Matanuska Experiment Farm testing soccer, golf turfgrass
August 30, 2011
907-474-5042
8/30/11
Alaska soccer teams and golfers may soon be playing on grass varieties that are new to Alaska, thanks to research projects at the Matanuska Experiment Farm, a University of Alaska Fairbanks facility in Palmer.
Eight types of high performance bluegrasses bred for use as sports turf are growing in a research soccer field at the farm. The project is the first of its kind in the state. The Mat-Su Health Foundation donated $10,000 for the sports turf research project.
“The demands made of sports turf in Alaska, under the environmental conditions we live under, make it remarkably difficult to maintain exemplary turf conditions during the entire soccer, and then football seasons,” said farm manager Judson Scott. “Budget-driven factors such as construction techniques and the quality of the materials used, and less than ideal nutritional and cultural programs, coupled with the weather, often result in poor field conditions right when the fields are to be used the most.”
The grasses being tested were selected from among the top-performing varieties in northern zones of the Lower 48. Two local varieties serve as the control. The field was planted in June and has been routinely mowed, irrigated and fertilized. Hunter Irrigation Industries donated the automatic computer-controlled sprinkler system.
“Unfortunately, very few fields in Alaska have automatic irrigation systems. This hurts the turf manager’s ability to provide favorable early season turf conditions before the typical Alaska rainy season begins,” Scott said.
Scott has been evaluating density, vertical growth rate, color and resistance to weed infestation in each variety. Another key factor is how often the grass needs mowing and what kind of protective thatch layer each variety produces.
“We’ll see how they do over the winter,” he said. “That will be a big evaluation point.”
Scott hopes to host field days next summer, so sports field managers and landscapers can see the work firsthand.
“We want to share our fields and share our ideas,” he said. “As our turf research program grows, and we are able to acquire more funding for equipment, we would like to offer demonstrations of different maintenance practices that can result in improved turf conditions on our kids’ soccer fields.”
By next fall, Scott plans to test the turfgrass varieties with players.
“That will test the real life component of foot traffic,” Scott said. “We’ll be able to evaluate for how each variety handles the typical abuse an army of 5-year-olds can dish out.”
Once the research is complete, the results will be available to the public.
A new testing area is taking shape next door to the soccer field. Scott is developing a golf-putting course to test low-mow putting green grasses. Earth moving has begun and an irrigation system is being installed. Next spring, drastic bumps and swales will be shaped, the area will be topped with sand and then seeded with a type of grass that is successful as a putting green turf in the Mat-Su Valley.
Scott will use the putting course to study techniques to improve the winter survivability of the grasses. By spring 2014, Scott hopes the putting course will be available for community recreation. The facility will provide a different nine-hole putting route each week. The Mat-Su Health Foundation is funding the project.
Scott’s next project is a nine-hole, par-three golf course that will offer another opportunity to study turfgrass in Alaska. Scott is seeking a graduate student who would be interested in using part of the golf course as a research laboratory to conduct work toward earning a graduate degree.
The Wadsworth Golf Charities Foundation has committed $250,000 over a five-year period for the project. Additional fundraising is to take place soon. The course is being designed mainly for beginners, but will also provide a challenge for more proficient hackers, Scott said. “It’s going to be low maintenance, to keep green fees low, but challenging and fun.”
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Judson Scott, farm manager, 907-746-9481, jscott54@alaska.edu.
NT/8-30-11/048-12