SIMON TAYLOR, British Seed Houses’ Amenity Development Director, explains the benefits of an American product that aids water retention in times of drought
was surprised to see that most lawns were well on their way to a longer than usual summer hibernation period. Even the grand fairways of some of the most prestigious golf courses are presenting themselves in rare ochre instead of the traditional lush green. Warnings from scientist of increased temperatures and decreases in water levels are beginning to affect us in ways that we would not have imagined only a decade ago. Hot, dry days with low rainfall are not unusual in mid summer and did not pose much of a problem for the dedicated teams keeping our green playgrounds lush while plenty of groundwater was available to revive the grass for a few weeks per year. We are now faced with a different challenge, as the hot weeks seem to be turning into months and, if we believe the men and women in lab coats who have predicted global warming, things will only get worse. To add to the problem, now that we require more irrigation than ever, we are told that we have less water to go around. Water levels are at record lows, hose pipe bans will probably become a yearly ritual. It’s almost as if Mother Nature was conspiring to make our environment a dull, yellowy brown. We have all been indoctrinated in a time
when water was plentiful and summer heat was something that you could miss if you had a long siesta on that late July afternoon when the temperature snuck up above 80O
We know how to grow grass in the conditions we have become accustomed to. Now, with the huge changes that have arrived and more coming at us, we need to adapt our efforts to our new reality. And I am not alluding to methods used in hotter climes where water piped in from hundred of miles away is used to alleviate problems. Grass can be grown with less irrigation and in hotter weather if we use new tools and focus our practices on soil quality instead of instant results.
ONE of the new tools available to us is Zeba F.
ZEBA Crossing over I
t seems that, in any direction you look these days, dry turf is the order of the day. Driving through the countryside recently I
and the good news is that this product also has a positive impact on the soil while helping with drought. Zeba is made of 100% maize. It is a soil enhancer that retains 400 times its weight in water. This water is held very loosely by the granules that release 95% of it back to the plant before competing with it for moisture. Not bad if you consider that the granules will release water up until the soil conditions have reached 5% humidity, which is well below drought conditions. It doesn’t reduce the amount of water needed to grow grass, nor will it reduce the need for irrigation once the soil has dried out. What it does is increase that amount of water that your soil can absorb and hold for future use by the plant. It will keep more rainwater in the root zone and will also hold more irrigation water for the plant. That relates to direct saving in water usage as well as a greener, healthier turf. The granules will keep more rainwater in the root zone thus reducing the frequency of irrigation and during dry spells will reduce the amount of irrigation required as the soil kept more of that rarer commodity. It may sound too good to be true but has
proven itself repeatedly over years of extensive testing in the turf and agricultural sectors. David Gourlay, General Manager of Colbert Hills Golf Course in Manhattan, Kansas, and a 26-year GCSAA member had his doubts when first introduced to it. “I have seen almost everything that claims to save water yet comes up short on delivery.” Gourlay tried a few buckets of Zeba and was pleased with results. “As with most golf courses, we have our ‘indicator green’ that is the first to show signs of dry spots. I figured this would be an ideal spot for this trial. I decided to inject the product … and waited. I truly didn’t expect to see any significant results. What I saw was very impressive. The dry spots somehow began to disappear.” “Thinking this was just a happy coincidence, I began injecting it into a variety of dry spots throughout the course. Areas including fairways, roughs, traffic areas and dry spots on other greens - the results were the same. The product is
capable of lasting up to one year, as it is broken down through microbial activity. The turf grass is healthy, and only a limited amount of extra water was needed. The company claims that you can save 20 percent of water costs. I believe that you save more that that. This year the course was in the best shape ever - firm and fast.”
THE good thing about Zeba is that, over and above its water-retaining capabilities, it has a positive impact on the soil when used. It does not have a negative impact on soil micro-organisms and leaves the soil in better condition than prior to its application. This is important when dealing with the new heat and drought that we face. Healthy soil, rich in microbial activity naturally retains more water. And as the stress on turf grass increases, we have to re- examine our methods and keep products that can degrade soil quality on the shelf as much as possible. Some of the powerful tools that we have been using do not contribute to soil quality and, therefore, can decrease the soils natural ability to retain water.
I’m not suggesting that we stop using
these tools, only that we should look into some of the new tools available to us and limit the use of any product that does not contribute to soil quality. In the UK, groundsmen, greenkeepers and landscapers can no longer rely on traditional seeding windows to bring them ideal establishment. The unpredictability of moisture availability means that we have to make the most of retaining any rainfall in the soil profile. In response to these seasonal shifts, and due to the increasing demand from the industry for effective grass seedling establishment and ongoing healthy growth, British Seed Houses has introduced Zeba to the UK market. This years’ drought has highlighted the difficulties of sustaining young seedlings - something that can now be done using a totally biodegradable product. For a FREE sample and information pack, call BSH on 01522 868714 or email
seeds@bshlincoln.co.uk quoting ref: PC mag.
July 4th -b
before Zeba treatment
July 20th -s
same area after treatment with Zeba
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