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CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES


Planning an optimum programme


In the first part of this two-part article we reviewed techniques in identifying soil physical problems. In this second section, various means of correcting deficiencies will be explored and the pros and cons of each method will be evaluated.


by MARTYN T. JONES, National Turfgrass Foundation Introduction


Whilst turf managers use a diverse range of 'soil aeration equipment', few actually achieve the objective of 'effective soil aeration'. All too often, it is assumed that punching holes in a soil will automatically result in improved soil aeration. Not only is this assumption inaccurate, in many instances, it can be counterproductive and actually reduce soil aeration properties.


The term ‘aeration equipment’ is misleading. The vast majority of machines would be better categorised in a more general term of ‘cultivation equipment’. Some of the machines may accomplish a degree of soil aeration but the majority have little effect. However, each has an alternative role to play in the many forms of ‘cultivation’. Soil aeration is a specific objective and requires precise techniques to substantially improve the aeration porosity of a soil.


Each piece of equipment may perform one or more of the following ‘cultivation’ objectives:


1. Compaction relief 2. Rootzone aeration


3. Drainage improvement (both surface and sub-surface)


4. Thatch management


5. Soil modification (when accompanied by topdressing) 6. Improving irrigation efficiency 7. Pan busting 8. Layer disruption


9. Contour changing (allowing settlement after coring) 10.Enhancing fertiliser efficiency 11.Seedbed preparation 12.Stolon and rhizome pruning


The first step in achieving success with a cultivation programme is to accurately identify the cause or causes of the problems and then determine the most appropriate corrective techniques for the prevailing conditions.


The potential for soil aeration


On average, 50% of the soil is mineral/organic matter. The other half, the 'pore space', is occupied by air and water. Varying proportions of air and water can occupy the pore space or it may be entirely filled with water, i.e. saturated. The proportion to which the soil pore


space contains water is referred to as the 'soil moisture content' and is expressed as a percent of the total soil volume. In a soil that consists of 50% mineral matter and which has a soil moisture content of 30%, the remaining 20% of the soil volume will contain air.


Constituents of a well-m percentages of volume.


managed soil shown as


The moisture status of a soil after drainage has ceased is termed 'field capacity' and is normally assumed to be at this point three days after saturation. It is not a quantitative measurement and the amount of water held at field capacity will vary in a soil, depending on its texture, structure, degree of compaction and soil temperature.


Punching holes in the ground does not guarantee improved soil aeration


Machines serve different roles under the general term ‘soil cultivation’ and should not be automatically thought of as aeration implements


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