Mississippi Turfgrass – Mike Goatley, Jr., Ph.D., Professor & Extension Turfgrass Specialist, David McCall, Ph.D., Assistant Professor & Extension Turfgrass Pathologist and Shawn Askew, Ph.D., Professor & Extension Turfgrass Weed Scientist
We’re not forecasting catastrophic weather events (although given the way 2020 has gone, what might happen?) Instead, this article is intended to help you avoid disaster as it relates to the pending storm of what is about to play out on your sports fields. Sports field managers are realizing what is on the horizon regarding the demands for use of their sports fields in 2021 with many fall sports now delayed until the spring. The sports field manager will once again face the reality that every sport is the most important in that particular coach’s, player’s, or parent’s mind and the perception (hopefully not expectation) that field access is unlimited. It was fascinating watching the progression of the ‘MLS is Back’ tournament at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex where they hosted 51 matches on 3 fields over 35 days – and the natural grass fields performed marvelously well thanks to an excellent team of sports field managers and consultants. Most of you are facing budget and labor cuts etc. and are quite limited in physical acreage that can be utilized for a greatly expanded spring sports schedule. While there is no guarantee for success, planning and managing for the onslaught of field use in 2021 begins NOW! There are no quick and easy fixes to limitations in soil, a properly crowned field, and an effective irrigation system. So, if those limitations describe your facility, accept that you are somewhat handicapped from the start. However, there are basic cultural, chemical, and communication management concepts that you can employ to help you provide the safest, best playing surfaces under extreme traffic conditions in 2021.
 
Grow as much as grass as possible until cold weather arrives.
It doesn’t matter if it’s warm-season or cool-season, now is the time to grow the thickest, densest, healthiest turfgrass possible. Many have had to reduce inputs on fields that were not in use; that was appropriate and even necessary for budgets. But given what is coming, you now need to do everything you can to optimize turf density and health prior to winter because the growth rates of both bermudagrass (4-5 months dormancy) and cool-season grasses (2-3 months of no or restricted growth potential) will decline in a few months.
-Soil pH and nutrient management: The makings of a healthy turf begin with a properly balanced soil in terms of pH and nutrients. A soil test is the only way to really know what the soil needs and there is no cheaper piece of insurance in making informed decisions than to soil test (Figure 1). Both warm and cool-season grasses will benefit from the utilization of a soil test in late summer through mid-fall. There is still time to benefit from nitrogen on bermudagrass fields, but keep the nutrient management standards of up to 1 lb N/1000 sq ft per active growing month in mind, and if possible, go to a light and frequent fertility program as the days get shorter. The strategy for a heavily trafficked sports field in the fall (that carries over to the spring) is to keep the bermudagrass actively growing as long as possible, but not extremely succulent heading into that period when frost/freeze events are expected to occur. One point of caution regarding fertilization on bermudagrass next spring in the midst of all the traffic: the tendency is to want to begin fertilizing as soon as it starts to green in an effort to get as much regrowth as possible. That’s a risky strategy that might pay dividends if Mother Nature cooperates (i.e. no more frost events), but for most locations the threat of late season frosts that can decimate all of that early season growth are enough reason to delay spring fertilization until the possibilit...