Technical
Symbio’s Martin Ward says that, as our understanding of soil biology increases, autumn renovations may be improved and simplified by adopting new technologies and products to employ a more holistic approach to grass management.
In this article, he details new methods for the renovation of cricket squares and bowling greens
C CRICKET
Cricket clubs have a huge variety of budgets, machinery and management practices, so I will limit this article to commenting on improving the health of the rootzone and improving perennial rye grass growth.
Irrespective of the available budget and machinery, the aim of the autumn renovation is constant for all clubs, and that is to remove all the thatch that has built up over the season to create a sound surface and rootzone by topdressing, and to overseed and create a dense sward with good strong roots that will prevent moss invasion and form the foundation of the pitch for the following season.
Thatch
The first job is to remove thatch from the top few centimetres before topdressing. The problems caused by burying thatch have been well documented and discussed. Scarifying is essential to create a key for future topdressing and a seed bed. However, if thatch cannot be removed by scarification, or is buried too deep to remove mechanically, it is now possible to add thatch degrading microbes either as a granular or liquid or in compost teas or added to autumn fertilisers. If the problem is deep seated, then several applications of a liquid will probably be needed.
Aeration is essential if thatch is to be degraded biologically; this can usually be achieved by using a sarel roller every two to three weeks during the close season. The tines must reach the bottom of the thatch layer. If the organic material is buried too deep for tine aeration, there are liquids on the market which release oxygen atoms for microbial metabolism.
Growing a dense sward Give grass the mycorrhizal advantage
Cricket square thirty days after renovation
Mycorrhizal fungi act like extra roots by extending the root area of the grass. They solubilise locked up nutrients, especially
ricket and bowls renovations have the great advantage of up to six months without play, and our progressively warmer winters mean a lot more can be achieved in the
close season, especially if we combine all three disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics in the soil to improve results.
Martin Ward
phosphate, in the soil and make nutrients available to the grass plant as and when needed for optimum growth. The great advantage for the plant that accesses nutrients via mycorrhizal fungi is that fertiliser inputs are reduced, avoiding boom and bust fertilisation, and the plant can access the nutrients it needs when it needs it.
Mycorrhizae also take up water into the plant and form a barrier against some turf diseases. Mycorrhizal inoculated grass grows much faster, so mixing spores of mycorrhizal fungi with seed when overseeding is a great way to increase the density and root mass of your sward.
Autumn nutrition
To develop a dense sward in the last two or three months of the growing season, when light is low and nights are cold, takes considerable skill and a bit of luck.
Young plants need phosphate, which is made available by the mycorrhizae or can be added in a fertiliser, plus nitrogen and other macro and micro elements - preferably in organic form - to prevent salts building up in the rootzone. They also need carbohydrates and sugars, which are in short supply on cricket squares but are found in fertilisers derived from sugar cane or sugar beet, or in biostimulants derived from molasses, seaweed and fish hydrolysate. The biostimulant that is most effective at promoting growth in low light, cool season conditions is fulvic acid, which is present in some organic fertilisers and humates or may be purchased by itself in liquid or dissolvable granular form.
If inorganic fertilisers are used with mycorrhizae, you should apply a fertiliser low in phosphate and also apply carbohydrate and protein as a biostimulant on a monthly basis through the remaining growing season to achieve similar results.
The combination of mycorrhizae and the correct nutrition can promote very rapid growth as described in the cricket case study and illustrated left.
BOWLING GREENS
Many of the accepted practices for sports turf maintenance and solutions to the problems of wear, moss, thatch build up, disease and poor drainage are not practical for many bowling clubs due to lack of access for large coring machinery, limited budgets and sometimes
PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016 I 127
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