Technical “ Pin placements can now be on the back of the green
fine balancing act of greenkeeping. The focus of our attention at The Oaks
was to be the second green. Tucked away in the corner of the course in a shady, wooded area, it is a pleasant, but simple target for any competent golfer. The green slopes from back to front with apparent run off areas to both sides. Apart from the obvious shade issue, you wouldn’t expect surface drainage to be a problem. Phil Benn, the club’s Course Manager,
explained that this is his worst green for drainage, with the worst area being the back (at the top of the slope)! He wasn’t wrong either; my leather shoes soon took on water and highlighted the schoolboy error that was having left the wellies at home! A year on and the green has dramatically
changed. The area at the back of the green is now the best, with the pin being placed in places that would have been saturated and unusable twelve months ago. The fact is that nothing has changed in the management of the surface except the application of liquid gypsum. The purpose of only treating the worst half of the green has given a clear picture of the benefits of increased flocculation promoted by the effectiveness of calcium sulphate application in the form of liquid gypsum. Gypsum has been used for many years in the agricultural industry to improve the structure and drainage in soils; until now though, the use of gypsum in sports turf has been seemingly long forgotten or restricted
to pellets due to the difficulty in application and time taken to act. The full understanding and appreciation of the actions of calcium sulphate (gypsum) in sports turf management can sometimes be lacking. Calcium use within the fruit growing sector is universal with all growers using it in some form or another. If I asked every greenkeeper what calcium sulphate could do for them, I am confident I would get a wide range of answers which would almost certainly include “nothing”. The fact is that calcium is the single most
important element in plant survival, with most plants requirement for calcium being equal to that of phosphorous. Calcium will aid structure in soils, it stimulates flocculation, improving air and water movement in even the worst soils. It will also buffer pH, assisting in raising or lowering, it will remove residual build-up of elements such as salts and is universally used as a ‘flusher’ throughout the world. Calcium helps plants absorb nutrients. In simplified terms, calcium is a nutrient carrier in both the soil and the plant tissue. In the soil, it helps control the water movement and conductivity, which means it can deliver more nutrients from the soil and maximise fertiliser effectiveness. In plants, calcium helps regulate water and nutrient uptake by the roots and the movement throughout the plant.
Calcium aids cell division and cell wall formation and is critical for respiration
during high heat and humidity periods. A large calcium deficiency within plants could result in poor root development, and little response to nitrogen or iron applications. Also, high nitrogen applications in the spring or autumn can lead to soft leaf tissue with an increased susceptibility to disease, if the calcium in the plant is not within its desired range. In effect, without sufficient attention to
your calcium levels, you could be throwing your money down the drain on expensive fertilisers that your turf cannot use! If a fruit grower sees an irregular level of sodium (salts) within his growing medium, in the form of soft fruit or wilting leaf, he will turn to calcium to rectify the imbalance. In the greenkeeping world, it would more likely be an additional application of iron or, perhaps, a wetting agent or even fungicide, which potentially the plant does not need or probably cannot even use due to an imbalance of calcium. I am certainly not offering up gypsum as
the silver bullet solution, but I do strongly believe that treating our turf grass ecology with the same attention to detail as I see, day in and day out, within the fruit growing sector, could possibly save greenkeepers and groundsmen a lot of headaches and, undoubtedly, a lot of money!
Andy Church, Ultra Soil Solutions Ltd. 07835 066439 •
www.ultrasoil.co.uk
GYP-FLO can greatly improve the fertility and reduce salt water damage in flooded or waterlogged turf and soils!
• flocculates and flushes the soil • strengthens the sward • improves drainage
• breaks up clay soils • treats anaerobic soils • reduces fertiliser inputs
www.ultrasoil.co.uk • 07835 066439 (mobile) • 01763 849798 (office) PC APRIL/MAY 2014 I 125
Treating our turf grass ecology with the same attention to detail could possibly save greenkeepers and groundsmen a lot of headaches and, undoubtedly, a lot of money!
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