Facts about MOWING
With spring upon us, daylight hours lengthening and the recent mild weather, grass growth is strong across the UK. Turf managers are gearing up for the serious mowing season again. This article will detail some key facts on mowing and highlight many issues about the so-called simple act of mowing grass!
By Laurence GALE MSc
EARLY management of grassland was by farmers who grew grass for animal food crops. However, it was not until the late 19th century that we started to see grassland managed for popular sporting activities, particularly golf, football and cricket.
The popularity of grass sports pitches was enhanced by the development of lawn mowers, first invented in the early 19th century by an Englishman, Edwin Budding, an engineer at a textile mill, who developed a cylinder, or reel-type mower.
To be able to determine which type of mower and how often to use it for a given turf facility, it may be necessary to have a better understanding of what we mean by turf grass quality
In 1870, Elwood McGuire of Richmond, Indiana designed a machine that basically brought push mowing to the masses. By 1885, America was building and exporting 50,000 lawnmowers a year. Today we have millions of lawn and professional turfgrass mowers, all offering different cutting techniques and performances (cylinder, rotary, flail) for producing a variety of sward heights and turf grass quality.
To be able to determine which type of mower and how often to use it for a given turf facility, it may be necessary to have a better understanding of what we mean by turf grass quality.
Turf grass quality
Turf grass quality will be influenced by soil type, grass species, fertiliser, pesticide and irrigation inputs, and the type of maintenance operations.
Turf grass quality can be broken down into several headings:
Aesthetic/visual quality: The greater the number of shoots/tillers per unit area, the denser the turf, the better the visual look.
Texture: Leaf blade width and texture, coarse and fine grasses (fescue grasses having fine leaf blades compared to smooth stalked meadow grasses that have a wider, more rougher leaf blade).
Colour: Light reflectance from pale green to dark green. Mowing in different directions will develop a nap on the sward which can give the appearance of light and dark shading that presents the surface in a postive way. Also, the colour of the sward will be dependant on the time of the year, the growth and vigour of the grass species / seed mixture.
Growth Habit: Type of shoot growth - stoloniferous, bunch/tufted, rhizomatous (vigorous or slow growing grasses).
Smoothness: The uniformity of the surface cut area of the sward; grass damaged by poor cutting will not be smooth and may affect visual and playability characteristics of the turf.
Uniformity: The sward is consistent, no weeds, bare areas or patches of other grasses.
Functional quality: Rigidity and elasticity; the ability of the sward to resist compression, and its ability to spring back up after ball roll and player activity.
Resiliency: The grass’s ability to
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