The 13th green at Ealing Golf Club
THE SHORT CUT Fertility and Water
I
t seems that my previous articles appearing in this journal have caused “a bit of a stir.” Dozens of emails and phone calls have been received from fellow greenkeepers wanting to find out more, some were congratulatory and some were not. At the same time, there is a very interesting dialogue occurring on the BIGGA bulletin board, arguing the pros and cons of the approach I advocate to greens maintenance.
In this article, I will elaborate further on two of the most critical aspects of my maintenance programme, fertility and water. Future articles will address practices such as overseeding and machinery.
Background
In the past, some greenkeepers who attempted to maintain low cutting
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heights fell into the trap of overfeeding and/or overwatering their greens to save the grass plant from certain death. We now know that no matter what height of cut, overfeeding and/or overwatering greens simply creates new problems such as thatch, disease and soft, spongy greens.
The science of greenkeeping continues to move forward. Greens need a balanced energy programme. Grasses, like all living things, have requirements which will vary during high stress periods. There are many factors that can affect the health of a grass plant and an appropriate nutritional and watering programme is essential or the health of the plant will suffer. Weak swards will allow anthracnose, red thread, dollar spot and other diseases to set in if the correct balance is not found. This article begins with the plants
sources of energy. Some greenkeepers struggle to find the right balance, discovering that, if the energy sources are wrong or applied too heavily, it will lead to other diseases, such as fusarium, from high thatch content. But, the energy sources, nutrition and water, are the first key steps to reach sustainability of the plant.
Fertility
I base my fertility programme around soil analysis reports prepared independently before the season starts. These reports record what has happened to the soil over recent years and indicate what I need to focus on in the year ahead. Some fertiliser suppliers will provide this type of analysis free of charge and then design a programme specifically for the course. However, suppliers have a vested interest in selling
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