of the bermudagrass.

Outfield Micronutrient Application:

Nutriculture Bermuda Special 25-5-20, 4 fl oz/1,000 sq. ft.

Regal Multigreen II chelated micronutrient chlorophyll production stimulator was applied at a rate 3 fl oz/1,000 sq ft.

Infield Lip Maintenance:

Invasive bermuda was removed from the infield lips of Fields 2, 3 and 4.

Infield Lip Maintenance:

Invasive bermuda was removed from the infield lip of Field 1.

Spot Application of Non-Selective Herbicide:

The field edges and outlying areas were spot sprayed with a solution of Lesco Prosecutor Pro (2.0 fl. oz. per gallon; active ingredient: glyphosate) and Dow Agro Scythe (4.0 fl. oz. per gallon; active ingredient: pelargonic acid).

Infield Lip Maintenance:

Invasive bermuda was removed from the infield lips of Fields 2, 3 and 4.

Infield Erosion Repair:

Infield erosion on Field 2 was patched with mound clay.

Toro Workman 3200 Sprayer Unit:

The long-awaited sprayer has arrived.  With a 200-gallon capacity and 18.5 foot-wide spray arc, the new Toro 3200 Workman utility vehicle with Workman 200 sprayer will make short work of liquid fertilizer, growth regulator and herbicide applications for the outfields.  Final cost was just north of $28,000.  The funds came from the latest Sports Complex beverage contract between the City of Trussville and your local Coca-Cola Bottling Company.

The ability to use the Dolphin without the filter cloth vastly improves the efficiency of water removal.

The Dolphin Super Soaker, pictured below, has a foam-covered perforated metal drum with an external roller and internal tank. 

As the Dolphin is pushed across the wet field, the foam absorbs the water, the roller squeezes the water through the perforations in the drum and into the internal 14-gallon tank.

The test was done on Field 4, which was about 30% covered in water.  The field was rendered playable in about 30 minutes with no pumping, raking or use of infield amendments.

The following two pictures were taken about 6 minutes apart, showing the effectiveness of the Dolphin on a large area of standing water near the backstop on Field 4.

Field 4: Added 50' based anchors and raised home plate.

Safety nets: Repaired tear on F3 first base side and reset horizontal cross-member.

Field 2: Added 50' base anchors, replaced and raised home plate and removed silt from infield irrigation controller box.

Field 3: Removed silt from infield irrigation controller box.

Micronutrient Application:

The outfields were sprayed with FerroMec AC at the overseeding post-germination rate of 2.0 fl. oz per 1,000 square feet (60 fl. oz per field in 25 gallons of water).

Fertilizer Application:

The outfields were sprayed with Nutriculture Bent Special 28-8-18 at a rate of 4 oz. per 1,000 sq. ft.

Fertilizer Application:

The outfields were sprayed with Nutriculture Bent Special 28-8-18 at a rate of 4 oz. per 1,000 sq. ft.

Micronutrient Application:

The outfields were sprayed with FerroMec AC at the overseeding post-germination rate of 2.0 fl. oz per 1,000 square feet (60 fl. oz per field in 25 gallons of water).

Infield Work:

All infields were mesh dragged (large spiral pattern) after the nail drags.

The new Toro 2000-D mower has been delivered.

Infield Work:

Fields 2, 3 and 4 were nail-dragged and trap-rake dragged.

Infield Work:

Field 1's infield was nail-dragged and trap-rake dragged.  Field 1 will be closed on Friday.

Home Plate Area Rehabilitation:

The home plate areas were leveled with mound clay.

Field 2 Irrigation Modification:

The center infield rotor was moved to 44' from home plate to accommodate 43' pitching distances.

Pitching Warmup Area Rehab:

One of the three pitching warmup areas adjacent to field 4 was built-up using 150 pounds of Turface Red Mound Clay and 50 pounds of DiamondPro Red Infield Conditioner.

Batting Cage Netting:

Additional netting was added to the batters end of cage 1.

Fertilization:

Outfields were fertilized with 18-24-12 starter fertilizer at the rate of 1# of N per 1,000 sq. ft.

Topdressing - Round 2:

The outfields of fields 1, 2 and 4 were lightly topdressed to aid in the germination and establishment of the perennial ryegrass.

Field 1 Home Plate Rehab:

The home plate on field 1 was raised and leveled.

Overseeding with Perennial Ryegrass:

This fall's overseeding with perennial ryegrass was completed on Monday 10/8.

The overseed product is Lesco Double Eagle Supreme, a blend of 3 perennial ryegrasses:

1. 36.77% Prototype Perennial Ryegrass;

2. 32.18% Arrival Perennial Ryegrass;

3. 28.89% Notable Perennial Ryegrass

The seeding rate is 13# per 1,000 sq. ft.

