Techy tip
Bernhard’s Technical Training Manager, Ben Taylor, on the sticky subject of lubricants
350 tonnes of sand are incorporated into the existing roorzone
Lubricating Cutting Units
One factor that is often overlooked by people trying to achieve the perfect quality of cut from their machinery is the correct lubrication of the cutting units.
The reel bearings are responsible for supporting the reel and keeping it perfectly cylindrical in the frame when it is rotating. If these bearings are worn and have movement, they will no longer support the reel centrally and will allow it to oscillate, which will constantly vary the distance between each individual reel blade and the bedknife. This then leads to not only an inconsistent and poor quality of cut, but also gives a poor finish when we grind the reel, as the distance between the reel blades and the grinding stone will also vary, leading to blades being ground to different lengths.
The condition of the roller bearings is also critical due to the height of cut being solely controlled by the positioning of the rollers. If the roller bearings have any movement in them at all, this will constantly change the height of cut as the unit travels across the turf. A small amount of movement may not seem a problem, but now I’m seeing greensmowers regularly set to heights of 3mm and under, and just one millimetre of movement in a roller at these heights will almost certainly cause units to scalp and damage precious turf.
When lubricating cutting units, it is critical that the correct grease is used at the correct intervals. The manufacturers will have selected a grease that meets all the requirements relative to the speed, loading and temperature at which the bearing runs. The intervals will also be the result of extensive testing of the units in varying conditions. This information will be readily available in the operators’ manuals.
Correct lubrication of bearings is essential, but more critical is the condition of the bearing seals. Cutting units work in the worst possible conditions for a bearing to be running, a cocktail of sand from topdressing and water, often injected from the pressure washer! The seals are designed to keep the cocktail out and the grease in. Any damaged or missing seals should be replaced. If they are not, bearing damage will follow closely behind.
Over greasing a cutting unit can cause just as many problems as under greasing. If too much grease is pumped into a bearing, the pressure can cause a seal to pop. When this happens, the seal is almost certainly going to be damaged. This then allows the sand and water into the bearing, causing wear and damage.
Another result of over greasing can be excessive grease leaking from the seals and then dropping off onto the turf. This causes an unsightly mess, as the grease is almost guaranteed to fall into the path of a roller on the cutting unit and then be smeared all over the 18th green! This is then impossible to remove and, as grease is extremely water resistant, takes forever to fade away. Bio-degradable grease is available, but always check it meets manufacturers specifications. A far simpler solution is to ensure excess grease is cleaned off before the machine goes out!
To step inside a fairy ring can bring good or bad luck depending on your source of information!
live with as the symptoms can be removed by mowing. Type 1 and 2 fairy rings are not easy diseases to control because of their position within the soil, and the fact that they can be found as deep as 30cm below the soil surface. Many attempts have been made to eradicate fairy rings and greenkeepers and groundsmen often have their own particular remedy. In the past the practice of manuring the bare areas of rings has been tried as it was thought that they were the result of some nutritional deficiency.
Many chemical methods have been tried with varying degrees of success including the use of fungicides based on Cadmium and Mercury. Soil treatment with methyl bromide gas and formaldehyde have also been tried. In the early 1980s Oxycarboxin was launched as the product ‘Ringmaster’, and proved useful in controlling type 1 rings, but the type 2 ring usually needed several applications to completely remove them. Ringmaster was followed by ‘Fairy Ring Destroyer’ containing the fungicide triforine, and by ‘Mascot Clearing’ a formulation of benodanil. Today, all of these products have been withdrawn from sale and the only recommendation for fairy ring control with a fungicide is on the ‘Heritage’ label. However, at present, this is backed by limited trials data on type 2 rings only. The main problem with type 1 fairy ring is finding a way of penetrating the waxy mycelium that forms an impervious barrier to most materials. One method of control claimed to have some level of success is to apply daily heavy irrigation to the whole area occupied by the ring. This has to be carried out for at least a month. Unfortunately, whilst drowning the fairy ring fungus, the resultant waterlogging can create other problems by washing away the soil nutrients and encouraging moss and other fungal diseases. Some people have tried using surfactants to break up and disperse the rings. One such product ‘Clearing’ (not to be confused with ‘Mascot Clearing’ - now withdrawn) is aimed at this method and contains soil penetrating surfactants suitable for use on all types of fairy ring as well as superficial fairy ring (thatch fungus).
An old method described by the Sports Turf Research Institute, in their booklet on turf diseases (circa 1975), was also reported to give successful control but, because it demanded a high input of labour, it was a very costly operation. By this method the turf in the infected area is removed and the soil below is dug over and treated with a drench of formaldehyde and a wetting agent. Great care has to be
Type 2 Fairy Ring
Type 3 Fairy Ring
taken to avoid scorching the surrounding healthy turf with the formaldehyde or contaminating it with infected soil. The treated area is covered for 7-10 days with polythene to ‘sterilise’ the infected soil with the formaldehyde vapours. After further digging the site must be left exposed for a period of two weeks to allow the solvent vapour to disperse before the surface levels can be reinstated and the site reseeded or turfed. Apart from the obvious cost in labour there was also the hidden cost in sports turf areas of providing an alternative playing surface while treatment is carried out.
Whichever way you look at it the
problem will not go away - unless, of course you believe in magic!
Heritage is a trademark of Syngenta. Clearing is a trademark of Vitax Ltd.
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