A lot goes into a good game of polo, especially the condition of the field. My column, Inside The Boards, will cover how to keep your field healthy, safe, and aesthetically pleasing.
What’s Your Zone?
For starters, how you care for your field will depend on your turfgrass type and agronomic zone. In the northern zone, cool-season grasses like blue ryegrass and fescue are predominant. In the transition zone, you can have several different types: zoysia, bermuda, and paspalum as well as rye, blues, and fescue. In the southern zone, you’ll see primarily bermudagrass and paspalum.
Summer Care Tips
As we enter summer, here are some things you should be focusing on to keep your facility in tip-top shape and keep your field healthy.
Keep Your Facility Tidy
We’ll start with your facility and landscape areas. You should be on round two of your pre-emergent herbicide applications and your pruning should be wrapped up. This will keep weed pressure under control, and keep your trees and ornamental shrubs healthy and vibrant for the summer.
Manage Moisture
Proper moisture management will help you maintain a more consistent playing surface, which will benefit the health of the field and the safety of players and horses. This is especially true during drought conditions.
You can use weather stations as a baseline for current rainfall, past rainfall, and relative humidity. A moisture meter is also a beneficial tool. It will provide precise soil moisture readings, giving you a clear understanding of how different parts of the field are performing. This data allows you to tailor your irrigation practices based on water needs, ensuring that all areas of the field receive the right amount of water.
Soil surfactants (also called wetting agents) can assist in maintaining the right amount of moisture. These range from infiltration chemistries, which promote downward movement of water into the soil, to hydration chemistries, which allow the soil to hold more water for plant availability. There are also combination products that pull water down into the root zone while maintaining soil moisture for longer periods. These products will help your field make the most of a very precious (and often limited) resource and deliver safer conditions.
Fertilize Properly
All decisions you make should be based on soil testing. Focus on supplying macronutrients, which are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N-P-K).
Nitrogen supports genetic functions within the plant, as well as defense, growth, and recovery. Use nitrogen fertilizers that are slow-release (sometimes referred to as long-chain). They will release nutrients slowly over time, producing a more consistent growth pattern than quick-release fertilizers. All fields should get three to four pounds of nitrogen per calendar year, with the variation based on recovery and repair needs. Phosphorus helps build, transfer, and store energy within the plant. It also helps with rooting. These applications are typically done through foliar products. Be sure to check your state and local laws before use, as some states and municipalities are strict about phosphorus usage. Potassium regulates water within cells and defends against stressors. This is especially important for rooting and recovery.
A foliar fertilizer program will supplement your granular fertilizer by focusing on micronutrient deficiencies. Elements like manganese, magnesium, iron, and amino acids will help with chlorophyll production as well as supplement plant health and recovery.
Manage Disease
Have you heard of the disease triangle? If not, it is, in essence, a Venn diagram that covers when turf disease can take hold. You need three factors to be present at the same time: a pathogen, a susceptible host, and a favorable environment. Without all three, there’s no disease.
It’s easy for pathogens to infiltrate turf, and summer is one of the most ‘favorable environments’ there is. The big thing that’s under your control is whether or not your field is an easy mark. Cultural practices like proper mowing, irrigation, and balanced fertilization are essential.
That being said, summer conditions often lead to stress, regardless of how well you’ve taken care of your field. Stressed fields are less tolerant of diseases, exhibit slower growth, and have damaged root systems. That creates the perfect recipe for disease. Rather than waiting for disease to appear, treat your field with a preventative fungicide. You may need multiple rounds, but it is much easier to attack disease before it attacks. Curative applications can help you manage turf that is already infected by disease, but preventative is the way to go.
Deal With Insects
To effectively fight root-feeding insects on your field, you’ll want to scout. One of the best things to do is go out and do a soap drench. Mix one to two ounces (which is two to four tablespoons) of a lemon-scented soap in a gallon of water and pour it in about a square foot of area. The insects in the soil, such as armyworms, will surface.
Once you understand what insects you’re dealing with, you can choose an insecticide. Some active ingredients are designed to target specific insects, like grubs, while others are more generalist. When it comes to timing, make your applications in the early morning and/or in the evening, when insect activity is abundant and no games are being played. Be sure to water in your applications so they reach the root zone, which is where many of these insects reside.
If you have further questions, please reach out to me. I can also create a personalized program that’s based on your field’s conditions, your climate, and your budget. You can click my name or picture below for my contact information.
