Technical General maintenance - Bowls
To help prevent constant wear in the same locations, it is important to move markers and rinks on flat greens.
Regular mowing will be required to maintain sward height at around 4-8mm. Some clubs will reduce their mowing heights further, perhaps down to 3mm to help speed up the greens for club competitions. Prolonged mowing at these heights will lead to stress.
The best way to balance the health of the grass plant and to achieve good green speed is to promote and carry out effective cultural practices to maintain surface playability:
Remove and control the rate of unwanted vegetative growth (thatch and side growth) by regular grooming and verticutting operations.
ongoing maintenance and servicing.
As the month progresses, repairs and renovation to used pitches should be undertaken.
Pay particular attention to your footholes, as they may require more intensive work. Do not neglect your outfield either, as this is the largest area of maintenance and still needs to be carefully managed.
August
Soil and air temperatures should rise in August and help dry out soil profiles. It is surprising how quickly soils can dry out, usually within a few days of fine weather. You may find yourself having to water your pitches; clay soils can dry out quickly, and care should be taken to control the drying out of wickets. The use of covers will help.
As you move through the month, regular mowing and scarifying of the square will need to be continued whilst preparing pitches. Make sure your machinery is up to the task with regular services.
Aftercare of the wicket, with repairs and renovation to used pitches, should be undertaken.
Fertiliser treatment and turf tonics can be continued in accordance with your annual programme.
Check delivery schedules for end of season renovation programmes.
Outfields are often prone to drying; allowing surfaces to remain dry can lead to problems of dry patch, a condition that prevents water infiltration into the soil and thus forming areas of non-uniform turf quality.
The use of wetting agents (outfields only) have now become an integral part of the maintenance regime, with applications on a monthly basis throughout the summer.
Keep an eye on fungal disease attack, and use approved fungicides to treat infected areas.
FOOTBALL
NO surprise really that, at this time of year, you would be looking to replace an evaporation rate of 5mm per day, which represents quite a loss of moisture in the ground.
Replacing this moisture can be quite a task if you are lugging around hose pipes or, worse still, have nothing at all in place to supplement any rain you are fortunate to receive.
If you are faced with having no resources to water, you may need to develop a strategy to reduce plant stress. This can be achieved by reducing the frequency of cutting (chances are your grass will be slipping into dormancy in any case), secondly by letting your grass grow a little higher (raise the height of cut on you mower).
If you normally cut with a box on, you could try letting the clippings fly to help reduce evaporation from the soil surface.
July
If you have had to oversow any thin areas, it is critical that you do not allow seedlings to dry out. Keep your seeded areas watered.
If possible, and if you have them to hand, make use of your germination sheets to encourage the rapid establishment of your
Regular maintenance
Continue brushing to keep the air circulating around the base of the plant, particularly important for removing early morning dew and controlling disease.
Continue cutting regularly to ensure a good sward density. It may be helpful, with newly sown grasses, to lightly roll the surface before cutting to ensure that the weakly held grasses in the surface do not get pulled out. Also, ensure that any cutting equipment used is keenly set to cut without tearing.
Verticutting will help ensure that the sward is kept clean of lateral growth, and also help good circulation of air around the base of the plant.
seeded areas. If using germination sheets, check underneath them regularly for disease.
Make sure your goalposts are painted and ready for deployment. Also ensure your nets are checked for repairs, or replacements are on hand if you haven't already done so.
Check you have enough linemarking material to hand and enough to get you through your season. This is probably a good time to inspect your marker and ensure that it is in good working order for when you need it.
An application of fertiliser can be applied late in the month to take the grass through the rest of July and into August. Avoid the use of fertilisers with a high salt content, as this will exacerbate the stress factors in the grass as it draws moisture from the grass plant. Use of liquid fertilisers are less likely to scorch grass, but may still need to be watered in.
Consider, as an alternative, applications of seaweed or amino bio stimulants which have proved beneficial in helping grass through stressful periods. Another consideration is the use of calcium, an important ingredient for giving the plant rigidity and regulating root and shoot growth.
August
Continue with regular mowing of the sward to help promote tillering.
It’s not too late to apply a selective weed killer if you are having trouble with weeds; although you will need to consider carefully the age of your grass and the weeds that you wish to control, and match this to a product suitable for the task.
Some of you will be on your pitch preparations now, including setting out and initial marking your pitches. Always best at this stage to double check your measurements before committing to a white line, as this will show up badly if it is out and needs correcting.
Check that your goal sockets are set in line with the base line, and are upright. Correct this now to ensure a professional look.
JUNE/JULY 2012 PC 125
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