Sand topdressing reduced shear strength by 37%

Sand topdressing of turfgrass is widely recognized as a way to make surfaces firmer. Here's a case where sand topdressing moved surfaces in the opposite direction, as measured by shear strength.

Serena et al. measured establishment time of two zoysiagrass cultivars. One of the experimental treatments was a 1 cm (0.4 inch) sand topdressing at the time of planting.

Shear strength was measured in this experiment to evaluate how grown-in the plots were, with the idea being that the torque…