The seed has been treated with the systemic fungicide Syngenta Apron XL LS at the rate of 0.64 fl. oz. per 100# of seed.

The Lesco Double Eagle Supreme seed is also endophyte-enhanced.  Endophytes are naturally occurring fungi that live symbiotically with the grass, providing alkaloids and other chemicals that help protect the grass from insects and other invasive fungi.  They also may provide some growth regulation and drought-hardiness.

• The center infield irrigation head was moved to 44' to accommodate 43' pitching distances.
• The center infield irrigation head was replaced with a Hunter I25 High Speed rotor.
• The infield lip was manually edged with a loop hoe and hand-dressed.
• The pitching area, right-hand batters box and catchers area were re-profiled with mound clay to fix low / worn spots.

• Infields were worked with an MASA Leveling Bar and cocoa mat.

Field 4 Infield Rehabilitation:

• The center infield irrigation head was moved back to 44' to accommodate 43' pitching distances in the upcoming tournament.
• The infield lip was manually edged with a loop hoe and hand-dressed.
• The pitching area and catchers area were re-profiled with mound clay to fix low / worn spots.

The new Toro 2000-D Reelmaster^Ò mower has been ordered by the City of Trussville for mowing of the outfields.

If you happen to see the Mayor or one of our City Council members, please be sure to thank them for their support (the resolution to purchase the mower passed unanimously).

Delivery is expected just before the Samford Invitational Tournament in three weeks.

The new mower will be used to cut girls softball and youth football only, as these were the only two associations to contribute to the purchase of the mower.

The new mower should do a great job of striping the overseeded perennial ryegrass once it matures and into the spring.

Post-emergent Application:

The outfields were treated with the selective post-emergent herbicide Revolver^Ò.

• The active ingredient of Revolver is foramsulfuron. Foramsulfuron is a member of the class of herbicides known as sulfonylureas.

• The application is part of preparation for overseeding with perennial ryegrass (Lesco Double Eagle Supreme perennial ryegrass blend) in the coming weeks.

• The target of the application is recently germinated Poa annua (annual bluegrass).  Once the overseeding has been completed, Poa annua cannot be removed chemically since none of the very few selective herbicides that will safely remove Poa from perennial ryegrass are labeled for use on athletic fields.

• The application rate of the Revolver was 17.4 oz per acre (12.2 oz per field) - the high end of the label rate.

• Revolver is one of the nastier chemicals to deal with.  Imagine a quart of snot from a large mammal with a severe sinus infection and you will have a pretty good idea of what Revolver is like.

The anchor for third base on Field 2 was replaced with a new CH Heavy Duty Anchor. The CH Base Anchor System uses a special driver tool to install the anchors - no more concrete anchors.

Outfields were treated with a second application of 5-10-31 with 10% iron.   Application rate of 1.5# potassium per 1,000 square feet.

0.8" of rainfall was measured at the park.

Dismiss^Ò, a relatively new selective post-emergent herbicide (active ingredient sulfentrazone), was applied to recently germinated purple nutsedge in right field of Field 3.  The application rate was 0.092 oz of product per 1,000 sq. ft.

Within 18 hours, the treated purple nutsedge had turned brown and was severely wilted. 

While at least one sulfentrazone study has shown that sulfentrazone works best on purple nutsedge in a split application, a single application appears to be very effective.

Dismiss gets two thumbs-up for its rapid work on one of the toughest sedges.

The ET system is programmed with the type of turfgrass (in our case bermudagrass of varying cultivars - no one has a clue which ones), turfgrass maturity, soil type, slope and irrigation head type by zone.

The ET system also collects local climate data (solar radiation, wind speed, temperature, humidity and rainfall). 

All of this information is plugged into a  modified Penman-Monthieth computer model that estimates the amount of water lost to evaporation and transpiration.

The ET system then optimizes Program A of the Pro-C controller to only put back the water that has been lost.  The system promises to reduce irrigation water consumption by an average of 30%.  For TGSA, that could be a reduction of as much as 1.5 to 2 million gallons per year.

The City has further restricted our watering to one day per week, so it is likely that some areas in the outfields will go dormant to some degree.  Not to worry - no long term damage - bermudagrass is hard to kill.

The installation of the evapo-transpiration computer / weather station for the irrigation system has started.  Once the drought is over, this system is expected to reduce our irrigation requirements by 30%.

The Dolphin Super Soaker (a large drum-like contraption that is optimized for absorbing large shallow puddles) has arrived and will be ready for the next rain event.

The outfields will be fertilized with 5-10-31 within the next week and sprayed with a new Nutriculture micronutrient solution with the next two weeks. 

