CBX SOFTBALL FIELD OBSERVATIONS
In order to determine irrigation rates and durations, various areas of SRP’s PERA Club were put under irrigation control by several “smart” controllers which measured moisture and sodium levels in the soil. One of those areas was the ball field located at the southeast corner of the facility. The firs
t application of CBX was made on the ball field, in February 2004. The SRP staff observed a decline in the severity of the effects of fairy ring which had been common on the field. In early summer of the same year, test reports from the “smart” irrigation controller showed the water requirement for the ball field was 40% less than the control area and displayed substantially lower salt levels (see next page for full chart).
In mid November, of that same year, PERA Club scheduled to over seed the ball field, which was not in the normal yearly routine. But, with the 40% savings of water that they had already seen, they felt that they could over seed and still be within their yearly water budget. The over seed took place late in the season in less-than-favorable weather conditions. The seed germinated successfully without the use of starter fertilizer. In spite of the increased water demand of a cool season turf, the park as a whole saved over 11 acre feet (3.6 million gallons) of water. So, they were able to add a winter over seed and STILL end up saving water that year. During the course of the study, the field has been fertilized twice and aerified one time without visible difference between it and other more maintained areas of the park, where both aerification and fertilization were used. This saved PERA Club labor and fertilization costs on top of the water savings.
During the summer of 2006, a sprinkler main line supplying water to the test areas was damaged. The ball field and surrounding area, where CBX and a poly acrylamide product were being tested, went without water for over two weeks and dried out each area completely. Upon repair of the damaged line the dried areas were re-hydrated. This flushed the salts, held in the poly acrylamide area, into the surrounding soil, burning the turf. This area has yet to recover. By contrast, the CBX area recovered 
within days after the repair without any lasting visible effects.
The CBX area turf has very little thatch and the soil does not have the hard pan quality of the surrounding park. When probed early in the test, the soil was hard and resistant, but now is easily probed with minimal effort. During a recent visit to the PERA Club, ETI was informed that the control area utilizing the “smart” controller was irrigating every 3 days while the CBX treated ball field had not requited irrigation in 2 weeks and, it was thought, that due to recent rain it would not irrigate for an additional several days, a savings of over 65% (see chart below)! By contrast the ultimate control area, an area of the park which is controlled by a traditional irrigation controller, was watering for 45 minutes every day.
In areas where CBX is being used the vitality and resiliency of the turf has been dramatically improved and there has been a decrease in the amount and severity of weeds in the ball field.
