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DRAINAGE 45
out of the surface of the green just like a piece of cake. Examining the soil profile will often show some 50 to 75mm of fibrous material. I tend to use the one or two fingers guide; place your index finger horizontally to the surface, just at the base of the green leaf section. If the fibre is only as thick as your finger then that is not too bad, but management is required. If the fibre is as thick as two or more fingers, then real problems are evident. If this is a feature of the green then, in order to speed up the playing surface, it is fairly obvious that major concentrated mechanical operations must be employed to eliminate the thatch. The fact is that there are several
to have been built using Cumberland sea washed turf. Due to years of fertiliser and topdressing applications, the sea turf now commonly sits some millimetres below the surface. This is the original turf level which has become buried over the passage of time. The infected water holds within the thatch, likewise the artificial salt based fertilisers are held in the fibre, hence further thatch accumulation is promoted. As in the case of acid, fibrous thatch bacterial action is lacking due to the waterlogging soil conditions, and dead and matted plant material gradually builds up. Today’s greens are made up largely of annual meadow grass (Poa annua). This plant readily grows better than more desirable turf grasses in the shallow situation. The problem is worsened by the fact that annual meadow grass is particularly prone to thatch production, hence the problem snowballs. Over watering and over fertilising with salt feeds will drive the grasses into unwanted and unnecessary leaf production, so you cut more often and, furthermore, slow the run of
different types of thatch. Sometimes one encounters a layer of material which is brown in colour and often looks like coconut matting. This is often produced by excessive acidity and a soil test can show exactly what the pH figure stands at. Excessive acidity levels reduce bacterial action in the soil and the natural breakdown of the fibre is, therefore, slower than it should be. If you try to change the pH other undesirable side effects will be observed, such as worms, weeds, course grasses and disease. More commonly the thatch layer has a spongy yellow appearance and, in wet weather, can smell sour and unpleasant. Thatch of this kind is usually caused by poor drainage, of which compaction is likely to be the underlying problem. Greens over fifty years old tend
the woods. As this green and pleasant sward subscribes to more annual meadow grass, more thatch is produced. In the above aforementioned comment, it is obvious that the physical removal of thatch is the only effective way of producing a firmer and faster bowling surface. If the thatch is yellow in appearance then aeration and carefully selected topdressing are probably the most important operations. A thatchy green of this kind should be well spiked during the off season. Once the machinery has been provided, in season aeration must also be encouraged from surface pricking to micro solid tining, providing it does not cause excessive interference with play. Aeration using the flat knife type of tine should be regarded as standard, but it is often also useful to carry out hollow tine aeration work at the end of the season, ideally no later than early October. Once the cores have been
removed, and the surface cleaned, an application of a carefully selected topdressing can be given to the green. In very severe cases, some four tonnes, with a high sand content, is regularly prescribed to help aerate the soil whilst assisting in the firming up of the thatch. Carbon is often applied as a
Cost effective drainage quick and neat trenching work with minimal disruption to play.
Traditional drainage and Lytag banding of greens and fairways
AFT Trenchers
Tel: 01787 311811
info@trenchers.co.uk www.trenchers.co.uk
PHILIP DIXON Contractors Ltd Est. 1978 Sportsturf Drainage Specialists
Golf Course • Sportsfield Drainage • Construction • Renovation Slitting/Banding • Vertidraining Groundbreaker • Sand Master Topdressing • Overseeding Spraying • Cultivation
Tel: 01772 877289
Fax: 01772 877479 (Preston, Lancs)
www.dixondrainage.co.uk
Blec Vibro Sand Banding : Koro Surfacing : Vertidraining : Topdressing : Overseeding
Koro Surfacing : Vertidraining : Topdressing : Overseeding If it’s drainage, it has to be Duncan Ross!
If it’s drainage, it has to be Duncan Ross! DESIGN : INSTALLATION : MAINTENANCE
Pitch Construction : Piped Drainage Systems Sand Slitting : Blec Vibro Sand Banding
Pitch Construction : Piped Drainage Systems : Sand Slitting Miles Drainage Limited
Quality Land Drainage Systems for Sports Pitches, Golf Courses and other Amenity Areas
food source to assist in the natural breakdown of thatch by way of soil macro and micro organisms. They are the factory by which all soils become productive once more. The long term good in
maintenance work is to aim at:
• Reducing annual meadow grass.
• Improving soil conditioning.
• Improving micro organism activity.
• Applying amine stable Nitrogen feeds.
• Improving the natural well being of the grasses.
• Removing artificial fertilisers from usage.
• Watering copiously, not to over water.
• To topdress little and often by testing the surface if at all possible.
slow bowling green one should always investigate the cause of the slowness.
For further information contact David H. Bates Agronomy Services on 07736 066031 or email:
DHBatesservices@aol.com
125 When faced with an excessively Phone: 01507 578288
Fax: 01507 578790
info@sheltonsdrainage.com www.sheltonsdrainage.com
Hire and contracting services Machine sales
SPORTS TURF DRAINAGE AND CONSTRUCTION
NATIONWIDE SERVICE
www.turfdry.com
Contact: Melvyn Taylor
Office: 01283 551417 Mobile: 07836 259133 Email:
melvyn@turfdry.com
•Advice, design and installation •Piped systems •Sand Slitting •Gravel Banding
Tel: 01359 259424 Fax: 01359 258073 Web:
www.milesdrainage.co.uk
Email:
trenchers@milesdrainage.co.uk DRAIN TODAY - PLAY TOMORROW Appley Bridge, Wigan, Lancashire WN6 9DT
t 01257 255321 f 01257 255327 e
office@duncanrosslanddrainage.co.uk www.duncanrosslanddrainage.co.uk
Tel: 01785 812706
E:
NSIrrigation@aol.com www.northstaffsirrigation.co.uk
To subscribe to pitchcare magazine log on to
www.pitchcare.com or telephone 01902 440 252
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