May Bowls Diary 2012

What a month April was! Dry to start, a few early morning frosts then 15 consecutive wet days. April 2012 has now been officially recorded as the wettest month since records began. See the table below to view current rainfall by area. (Sourced by the BBC).

So, all in all April was a very wet month compared to this time last year, when we were talking about April being the driest on record. However, there are still drought orders in place in many parts of the country so, in essence, this rain has been beneficial for many clubs, especially those, who do not have irrigation systems. Also, air and soil temperatures are still fluctuating, so grass growth is still struggling to be consistent. However, be prepared for a flush of growth once temperatures rise.

Rainfall 1-29 April 2012

Area	Rainfall (mm)	% of 1971-2000 average	Previous or current record (mm)	Year of record
UK	121.8	175 (new record)	120.3	2000
England	127.6	224	130.2	2000
Wales	147.9	173	193.9	1920
Scotland	115.2	133	191.1	1947
N Ireland	67	94	144.2	1961
England & Wales	130.4	214	132.6	2000
England N	130.6	209 (new record)	122.8	2000
England S	126	234	134.1	2000
Scotland N	116.4	123	214.1	1947
Scotland E	141.4	203	152	1934
Scotland W	85.9	92	213.3	1947
England E & NE	136.6	250 (new record)	135	2000
England NW & Wales N	116	153	146.3	1920
Midlands	129.4	227	136.6	2000
East Anglia	103	227	117.8	1998
England SW & Wales S	159.4	212	163.9	2000
England SE & Central S	124.8	237	145.3	2000

New figures are compared with 1971-2000 averages for the whole of April.

Whilst there is plenty of moisture in the soil profile, take the opportunity to feed the green using a balanced feeding regime, perhaps using a combination of granular and liquid products.

Most clubs should be looking to mow their greens at least three times a week.

Greens should be mown at least three times a week, with some grooming/verticutting or brushing being undertaken on a weekly/twice weekly cycle to improve air movement and reduce thatch levels building up in the sward profile.

Regular brushing and sweeping are important tasks to keep the surface clean, open and dry. A dry surface will aid resistance to disease. Keep an eye on fungal disease attack and use approved fungicides to treat infected areas.

The sward will be actively growing due to the increased soil temperatures, coupled with the stimulation of fertiliser applications. Regular mowing will be required to maintain sward height at around 4-5mm. Verticutting/grooming fortnightly can be carried out to help speed up the green and to help improve the health of your turf.

With the development of mowing technology, most fine turf mowers have cassette fitting attachments that offer additional maintenance operations, such as grooming and verticutting. These are both operations that effectively remove thatch and side shoot growth, enabling the promotion of an upright plant and denser turf growth.

Some clubs now use turf irons (rollers) to prepare surfaces for play; these are specially designed ride on turf rollers that apply even pressure over the surface. However, rolling can have a detrimental affect on your turf if done at the wrong time or too often.

There will be a need to increase the frequency of aeration techniques to counter balance the practice of rolling. Aeration should be undertaken using a mix of micro, needle or star tines which give maximum effect and almost zero turf disturbance. Regular use of a sarrel roller will be beneficial, and the use of micro tines to aerate the green will help reduce soil compaction, 'vent' the root-zone and to allow water to move quickly from the surface and into the rootzone, thus encouraging the turf to root deeper.

May is a good time to apply fertilisers, wetting agents and soil conditioners.

There are plenty of choices of fertiliser to use. See Pitchcare shop for a range of products that can be applied in both granular and liquid formulations. A soil test should ideally be done to ascertain you needs. However, there is a vast number of spring and summer feeds that will meet your needs.

Also be aware of other factors that may influence the performance of the green; many club greens are surrounded by hedges and trees which can cause shading problems. Reduced light levels, lower soil temperatures and restricted air movement will also affect grass growth.

Most greenstaff will have already applied a spring/summer fertiliser, perhaps something like a 9:7:7 and will be looking to apply a summer fertiliser, reducing the N and P inputs to maintain a balanced growth during May. At the end of the month, an application of a slow release fertiliser will see you through June and July.

Soil and air temperatures usually increase in May, often bringing on the need to irrigate. If soil profiles, particularly sandy soils, are allowed to dry out too much they often become water repellent (hydrophobic), a state when soils can become difficult to re-wet. Often the first areas to suffer on greens, particularly crown greens, are the high spots on the green. You may need to spend more time hand watering these problem areas.

However, the long term effect of drying greens could be detrimental to surface playability. The surface could begin to break up, particularly on sand predominant greens. Sand becomes unstable when in a dry state and the surface can become bumpy. Different grasses will respond differently under drought conditions, growth rates will vary depending on species and root structure, thus promoting an uneven surface.

Once the soil goes beyond a certain drying stage, you are likely to encounter dry patch symptoms, whereby the soil becomes hydrophobic, being unable to absorb water. The water simply runs off instead of soaking into the soil profile.

Water will also always wash off from the high spots into the low areas, so the low spots tend to remain green and lush. This variation of dry and wet areas will affect surface playability, the bowls will fly across the dry areas and slow down on the lush green areas.

Once soils become hydrophobic, they can deny adequate water movement to other areas of the rootzone - often resulting in water deficit stress, with symptoms that include a general decline in the biological health of the plant, which in turn affects shoot and root growth.

You may need to consider using wetting agents to aid recovery, or to help prevent these problems occurring in the first place. Many greenkeepers now utilise wetting agents on a monthly basis to keep the rootzone in good condition.

The movement of nutrients in the soil is also dependant on the moisture state of the soil; dry rootzones will slow down or even prevent nutrients being assessable for the plant. This, again, will result in plant health decline.

If you do not have adequate watering facilities, it may be beneficial to raise the height of cut by 1mm to keep a bit more grass on the green during these dry periods. It may slow the game down a bit, but will help sustain your green through these difficult times.

It is important to water correctly; under or over watering will have a detrimental affect on plant health. You need only to apply enough water to replace what has been lost by evapotranspiration. Depending on the aspect of your green, soil type and herbage cover, you could be losing anything between 3-5mm of water per day. This will need to be replaced .

It is important to ensure you water evenly and to depth, you want to ensure the water gets down beyond the rooting profile, at least between 100-150mm. This will encourage deeper rooting as the green dries and the roots go in search of the descending water.

Also check your water quality - what pH is it? Is it suitable for your green? Check filters on recycled water systems. Poor water quality will affect plant growth and sustainability.