Vigorous plant growth without sunlight is routinely achieved in commercial hydroponic lettuce and tomato production using electric lamps. This same technology can be used to maintain live turf grass in closed athletic stadiums. It can also be used to supplement natural sunlight in retractable roof stadiums. The challenge is to determine the optimal combination of genetic characteristics and env...

Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) is one of the most widely used turfgrasses for home lawns, golf courses, parks, and athletic fields in temperate climates. Oxidative stress caused by drought stress is a major limiting factor for grass cultivation in arid and semi-arid regions. The objective of this study was to investigate whether Prohexadione-Calcium (Pro-Ca) may play a role in promoting ...

A test chamber was projected and built (according to ISO 16000-9 Standard) to simulate atmospheric conditions experienced by rubber infill (when applied in synthetic turf pitches) and measure accurately the airborne emissions of pollutants such as dusts and volatile organic compounds (VOC), as well as pollutants present in leachates. It should be pointed out that standard ISO 16000-9 is only co...

Plant-parasitic nematodes can be very damaging to turfgrasses. The projected cancellation of the registration for fenamiphos in the near future has generated a great deal of interest in identifying acceptable alternative nematode management tactics for use on turfgrasses. Two field experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of repeated applications of several commercially availabl...

Establishing and Trafficking New Bentgrass Putting Greens Golf turf managers are pressured from the golfing community to reduce the establishment time of playing surfaces. To this end, accelerated grow-in procedures are implemented that eventually permit play on surfaces that are less than prepared to receive traffic. Research hassuggested that accelerated grow-in procedures and premature traff...

Rationale Ground ivy is a stoloniferous, perennial weed that can persist in turf. Growing at soil level, stolons infiltrate surrounding vegetation and establish new populations, which result in non-uniform turf. Approximately 62,000 lbs of 2,4-D were applied to Indiana homelawns in 1992.. A 2001 survey of Indiana lawn care operators (LCO) found 79% of respondents used 2,4-D either alone or in c...

Artificial surfaces are now an established alternative to grass (natural) surfaces in rugby union. Little is known, however, about their potential to reduce injury. This study characterises the spinal kinematics of rugby union hookers during scrummaging on third-generation synthetic (3G) and natural pitches. The spine was sectioned into five segments, with inertial sensors providing three-dimen...

BACKGROUND In an attempt to decrease injuries, newer forms of artificial turf have been marketed. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a new shredded rubber-based turf improves impact attenuation. METHODS An instrumented computerized impact recording device (IRD, Techmark, Lansing, MI) was dropped 20 times from a height of 48 inches onto five types of turf used by a professional...

This paper introduces the approach of using TURF analysis to design a product line through a binary linear programming model. This improves the efficiency of the search for the solution to the problem compared to the algorithms that have been used to date. Furthermore, the proposed technique enables the model to be improved in order to overcome the main drawbacks presented by TURF analysis in p...