Typically, a 15-wicket square could be completed in a morning. This speed would allow earlier
germination/establishment to take place and will assist in developing a better quality sward through the winter period. It is also important to aerate when the
effective seed to soil contact, which greatly protects the seed, particularly in dry autumn periods, and invariably enhances germination and early establishment.
The use of the deep scarifier may also allow loams to be ameliorated effectively, thus providing an excellent key between each layer of loam, as well as reducing the impact of any slight incompatibility that may occur within the loams. It is also very effective when new loams or changes in loams are being contemplated, as it allows a mixing of existing and new materials. Probably the most important benefit is the speed of operation. If tractor- mounted versions are used then the square can be renovated very quickly.
ground is soft enough and moist to depth through the profile. This will reduce the pull between layers of dryness and wetness in the profile and, therefore, hopefully restrict the amount of separation of layers. However, aeration should be stopped by Christmas/early New Year, as any tine holes left beyond this time may not close over sufficiently and could cause cracking in the dry summer period.
Fraise mowing
With the introduction of the Koro Field Topmaker it is possible to quickly and effectively remove herbage and surface organic matter accumulation. This machine will skim the surface leaving a clean, smooth profile, perhaps with some vegetation capable of recovering if the treatment is not exceptionally severe. The surface should then be deep scarified as above and reseeded. This is a particularly effect method to remove annual meadow-grass, as this species
What are you like?
Mark Jolliffe, Head Groundsman at Taunton School - quiet at times but full of determination, apparently!
Who are you? Mark Jolliffe, Head Groundsman at Taunton School, Somerset. Only just the right side of 40, born in London and lived in Oxfordshire all my life until moving to Taunton in 2002.
Status? Married for 16 years to Sue with two girls - Holly 13 & Emily 10. We were “originally married” in Barbados in 1991 on the Jolly Roger pirate ship. It was a set up by so-called friends and, with the intense heat, copious amounts of rum punch and barbeque followed by walking the plank in to the Caribbean Sea, I didn’t really know what was happening! But it clearly had some sort of effect!
Who’s your hero and why? My Dad, as he has taught me so much about life and is someone I have always looked up to and turned to for advice. He is someone who can step back and look at things in a logical and philosophical light.
What is your dream holiday? Touring round Australia and New Zealand - I have seen and heard so many reports and there are some great sights, towns and cities there. I know a few people who have either travelled, worked or live down under and it is something I would love to experience.
What annoys you the most? People who try and fob me off with lies; automated phone lines and the useless operators who can’t help when you finally get to speak to a human; Sunday afternoon drivers.
What would you change about yourself? To be a little bolder and more
adventurous in life rather than sticking with what I know most of the time.
Who wouldn't you like to be? The Prime Minister - a man who is on a hiding to nothing, constantly in the spot light and a hate figure for many people. He epitomises everything that is wrong with this country at the moment.
Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? My wife, Sue. With today’s hectic lifestyle, both of us working and two kids who need feeding, entertaining and ferrying from A to B to C (and with better social lives than ours!), romantic evenings seem to be few and far between!
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? It depends on how big a win it was. Apart from some serious celebrating, I’d buy a bigger house with some land, a Ferrari for me, a Mini Cooper S convertible for the missus and go on holiday (see above). If it was just a tenner - a round down the pub!
If you were to describe yourself as a musical instrument, what would you be? A guitar - quiet at times but full of life and determination.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given? “Why don’t you apply for this job here?” My wife spotting a postage stamp size job advert in The Oxford Star newspaper for a groundsman at Radley College in 1995. I’ve never looked back since.
What’s your favourite smell? Fresh coffee.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Lively, determined, friendly.
What talent would you like to have? To be able to play the piano.
What makes you angry? People who bully others but who are, in fact, cowards. Rip off Britain.
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? A law to make it compulsory for a minimum ½ an hour daily of supervised sport/activity, Monday to Friday in all primary and secondary schools for every child throughout their school life. These sessions would be complemented by lessons in healthy nutrition and the dangers of smoking, drugs and binge drinking. This would hopefully help combat childhood obesity and drug/drink problems in later life and take an enormous amount of pressure off the NHS in the long term.
tends to be more shallow rooted than ryegrass.
In a deeper mode of operation the
Koro can plane off layered surface profiles and saddles. Care and advice should be taken prior to this operation, as you need to plan the work programme carefully, particularly with regard to ensuring the restoration of good levels and the availability of sufficient and appropriate new loam dressing.
Conclusions
The traditional method of renovation, whilst probably satisfactory on many areas, has significant disadvantages, particularly in relation to the amount of time it takes, the difficulty with ameliorating loams, as well as often not effectively removing any problem layers from the profile.
The modern use of deep scarifiers has
revolutionised the way in which cricket squares can be renovated in terms of speed and efficiency of operation. It is now possible to ameliorate the rootzone by working loams into the top of the profile and to remove significant quantities of organic matter which may be accumulating.
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