Football field management

This project expanded in 2019 to also include Clinton Prairie High School and Ross-Ade Stadium. Groundskeepers and turf managers were not only interested in areas of wear and tear but also maintenance strategies to address these issues and more.

Rensselaer High School

Images collected by Bryan Overstreet, Agriculture & Natural Resources Educator, Purdue Extension – Jasper County

You can see wear on the field throughout the football season, but the brown edges on the outskirts of the field in September represent drought. Identifying the problem early helped groundskeepers adjust the problem with irrigation.

Clinton Prairie High School

Images collected by Adam Shanks, Agriculture & Natural Resources Educator, Purdue Extension – Clinton County

There is much more wear along the center of the field later in the season.

Ross-Ade Stadium

Flown by John Scott, Digital Agriculture Extension Coordinator, Purdue Extension

Purdue Athletics teamed up with Purdue Extension to fly Ross-Ade Stadium weekly from August 9 through the end of the 2019 football season. The images below correspond with the week before and after each home game. Because of environmental conditions and time constraints, not all imagery was collected the same day or time of each week. However, all flight patterns are identical.

9-3-19

A pre-season map after two scrimmages and four days before the first home game.

9-9-19

The week after first home game. Some wear is evident, especially toward the end zone.

9-16-19

The week after the second home game and wear is evident across the field.

10-2-19

The week after the third home game with wear patterns forming across the field. The quality of the map is poor due to shadowing.

10-8-19

The week before the fourth home game showing improved turf health as a result of field preparation.