Tall Fescue Sod Heating Characteristics As Affected By Time of Harvest and Soil Moisture.

Knowing more about the effects on sod pallet heating as influenced by turfgrass sod harvest timing (morning vs afternoon), turf cutting height, and soil moisture at harvest, will allow producers to make informed decisions regarding the anticipated shelf life of cool-season turfgrass sods.  This study was conducted in May, August and October of 2015 on an 85/15 (% by weight at seed establishment) mixture of tall fescue [Festuca arundinacea L. (Schreb.)]/Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) sod at Woodward Turf Farm (Remington, VA) and on a tall fescue sod at the Virginia Tech Turfgrass Research Center (Blacksburg, VA).  The research utilized small roll sizes (0.8m²) stacked on a pallet (50 m² total) at Remington or as individual small rolls on a pallet at Blacksburg. For the farm site, remote temperature sensors set to record on 15 min intervals for periods of at least 3 days were installed to record ambient air temperature and at at specified lower, middle, and upper locations of the sod on the pallet for sod harvested in either the afternoon or morning of the same or consecutive days.   At the Blacksburg site the pre-harvest treatments included varying mowing height (7.5 cm vs 5 cm) and dry (soil % volumetric water content targets of 15-20%) vs moist (> than 25% VWC) soil at harvest.  The sod was either immediately replaced in the field or rolled with a sensor installed in its center and placed on a pallet for 1, 8, or 24 hrs when it was then returned to the field and irrigated to monitor recovery.  Time of day harvest data varied for the three harvest months with the afternoon harvest having the highest temperatures recorded for May and October. While moist soil warmed more than dry over the 24 hour period, moist soil at harvest was highly beneficial for sod recovery.