- Title
- An investigation into the agronomic factors affecting sustainability, surface hardness and rotational traction on community-level football grounds during drought conditions.
- Creator
- Ford, Phillip
- Date
- 2013
- Type
- Text; Thesis; PhD
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/63077
- Identifier
- vital:6437
- Abstract
- Excessive hardness and rotational traction are the factors most associated with non-contact, ground-related injury risk in football. Irrigation has the greatest influence on surface hardness, and also in determining the turfgrass species that can be sustained. However, irrigation is prohibited on many Australian community-level grounds during drought. This thesis investigated the influence of various agronomic factors on surface hardness and on rotational traction, with the aim of devising strategies to reduce ground-related injury risk in drought conditions. In replicated plots tested over a drought period, Clegg hardness values on a football ground peaked at 160 gravities when turfgrass coverage was present, compared to values in excess of 200 gravities when turf coverage was absent. If the Clegg threshold was set at 160 g for community-level football, many grounds would stay open for play provided they sustained turfgrass coverage. In southern mainland Australia during drought and without irrigation, only a drought-resistant species such as couchgrass (Cynodon dactylon and hybrids) could do this. However, couchgrass has been linked by past epidemiological evidence to a higher risk of knee injury than perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), which was attributed to couchgrass having a higher rotational traction. In data presented in this thesis, perennial ryegrass actually had significantly higher rotational stiffness than couchgrass on four out of eight assessment dates. Consequently, there appears no reason to favour perennial ryegrass and to recommend against the use of couchgrass for reasons concerning rotational traction. Furthermore, the largest range in rotational traction was between areas of full grasscover compared to denuded areas. The thesis concluded that the ability to sustain turfgrass coverage provided the most effective agronomic solution for moderating both hardness and rotational traction on community-level football fields, and that a turfgrass species should be selected primarily on its ability to best sustain that coverage.; Doctor of Philosophy
- Publisher
- Federation University Australia
- Rights
- This metadata is freely available under a CCO license
- Full Text
- Thesis Supervisor
- Twomey, Dara
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