Technical
Thatch control in wicket renovation during the season
- As wickets come out of play, it is important that they be ‘tidied up’ before seeding and topdressing
- Verticutting slightly deeper than normal or using a thatch control reel is an excellent way of removing litter and dead grass from a used wicket
- Scarifying works too!
- Ideally, used wickets should also be brushed to make sure they are as clean as possible
- If wickets are not being used again that season then scarification can be much deeper and thorough
- A lot depends on the nature of the square in question - some squares may crack excessively if deep scarification is done during the season and then they are allowed to dry out too much
Common problems on cricket squares: 2) soil breaks and fractures
What is this?
- This is where there is a horizontal weakness in the soil profile across a wicket at a consistent depth and can vary in severity from slight cracking to horizontal voids
- This problem is sometimes referred to as ‘root break’ or ‘layering’ and is a very common problem on older squares
- It can be very damaging to the performance of the square and also very difficult to overcome
It can be caused by a number of factors such as:
- Textural changes in the soil (usually caused by using incompatible topdressings from one year to the next). Different loams shrink and swell at different rates and to varying amounts so, if loams are not compatible, they will shrink apart during the drying of a wicket
- Compaction pans (often caused by ‘drum-type’ spikers which repeatedly work at the same depth, but can also be caused by rolling new squares with too heavy a roller too soon
- Construction breaks - Burying thatch under topdressing
- We can unwittingly create a soil break in just one year’s renovation if incorrect techniques are used - this is especially true if the wrong topdressing is used
- Identifying the syndrome can be difficult in the wetter months and may require cores to be dried out before it is manifest
If loams are not compatible, they will shrink apart during the drying of a wicket
”
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Sport Golf Amenity Synthetic World class turf maintenance equipment PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2014 I 121
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