by Lis Friemoth
Turf that takes a beating
Super Bowl pits man against ... grass
It’s time once again for the ultimate in football competition, the Super Bowl. For turf junkies, it’s the ultimate in man versus short, green plants. That lush green, while serving as a beautiful game board for those big men in padded uniforms, also provides a jumping-off point (for us impatient plant people) for the new growing season. Turf characteristics have been developed to produce the surface of today, and will continue to develop over the years to come.
The underlying structure that supports the turf is called the Prescription Athletic Turf (PAT) system. This patented system for field structure and turf growth was developed at Purdue University in the early 1970s by professor William Daniel. It was designed to provide a safe base for athletic events while providing an optimal growing environment.
The base area underlying the turf is comprised of drain tiling, vacuum pumps, and sensors. These all work together to provide, monitor and control moisture as needed by the turf. This base is then securely covered by layers of very heavy plastic on which a growing medium is placed — usually a sandy mix to facilitate excellent drainage. Placed on top of this substructure is what we see, the actual turf, which can be placed as sod or directly sown into the growing media as seed.
Not just any seed will do for large events like this one. For Super Bowl turf, the choice for the past four years has been Cynodon, a bermudagrass called Princess 77. This grass has been developed specifically for heavy athletic use in southern climates. Selections for desired characteristics began in 1980 at the Pennington Seed Co. Through the years, this particular seed development focused on a grass that could withstand heat, drought and heavy traffic.
In addition, it needed to have high resistance to diseases, exhibit strong root structure, have finely textured blades at a low height, and maintain good coloring late into the season. Final seed performance trials in 1997 proved this one a winner.
The Princess 77 seed is grown from two different and self-infertile grasses that cross beautifully with one another. For this Super Bowl, 40 pounds of that seed was sown on five acres of Georgia land in 2005. Two years and over 2,000 hours of constant care have produced 128,000 square feet of “televisible” turf. With a root depth of two inches and a blade height of about 5/8-inch, the turf was cut deeper into the soil than what we generally see in the northern climates.
Cut directly from the field into wide strips that weighed in around 1,000 pounds, the sod was hauled, 12 trucks at a time, to Miami for installation. In all, about 40 loads of sod made the eight-hour trek. Some 30 to 40 people were expected to do the basic field installation.
OK turf junkies, I know the question. Can you have the same turf here? No. It is a day-length sensitive, warm-season grass that will die back quickly when exposed slightly to our normal fall temps. So, enjoy the game, look at the turf and drool away.
— Lis Friemoth is a horticulture diagnostician. Contact her at (262) 745-2904, P.O. Box 58, Springfield, WI 53176, visit online at www.thegardenhoe.com or e-mail her at gardenhoe@tds.net. Listen to Liz from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. every third Saturday on WISN AM1130 radio. |
