RS STRIKE BACK! “We had all the usual problems and
more; compaction, weed infestation, lack of nutrients etc., and not a very big budget to put it right. However, as the pitches improved, the committee became more enthusiastic and found funds to support my requests for better equipment.” We’ve been able to gradually build up our equipment list, which includes a John Deere tractor with rotary deck, Ransomes hydraulic gang mower, Charterhouse 1575 Disc Seeder, deep slitter and vertidrain.”
Ian had been putting traditional granular NPK fertilisers down - although he was not in a position to keep piling on loads of the stuff because of budgetary restraints. “I had my concerns though as, for years, I had only applied synthetic inorganic fertilisers and achieved reasonable results, but this was not producing good root development.” “I became increasingly interested in
the organic methods I had been reading about, so I contacted one of the companies, Soil Harmony, and asked their Mark Atkins to pay a visit. He explained the way microbes in the soil provided food for the plants and that, along with good aeration practices, his product would work better than piling on lots of traditional fertilisers.” “They carried out a comprehensive diagnosis of the soils, under their Free Heath Check analysis scheme, and produced a maintenance application programme specifically for the
conditions here at the Blaby grounds.” “The Soil Harmony programme, being natural and biological, as opposed to using chemicals, was, therefore, somewhat new to me. But, I liked the natural approach and Mark’s theories, combined with the products, impressed me.”
“My doubts were soon forgotten as the first application in late winter had an immediate and positive effect on the grass plant that was then maintained throughout the season.” explained Ian. The analysis quantifies the various nutrient elements present (exchangeable, total and soluble) and their inter- relationship with each other. It then uses this information, along with other criteria, to devise a tailor made programme of the essential microbial nutriment feeds that need to be applied. Visual observations are then employed to monitor grass health, root development and wear & tear application. Ian modified his tractor mounted
Greensward slitter by fitting a spray boom and 400 litre tank. This means he can slit, roll, rake, brush and spray in one operation saving an awful amount of very precious time.
He uses two parts Bios Turf Tonic and a little bit of Trace-Moly to bring the molybdenum levels up - as this is an important part of the process in converting atmospheric nitrogen into plant food. He also adds in High-N (nitrogen) to suit the turf requirements, and N-Fusion (two applications only), for
airborne nitrogen fixation - all in the one tank - which means he can spray nutrients and aerate all in one pass. The treatments are effective,
affordable, have a low impact on the environment and have been proven in laboratory trials to increase microbial activity in the rootzone, with increases of 71% in bacterial abundance and 83% in Mycorrhizal colonisation being recorded. Regular analysis is undertaken and has become a very useful tool to record and monitor the status of the rootzone. The compilation of the data reveals what is happening below the surface. The latest results were once again very positive. Soil organic matter has stabilised, meaning it has become constant where debris from the growing plant is recycled returning nutrients back into the ecosystem, all helped by the activity of a microbial living soil. Not only has the quality of the turf improved, through more efficient nutrient control, but maintenance costs are also stabilised by not wasting money with regular applications of inorganic fertiliser. “I haven’t used any chemicals for two years since the health check,” said Ian “and I now have the most sustainable pitch we’ve have ever had, which results in very quick recovery, which is really important in rugby.”
“My training pitch only had 50% coverage at the end of the 2008/2009 season. I overseeded that pitch in late April after vertidraining and topdressing. Within five weeks it had achieved 100% 15
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138