Key Tasks for September
Do not be afraid to take a couple of core samples from your green, enabling you to see what lies below the surface. On examination, you should be able to see how much thatch you have and the condition of the soil.
Grass growth will start to slow down once soil and air temperatures drop below double figures. Your main concern for September will be organising your end of season renovation work; the extent and nature of the work will be entirely down to the condition of the green and what work you can afford to carry out.
Unfortunately, one of the deciding factors that often reduces the effectiveness of these planned works is the amount of money budget the club has available. It can cost anything between £1200-£1500 for a contractor to come in and do all the work.
Savings can be made if the club undertake the work themselves; however, the effectiveness of the work carried out will be determined by the equipment they have at their disposal. Savings can also be made if clubs buy materials in bulk (several clubs group buying).
The best way to balance the health of the grass plant and to achieve good green speed is to promote and carry out effective cultural practices to maintain surface playability.
The following activities are generally implemented during autumn renovations and usually carried out in the following order, when conditions allow. The sequence of operations and their intensity will vary from green to green according to the condition at the end of the season.
Mowing the sward, preparing surfaces for renovation: lower cutting height to about 3-4mm to clean and prepare green for renovation operations. The mower can then be used to clean up the green after scarifying has been completed. With the season finished and the green closed down for the winter, mowing will only be required to maintain a winter height of cut at 8-12mm. Some clubs are now using rotary mowers to keep the greens tidy through the winter months. This methods does two jobs in one, it keeps the grass topped and hoovers up any surface debris, such as twigs and leaves.
Scarification, removal of unwanted debris: collect and disposal of arisings. Depending on the severity of the thatch, you may need to scarify several times in different directions. However, in most cases, if regular verticutting/grooming has taken place during the growing season, you would probably only be required to scarify in two directions. Do not scarify at right angles to the previous scarification line. Depth of scarification between 4-15mm, depending on depth of thatch to remove.
Aeration is the decompaction of soil, improving air and gas exchange in the soil profile. Depending on the turf's condition, you can choose to carry out hollow or solid tine spiking. Hollow tines are generally used on a bi-annual basis or when you have a severe thatch problem. Depth of aeration will be determined by the depth of your soil profile and what problems you want to rectify. Hollow tining is best achieved to a depth of between 75-100mm. Solid or slit tines can be set to penetrate deeper, ideally between 150-200mm.
Topdressing restores levels and improves surface drainage. Ensure you use compatible topdressing materials, sands, sand/soil mixes. Spreading can be achieved by several methods, utilising pedestrian or ride-on, disc or drop action top spreaders, or by hand using a shovel and a barrow. Best carried out in dry weather. It is important that the topdressings are spread uniformly. Brush to incorporate dressings and to help the grass stand back up. Brush in with a lute or drag brush/mat to restore levels.
Overseeding restores grass populations. It is important to ensure a good groove or hole is made to receive the seed; good seed to soil contact is essential for seed germination. Good moisture and soil temperatures will see the seed germinate between 7-14 days.
Fertilising, provides nutrients for grass growth. Apply a low N nitrogen fertiliser product, something like an NPK 5:5:15 to help the sward through the autumn period.
Irrigation is essential after renovations to ensure your seed germinates.
After a long hot and dry summer, the end of August has proved to be somewhat text book in many areas of the country, with cooler temperatures, periods of rainfall and less intense sunshine all combining to increase soil moisture and instigate grass plant growth. