Dressing the high wear areas
when aerating, using different sized solid tines throughout the playing season and hollow tines during any renovation periods. He has had his own tines manufactured, using special hardened steel, that last up to four times longer than the manufacturer’s tines. Dieter also topdresses on a regular basis in high wear areas using coarse sand to help surface drainage. On the high wear areas, like the goalmouths and touch lines, heavy machinery is avoided and small pedestrian mowers, as well as hand aerators, are used to reduce compaction. The pitch is topdressed twice a year with a straight sand dressing (grain size 0.5-1mm) using around 29 tonnes per application.
Dave Saltman examines a soil sample with interpreter Stephan Klatt and Dieter Prahl
The pitch was sown with a mixture of Poa pratensis and Lolium Perenne - 30% Conrad 1 (Lolium Perenne) - 20% Sanremo (Lolium Perenne) - 20% Vesuvius (Lolium Perenne) - 15% Julius Pregerm (Poa Pratensis) - 10% Margarita (Lolium Perenne) - 5% Miracle Pregerm (Poa Pratensis) The pitch is oversown 2-3 times a year with a regeneration mixture of 70% German Weidelgras (Lolium Perenne), 30% Wiesenrispe (Poa pratensis) as and when required.
Bayer UK’s Paul Clifton and James Hadlow in the dugout
On the training ground, adjacent to the stadium, Dieter also has a turf nursery which has been grown using the same mix. This allows him to harvest turf for pitch repairs when required. The pitch is usually mown and marked out the day before the match. As with
many clubs these days, the pitch is watered before kick-off and at half time to help produce a fast surface. Dieter has perfected his own line marking fluid and his lines seem to last longer than current commercial paints - however, he was not forthcoming about what his ‘magic potion’ consists off! The professional squad occasionally use the stadium for training in the run-up to the ‘big matches’, however, like most stadiums, it is also used for a variety of other events throughout the year such as concerts, cup games and exhibition matches.
As with any new stadium it will be a case of learning how to manage the pitch in its new environment - the new roof and stands will have altered the light levels and affected the airflow. The BayArena is certainly an
impressive stadium and it was interesting to see how it was being managed. Dieter and his staff will have some testing times in the coming years. It will be a steep learning curve to adapt and develop the appropriate maintenance regime in the new environment. Dieter already has full records of daily temperatures and rainfall, so will be able to ascertain changes in the new stadium. I am sure, with over forty years
experience to call upon, he will cope admirably with these new challenges. I would like to thank Bayer’s Paul Clifton and James Hadlow for organising this visit the stadium. It was a rewarding experience to see this facility and to meet Dieter and his staff.
Keep your pitches playable this SEASON!
If you stopped drinking (or breathing) you would die! So will your grass.
Grass roots do not grow in soil, but in the air spaces between the soil particles. Compaction from regular play closes up those air spaces till the pitch can neither breathe nor drain. Then it becomes a stagnant dead mudbath!
You need to aerate NOW, and all through the playing season to keep your turf healthy!
Aerate, roll, rake and brush in ONE FAST PASS with the Double Quick System!
email: info @
greentek.org.uk 86
0113 267 6000
Contact us now for a full catalogue or a FREE demo
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