Want to get news alerts delivered direct to your inbox? Edit your email preferences.
Going Dutch on Weed Control!
3 hours ago by: andy dixon
"What is the point when 97% of herbicides are used by private ..."
Build it and they will come... a report on the Isle of Man's first seminar for the industry
19 hours ago by: petermarkcraig
"Thank you for those very kind words Mike. I genuinely felt t ..."
Will it take hose pipe bans and Drought Orders to see legislative compliance?
2 days ago by: vid
"Hi Dave, this may be of help to well financed or municipal s ..."
Build it and they will come... a report on the Isle of Man's first seminar for the industry
4 days ago by: Pitchcare Peter
"Who's a fantastic tool? 'Genius' might be slightly overst ..."
Build it and they will come... a report on the Isle of Man's first seminar for the industry
4 days ago by: Cranfield
"A fantastic tool for promoting our wonderful industry and th ..."
By Dave Steward in Everris News on 2nd Aug 2004 7:00
Pitch perfect
"Any club likes to see tens of thousands turning out for a fixture, but when the plan is to have them on the pitch, it's a bit of a nightmare for the head Groundsman."
To limit the damage, and ensure the fastest recovery possible, Alan worked out a plan with Scotts' turfcare agronomist Simon Barnaby, starting the process months in advance. Alan explained:" We started to lower the cut gradually, moving from our usual 25mm down to 20mm.This way, we hoped to maximise the air gap between the flooring and the grass - covering rather than smothering.
"The next step was to induce a kind of autumn 'hardiness', applying treatments to slow down foliage growth, enhance root development and generally toughen the sward. "We chose Greenmaster Liquid Autumn fertilizer (8:4:16) to start with, in May, providing plenty of phosphorus to feed the plant roots and minimum
"Greenmaster Blade was also applied to further strengthen the roots. Blade is a carbohydrate, seaweed and trace element conditioner that is designed to improve the whole rooting zone by encouraging beneficial micro flora. Vigorous root growth and increased tillering was the result. "A second treatment followed in June, this time comprising the growth regulator Shortcut. Containing trinexapac-ethyl, Shortcut helps 'switch off' the foliage growth - reducing growth by at least 50 per cent. This treatment was vital in preventing the grass etiolating too much in the dark conditions under the flooring. As soon as the covers came off, attention was switched to coaxing the sward back into vigorous growth with a 23:0:0 liquid feed to kick things off."
And the result of all this effort and thought? With a mere five weeks between the covers coming off and the first football fixture of the season, Portman Road is a pitch to be proud of - easily justifying Alan's recent award of the Groundsman of the Year title.
Read more articles in Everris News, by Dave Steward or from August 2004.
