“Technology keeps marching on as the management of
certainly a job that keeps you busy throughout the year in one way or another”
depending on the weed population,” he adds.
Several holes of the TwentyTen course bound the River Usk, and its banks are a breeding ground for giant hogweed. “It’s an extreme irritant if its stems or leaves touch the skin,” Alan explains, “so we knapsack spray with a biactive formulation of glyphosate to control it successfully. Where you have galleries of spectators, you do not want giant hogweed nearby.”
The very definition of a weed, applied to fine turf at least, can often be tricky as the issue is that of “percentages”, explains Jim. “We are happy to encourage ryegrass, whereas many clubs go to huge lengths to eradicate it, with varying results. “Grasses are only a problem in relation to other species on the green. A small percentage of a different species can be problematic, whereas a 50:50 percentage is less of one. We have predominantly highland meadow grass here and are
able to create a better putting surface. It is a species that allows
weeds continues to grow in sophistication, but it’s
Alan Abel and Jim McKenzie complete a course walk
us to apply very little fungicide.” Worms, another persistent problem,
are controlled with an annual application of carbendazim. “Every worm cast is an opportunity for a weed to germinate so, by controlling the worms, you’re killing two birds with one stone, to mix the metaphor.”
A major change over the years has been the degree of ground upheaval to the estate. “So much construction work has gone on throughout the three courses, with so much earth movement, that this brings populations of weeds to the surface, creating a need to apply pesticides,” he says. “Weed control is becoming far more
responsible and there are increasingly fewer pesticides at our disposal. Until we can do our own research into an alternative, we will just have to manage it
CWC’s Weed-It
as best we can,” he confesses. A major innovation over recent years has been the introduction of new technology to apply pesticides more accurately as part of a continuing drive to apply less quantities and so conform with the EU sustainable use directive. “Technology keeps marching on as the management of weeds continues to grow in sophistication, but it’s certainly a job that keeps you busy throughout the year in one way or another,” Alan concludes.
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www.Rivendell-Projects.co.uk 51
Images © Celtic Manor and CWC
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