Protecting Quality and Integrity of Turfgrass Surfaces During Non-Sporting Events with Portable Roadways

摘要

Many current sports venues routinely host non-sporting events that require vehicular traffic over playing surfaces. These events often occur during the season of play and are a challenge to sports turf managers to protect the playing surface. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of portable roadways on: 1) turfgrass performance (percent cover, color, and quality), 2) playing surface characteristics (surface hardness and rotational traction), 3) soil physical properties (volumetric soil moisture, bulk density, total porosity), and 4) soil displacement. Five protection systems were evaluated for multiple cover periods (3, 6, and 9 days): 1)0.75" Plywood (2 layers), 2) Enkamat Plus and Plywood (2 layers), 3) Enkamat Flatback and Plywood (2 layers), 4) Supa-TracTM and 5) TerraTrak Plus~(TM) An untraffiked control was included. This study was conducted on a mixed stand of Kentucky bluegrass (Poapratensis L.) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) during year 1 and on a monostand of Kentucky bluegrass during year 2. Vehicular traffic was imposed using a truck that would be similar in weight to those used in preparing for a non-sporting event (gross vehicle weight rating [GVWR] of 20,000 lbs.). Minimal differences in percent cover were observed after the three day cover period. As the cover duration increased, TerraTrak Plus and Supa-Trac retained better color and cover than all the plywood treatments. TerraTrak Plus retained the best color after six and nine days. The