“The bigger, stronger, rootzone can tap into readily accessible water sources further down”
there are concerns that a new generation of participants is proving slow to come forward to ensure the future prosperity of the sport. Woodvale Bowling Club, whose headquarters is sited in Wellholme Park, Brighouse, boasts 300 members - most have played on the site for many years.
The performance of
Wellholme bowling greens, two Crown Green and another catering for blind players, is benefiting from a partnership working arrangement between Robert Bone from Scotts, Brian Mansfield, Calderdale Council’s area manager and groundsman, Glen Lyon. Mark takes up the story.
“The project began back in 2004, when soil samples were taken from the main green. These highlighted the need to change the fertiliser requirements and build up a planned programme of maintenance.”
“In July 2006, one of the
Wellholme greens was sprayed with Primo MAXX, just before the region suffered one of the driest and hottest spells ever recorded. It was decided that the trial was not accurate because of the extreme climatic conditions.”
But other factors also came into play, as Mark recalls. “Maintenance standards waned during this period as Glen was on holiday; the greens browned off due to drought stress and we were unable to keep up with the irrigation required to maintain sward standard.” Last year’s extremely dry period, which began on 29 June and lasted until 23 July saw the fine turf greens turn into a desert in the teeth of drought and a hosepipe ban. With fungal invasions, such as anthracnose, a persistent danger when the greens turf is parched, Mark approached the club with his proposal to test Primo MAXX under trials that he believed could transform the look and condition of the greens.
“I want to do more at
Wellholme to improve the standard of the bowling greens, and I think there is a great deal that the product can do.” “Four or five applications
are needed before the end of June if possible so that we avoid the very hot weather.” Results from earlier trials with Primo MAXX confirm its effectiveness. “The regulator slows the growth of the apical meristem but greatly increases the root biomass and depth of penetration - by up to 40% we calculate.” The bigger, stronger,
rootzone can tap into readily accessible water sources deeper down, he adds. The regulator offers what amounts to the best of both worlds for turf maintenance. “It slows down the rate of cell elongation above ground, while bulking up the root biomass, so energy supplies to the turf are going downstairs not upstairs. The result will be shorter turf and a darker green, tougher sward that will retain its colour for longer into the year.”
The trials could not have come at a more opportune time for Calderdale. Wellholme Park clinched a Civic Trust Green Flag award last year and is bidding for a second this year.
Achieving these accolades means that the park has met several stringent criteria such as health, safety, security and environmental sustainability, “We are also using it as a model for ENISO14001 - the government environment management system - which tasks us to show improvements in environmental practices.” “The benefits of using the
regulator ‘tick a lot of boxes’ in the Green Flag awards list of criteria” says Mark, who is himself a Green Flag awards judge:
• Improved playing surfaces that are less prone to attack, so require fewer applications of pesticide;
UNISEEDER easy to
manoeuvre overseeding
GROUNDBREAKER
de-compacts and drains the soil
overseeding MULTI-SEEDER
for fast accurate
BLECAVATOR
single pass multi purpose ground
preparation
HARLEY RAKE
grade level and rake
a selection from our extensive range, contact us for further information
SPECIALIST LANDSCAPING AND TURFCARE EQUIPMENT Global Centre, Spalding Road,
Deeping St James, Nr Peterborough PE6 8SD Tel: 01778 346222
Fax: 01778 346777 Email:
sales@blec.co.uk Website:
www.blec.co.uk 43
Stand C28 BTME
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