Getting to the root of the problem!
Andy Turnbull, Managing Director of the Great Turf Company, discusses the benefits of undertaking a rootzone survey
O
n visiting a recent customer, I came across a soil survey report carried out by a company with the intention to help the turf manager identify soil based conditions. The ‘report’ would have looked great on a university library shelf, but of little value in helping the manager understand what was going on under his turf. It was stuffed full of graphs, colour drawings and data tables, and unintelligible for practical use. Reading between the lines, it became apparent that it was no more than a marketing tool designed to confuse the reader into purchasing more product than was necessary for his turf surfaces.
“It was no more than a marketing tool
So, how do you distinguish between a good, reliable soil report and one that totally baffles the recipient? Don’t get me wrong. A rootzone survey should be a sophisticated management tool, but it must give a comprehensive and an understandable picture of a wide set of parameters that affect plant production.
The objective of a rootzone survey is to understand the underlying parameters that are affecting root development and adversely affecting turf performance and maintenance costs. A report should have the following headings:
designed to confuse the reader into purchasing more product than was necessary for his turf surfaces”
1.Cation exchange capacities
2.Major nutrient status
3.Important trace elements
4.pH and base saturation
5.Organic matter levels 6.Micro-biological activity levels
The objective should also be to identify imbalances in the rootzone which are:
- impacting adversely on the quality of the playing surface
- affecting the health and durability of the turf
- adding unnecessarily to maintenance costs
- and then to advise on remedies.
Let me explain a little further by looking, in more detail, at the required parameters for optimum turf health.
Rootzone Fertility Healthy Turf
Player satisfaction, our pay masters, depends on a
healthy turf that gives good playing surfaces.
Healthy sports turf depends on a vigorous root system and to be effective, a good root system needs the right environment in which to develop. The condition of the rootzone has an important impact on nutrient uptake and the resultant quality and durability of the turf.
A Team of 3
Soil is all about physics, chemistry and biology. These three components of the growing medium are interrelated and
each affects the workings of the other. We have excellent sand-based rootzones that can give the correct physical performance when managed correctly.
Unfortunately, the chemical aspect is often overloaded by huge inputs of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides (right). In this case, the
biological aspect is also put out of balance, the rootzone suffers from thatch build-up and black layer, and the playing surface suffers. The turf manager can only prepare high quality playing surfaces when the rootzone balance is right.
Ideal Rootzone
The three key components of the rootzone - physical, chemical and
biological - must each make their contribution. A growing medium, to be naturally productive, must be “living” and, to encourage “life”, the environment
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