The infields of Fields 1,2 & 3 were nail dragged.

Mound clay was added to the pitching area on Field 4.

Outfields were triple cut on 7/23 and will be triple cut again on 7/24.  Current mowing height is 1".

An application of Monument post-emergent herbicide has been scheduled for all four outfields for the first week of August.

Mound bricks will be used in the coming weeks to improve the pitching areas on the fields and the warmup areas.

A Super Soaker has been ordered to assist in removal of shallow standing water.

A pallet of red Diamond Pro conditioner has been stocked to help until an additional 24 tons of SafCoat per infield is added in January 2008.

Outfield wet spots are being topdressed with Nitamin sand on an ongoing basis.  Additional drainage is not planned.  At this point, we believe that topdressing will eventually mitigate the wet spot problem.

An 80" spray boom has purchased by TGSA and will be used by our Parks & Rec crew to do the bulk of our spraying on an ongoing basis.

The large diamond pump has been repaired and is ready for the next rain event.

Coaches: Avoid saturated sports in the outfield.  Do not send a group of players to catch fly balls and have them stand in a saturated area.

Recreation league coaches are still expected to chalk the infields for games.  DO NOT CHALK THE TURF EVER, NO MATTER WHAT.

The sprayer pump began to malfunction on the last field (wettable powders like Ronstar 50 WSP are notoriously hard on pumps) and an expedited replacement has been ordered.

We continue to experience high failure rates of the middle irrigation rotors (Rainbird 5004PLUS stainless-steel) on the infield systems (the one behind the pitching rubber).    The 5004PLUS rotors are performing well every where else.

The middle rotor on Field 1 was replaced with a high-speed Hunter I25 stainless-steel model.  This rotor is a high-end rotor designed for skinned surfaces that (hopefully) has tighter tolerances to avoid SafCoat infiltration into the mechanism.  The height of the rotor was slightly raised as well to avoid the SafCoat.

Infield edges, backstops and outfield fence lines were sprayed with Finale (glufosinate) to kill invasive bermuda.

Two legacy R50 infield irrigation rotors were replaced on Field 2.

Outfield pre-emergent (Ronstar 50 WSP) application was deferred until Tuesday 5/15 due to high temperatures and gusty winds.

Outfields were fertilized with 32-3-10, 20% PCSCU, at the rate of 1.5# per 1,000 sq. ft.

Field 1 outfield was sprayed with Monument, 0.5 oz per acre rate, due to germinating yellow nutsedge.

Infields were nail dragged and mesh dragged.

Please do not remove the 'permanent' field survey marks when lining the fields.  One of the 8" spikes and fender washer combo permanent survey markers was found tied to the end of a spool of line in the equipment building.  I was able to find the field and hole where it came from, thankfully (Field 3).  It takes several hours and two people to survey the fields with a transit and I would prefer not to do it again.

The infields were mesh dragged in a new pattern to alleviate SafCoat buildup in the middle of the infields.

Please remind players not to deliberately step on or kick the irrigation heads.

Infields were watered down, nail dragged and trap rake dragged following the tournament.  Thank you to all the guys that helped with field maintenance on Saturday.

The fields will be soft for a day or two.

Outfields were sprayed with FerroMec AC liquid iron complex (15% nitrogen, 6% iron, 3% sulfur - click here for FerroMec label) to improve the color of the Bermudagrass.  Application rate was 5.33 oz per 1,000 square feet.
Spraying was halted whenever weeds were spotted to allow for their identification and removal:

• Two pieces of tall crabgrass (single tiller stage) were pulled from stressed foul territory areas on fields 3 and 4.

• A few pieces of yellow nutsedge were pulled from the usual spots on fields 1 and 3.

• Field 4 left field was infested with a winter annual known as tansy mustard.

Based on this weed profile, 5 grams of Monument post-emergent herbicide (application rate of 0.25 ounces per acre - read that again - 1/4 of an ounce PER ACRE) will be added to the next application of FerroMec.  Click here for Monument label.

4/29/07

Bart Allbritton replaced four blown field lights (the ones on top of the 60 foot poles).  Thanks, Bart!

Infield edges, fence lines, and backstops were sprayed with non-selective herbicide (glyphosate and diquat) to control invasive bermudagrass and broadleaf weeds.

4/27/07

4/26/07

1.7" of rain was measured during the morning of Thursday 4/26 (through noon).  The fields were playable by 5:00 PM, thanks to the SafCoat infield amendment from Southern Athletic Fields. (www.mulemix.com). 

The outfields were mowed in a diagonal pattern at 7/8".

The infields were nail dragged and trap-rake dragged following the games.  As as result, the infields will be soft and slow for the next few days.

4/23/07