Snow still covers the ground but soon green grass will once again be shooting up all over campus. For some people at Iowa State though, turf grass is a year-round concern.

Last fall was the first football season with the new grass turf on Jack Trice Field.

So far the turf is surviving the winter well, said Mike Andresen, athletic turf manager.

ISU’s efforts to resurface the field earned it national recognition this winter. The Sports Turf Manager’s Association, an organization of 800 sports turf managers, named Jack Trice Field as the College and University Field of the Year.

“It’s a big honor and everybody in the university should be proud,” Andresen said. Everyone had a part in the honor, including the students who didn’t go out and vandalize the field, he added.

The field requires care throughout the year. In December, managers spray a fungicide over the grass to prevent snow mold disease. A half inch of sand is applied to act as a blanket over the field. The sand dries out quickly and acts as an insulation layer. The main part of the field is covered in a light weight turf covering that allows light through and air to circulate while keeping the harshness off the field.

The blanket comes off early in March. The goal is to have the field prepared for the spring football game during Veishea weekend, Andresen said.

During the summer while the grass is growing, it requires many light applications of fertilizer. Aeration is provided to keep the roots growing. The field needs mowing nearly every other day.

Soil and surface samples are taken on the grass to monitor the fertility of the field. Chemicals are only applied on a need basis.

Andresen said there has been a decrease in the amount of chemicals used for turfs, which is safer for the environment.

The project to resurface the football field cost $800,000 for the installation and roughly $45,000 per year for general maintenance. Andresen said the money was well spent because the field will pay for itself in the prevention of injuries, rehabilitation and future worth costs to players. He said the grass is more “forgiving on the body” and players felt better this year.

The equipment purchased for the project has been used on other fields on the campus that previously did not receive the same treatment.

“Those two acres of grass have benefited every other field at ISU,” Andresen said. “Without a doubt it was a good investment.”

Football players Kemp Knighten and Rudy Ruffolo said they like the new field. They agreed that the new turf grass was a better playing surface and there were less injuries with the grass.

David Minner, state turf grass specialist, worked very closely with the turf grass project for Jack Trice Field. He made sure that everything was designed from the type of sand to rocks, Andresen said.

ISU’s turf grass program

With the second largest turf grass program in the country, ISU’s horticulture department has a good reputation. About 90 students are enrolled in the program and it is the most popular emphasis within the horticulture department.

“We have more jobs available than students,” Minner said.

The turf grass program teaches students about overall management practices including diseases and chemicals of grasses, said Carrie Mescher, a junior in horticulture.

She has worked with her family’s nine-hole golf course for the last six years and hopes to become involved with golf course management following graduation.

Minner works with on-going research projects involving different styles of turf grass. The horticulture research farm north of Ames serves as the home of his projects.

His clients include businesses involved in turf grass athletic fields or golf courses. He said the overall thrust of his projects is to make the fields safer and more durable.

Minner has worked in research of turfs with a combination of synthetic and natural surface. He has also looked at products that use drain tubing to control the moisture, oxygen and temperature of the root system.

Products are tested that heat fields, like in Green Bay, Wis., to prevent them from freezing and becoming unusable.