Educational Establishments
Created more than twenty years ago out of a low-lying drainage pond, the lake is used as a reservoir for sports pitch watering and as part of the cross-country course for equine events staged at the college
back in the 1950s or ’60s when cows grazed the land, but that is a long time ago and no trace of drains has been found during my time at the college.” Fraise-mown and re-levelled just once in
the past twelve years, Rugby 1’s primary regular maintenance treatment involves monthly deep-tine aeration to 300mm depth using the college’s 1.8m Wiedenmann GXi8 HD Terra-Spike complemented by verti- cutting or slitting of the upper rootzone. Similar treatments are carried out
Lowara vertical irrigation pump is housed in a purpose-built pump-house located alongside the college lake
regularly on all of the pitches to alleviate the high levels of use. During the main growing season, all of the rugby and football pitches are cut two or three times a week at a height of 30mm and 25mm respectively. For optimum presentation, a John Deere 2653A ride-on triple cylinder mower is used on Rugby 1 and Football 1. Mark Harwood-Browne says that he would
What’s in the shed?
John Deere 4520 Tractor John Deere 4520 Tractor with front end loader John Deere 4320 Tractor John Deere 855D Gator x 3
John Deere 1545 out front mower with Trimax FlailDek FX155 flail mower
John Deere X740 rotary mowers with high-lift collection hoppers x 2
John Deere 2653A ride-on triple cylinder mower Wiedenmann 1.8m GXi8 HD Terra Spike Blec 1.8m slitter Major 1.8m roller rotary finishing mowers Honda pedestrian mowers x 6
Various powered hand tools including grass trimmers and hedge trimmers
98 I PC JUNE/JULY 2014
like to cut all pitches with cylinders, but limitations on time necessitate the use of tractor-powered Major 1.8m roller rotary finishing mowers for maintaining Rugby and Football 2 and 3 as well as Gloucester Rugby’s training pitches. Although Rugby 1 continues to surprise at
its ability to shed water and recover from wet weather, Football 1’s drainage benefitted from rejuvenation in 2011 with sand slitting carried out at 1m centres by Chesterfield- based contractor, J Pugh-Lewis Ltd, the firm which constructed the pitch originally in 2009. Whilst the number one football pitch
continues to perform well under fairly relentless playing pressure, the steady ingress of Poa annua over the past two years has been causing concern to Mark. “Apart from being unsightly, Poa’s shallow
rooting characteristics reduce both surface stability and the turf’s ability to recover quickly after matches,” he said. “This year,
following advice from our consultant Dave Powell, head groundsman at Northampton Saints, we have taken measures designed to reduce the incidence of Poa. This involved cutting the grass very short prior to harrowing and scarifying the surface to drag out the Poa.” These actions were followed by over-
seeding with perennial ryegrass and topdressing of the entire pitch with 60 tonnes of Mansfield pure washed silica sand. “We shall keep a close eye on the surface, but early results look promising,” commented Mark. “We intend using similar treatments this year on Gloucester Rugby’s two training pitches.” One fact which Mark is proud to highlight
is that no fungicides have been used on Hartpury’s sports surfaces since he took up his post, a consequence, he believes, of the sound drainage profiles and regular aeration carried out on all pitches to ensure that rainwater is able to move freely downwards and away. A large percentage of this drainage water
flows downhill through mains pipes and culverts to the college’s impressive lake, constructed during the winter of 1990/91 in the place where a small pond used to be. Now covering close to 15,000 sq metres
and standing around 2.5m deep towards its centre, the large expanse of water acts as a magnet for aquatic and avian wildlife. In times of heavy rain, excess water from
the lake flows along a stream into the nearby River Leadon, which joins the River Severn at Gloucester.
Although the Hartpury College campus is
situated well above the flood plain, the consequence of large-scale flooding downstream at Gloucester is felt at Hartpury when the outflow of excess water from the lake slows dramatically, with a subsequent negative effect on pitch drainage. “Fortunately, it does not happen too often
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