Technical
Buried layers of organic matter more commonly observed
Diluted organic matter profile is hard to measure visually
Quantifying organic matter
The industry has been quantifying its organic matter levels through various methods for a number years. For the most part, these methods have been largely unquestioned and have included low, moderate and high opinion based observations or, in recent years, reviewing its depth in millimetres.
Such methods were fine in years of low costs and plentiful budgets, but we are in a new era now, and accurate decisions year on year are required, as such ‘guestimates’ every two to three years often fail to provide suitable information on which serious and costly decisions can be made.
The average 18 hole club spends between £7,000-18,000 per annum on sand dressing and renovations to deal with organic matter, not to mention labour hours and bespoke machinery required for organic matter management. It’s through this change in our working environment that we are seeing a hunger
for accurate information on which to base the decisions course managers are making on behalf of their clubs. Organic matter can now be measured using laboratory testing via weight loss on ignition. This enables course managers and clubs to determine their exact levels of organic matter at varying depths in the soil profile year on year. Such testing, combined with onsite experience, has also enabled us to develop an increasing understanding of varying types of organic matter and the range of strategies available for its management and, where required, its reduction.
What Loss on Ignition (LOI) testing is showing us?
We have been processing LOI tests for over seven years and, through accurate interpretation of the results, and as LOI testing has evolved, so too has our clients understanding of sand dressing and renovations requirements on greens. Through such testing, we have also observed both common and unique situations, which have allowed us to fine- tune bespoke target ranges for clubs and even their individual greens.
Organic matter accumulation depths
With an ever increasing arsenal of machinery and tools to manage organic matter content, knowing exactly how much is present at exact depths is of high importance and financial consequence to clubs.
The nature and depth of organic
matter can vary from course to course, and even green to green, and visual assessments are not always able to pick up such variations, unless present in extremes, by which point the organic matter has often created knock-on issues that are a source of complaint amongst members and golfers, i.e. it’s too late. Through breaking samples into pre- determined depths (0-20, 20-40, 40- 60mm) exact percentages of organic matter can be determined at each 20mm depth in the soil profile. On request, we have even specified depths of 0-10mm. This allows us to determine exact percentage content at each depth, establishing clear strategies for management programmes to be determined, optimum selection of machinery used and avoidance of any unnecessary works and labour hours.
Average depth - from results collected over the last seven years, the bulk concentration of organic matter accumulation has been contained within the upper 0-40mm. Poa annua organic matter production tends to be very concentrated in the top 0-20mm. Finer grasses tend to produce organic matter through 0-40mm of the soil profile. Organic matter accumulation below this depth is usually negligible.
Impact of buried organic matter - As clubs move to deal with organic matter quickly and achieve improved playing surfaces, layers of buried organic matter at 20-50mm deep in the profile are becoming more common. The organic matter buried to depth during drier
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2013 PC 111
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