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YOUR TURF
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Olympian fields
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Faculty and students from Michigan State University acted as consultants to the Chinese team that built the modular turf for Beijing National Stadium, the site of track and field and soccer competitions for the 2008 summer Olympics. Photo by A. Kowalewski |
Golf is not yet an Olympic sport, but turfgrass is still a necessary component of the 2008 summer Olympic games, which include contests in track and field, soccer, baseball and softball.
The turfgrass in the main Olympic stadium in Beijing, Beijing National Stadium (also called “Bird’s Nest Stadium” because of its unique architecture), is the result of years of work by faculty and students from Michigan State University. Trey Rogers, Ph.D., and Jim Crum, Ph.D., are professors in the department of crop and soil sciences and acted as consultants to the Chinese in preparing a modular turf surface for the stadium. Rogers and Crum had previous experience in preparing modular turf for the 1994 World Cup, Michigan State’s Spartan Stadium and the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
In preparation for the Olympics, the professors first visited China in March 2005. By 2007, the visits had become more frequent, and Rogers’ graduate student, Alec Kowalewski, spent a month in Beijing overseeing grow-in. This year Kowalewski is enjoying an extended stay in China to watch over the management of the turf from the beginning of May until the games end in August.
The turf for the Olympics in Beijing is a blend of three varieties of Kentucky bluegrass (Rogers had asked for four): Freedom III (Jacklin Seed by Simplot), Midnight II (Scotts Professional Seed) and Barrister (Barenbrug USA). The Scotts Co. donated all the fertilizer and chemicals for the project, and The Toro. Co. donated all the equipment needed to maintain the turf, which is the size of a regulation soccer field (10,000 square meters or about 107,639 square feet).
The turf is being grown in GreenTech modules so that it can be moved into the stadium after the opening ceremonies to prepare the area for competition. Although it took three days to move the modules for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, the Chinese are allowing only 24 hours to make the transformation in Beijing. Rogers, who plans to be present when the turf is moved, says, “The Chinese have made it a priority to move the field in 24 hours. They want to be the fastest on record.” The inconvenience of moving the turf into the stadium at a breakneck pace is offset by allowing the turf field to mature in a safe location at the same time the stadium is being built.
For more of Rogers’ observations about the long road to a turfgrass field in Beijing’s Olympic stadium, read his blog at www.turfgrass.msu.edu/NewsArchive.cfm, and see the photos at www.turfgrass.msu.edu.
Considering an ultradwarf bermudagrass? The maintenance needs of this type of turf are more intense than those of Tifdwarf or Tifgreen. Proper management of an ultradwarf grass includes providing full sunlight to the greens, raising the mowing height under unfavorable weather conditions, preventing thatch, avoiding scalping, maintaining a proper fertilization program and aerifying frequently. The Turfgrass Information File (TGIF) is now available to all GCSAA superintendent members. Available through the Turfgrass Information Center and the Michigan State University Libraries, TGIF is a searchable database that provides access to the print and electronic literature of turf science, turf culture and the management of turfgrass facilities, including golf courses. With more than 125,000 searchable items using more than 300,000 keywords, TGIF monitors more than 320 journals and magazines, including GCM from 1933 to the present. Visit the site at http://ticpass.lib.msu.edu/gcsaa/. |
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