Improving Native Soil Athletic Fields With Intercept Drain Tile Installation and Subsequent Sand Topdressing Applications

Abstract

Intercept drain tile installation and subsequent sand topdressing applications can provide a built-up sand-based system. There are a number of different intercept drain tile spacing and sand layer depth recommendations. The objectives of this research were to determine the effects of intercept drain tile spacing on the surface runoff, soil water content, and surface shear strength of a compacted sandy loam with sand topdressing. A single factor, RCBD field study in East Lansing, Michigan, was seeded May 29, 2007, with a Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.)Y perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) mixture. Intercept drain tiles were spaced 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and 6.0 m apart and were compared with an 8.1-m-long control without intercept drain tiles. Well-graded sand (90.0% sand, 7.0% silt, and 3.0% clay) was used for topdressing. After the accumulation of a 2.4-cm sand layer, simulated traffic at two applications per week was applied to all treatments using the Cady traffic simulator from October 10 to November 3, 2007. In 2008, topdressing, providing a 4.8-cm depth accumulated during a 2-year period, and traffic were repeated on the same experimental treatments. When a 2.4-cm sand layer is present, surface runoff and soil water content are generally directly related to intercept drain tile spacing, and drain tiles, spaced 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0 m apart, will provide increased surface shear strength. As topdressing depths were accumulated to a 4.8-cm sand layer depth in 2008, no differences in surface shear strength were observed regardless of drain tile spacing.

Heavy Sand and Crumb Rubber Topdressing Improves Kentucky Bluegrass Wear Tolerance

“…These findings suggest that recommendations for sand root‐zone selection, whether it be those provided by the USGA (28), ASTM (1,2), or Henderson et al (13), should be taken into consideration when selecting a cost‐effective sand topdressing material. Similar to research conducted by Kowalewski et al (15, 16), results also suggest that the benefits of sand topdressing increase when applications are repeated annually.…”

“…For instance, in 2008 when this research was initiated, in the lower peninsula of Michigan, prices for topdressing material were $10 per 1,000 kg for CPG and NPSD sand, $25 per 1,000 kg for USGA sand, and $30 per 1,000 kg for USGAF sand (prices based on communication with the local supplier J. W. Surge, Muskegon, MI, and do not include the cost of labor and transportation). According to these prices, if a field manager intended to apply a cumulative topdressing depth of 4.8 cm to a standard high school athletic field (5,351 m 2 ) for athletic field renovation (15), they would be spending approximately $4,195 for CPG and NPSD sand, $10,488 for USGA sand, $12,586 for USGAF sand. These particular sands were selected for this research because of their commercial availability for engineering and construction (CPG), golf course topdressing (NPSD and USGA), and athletic field construction (USGA and USGAF) throughout the state of Michigan.…”

“…Sand topdressing provides a number of advantages to a playing surface, including increased turfgrass density (16), cover (4,31), rooting (18), and shear strength (4,5,16,18,27). Research has also shown that sand topdressing can be used to improve surface drainage and decrease surface water runoff (15), which are important factors when trying to provide a relatively dry, stable playing surface. Baker et al (4) suggests that topdressing is a more cost-effective maintenance practice than spiking, the cultivation practice used in their research.…”

Sand‐capping depth and subsoil influences on ‘Tifway’ bermudagrass response to irrigation frequency and drought

“…Unfortunately, research data that could lead to reliable recommendations for these questions are lacking. In temperate climates where the predominant turfgrasses are cool‐season species, Kowalewski, Crum, Rogers, and Dunne (2011, 2015) suggested that a 5‐cm cap of well‐graded sand combined with regularly spaced sub‐cap drainage lines would provide an acceptable surface for multipurpose sports fields that have become prone to muddy playing surfaces. Less has been done to investigate sand‐capping sports fields in subtropical climates where the predominant turfgrasses are warm‐season species such as bermudagrass (Miller, 2008).…”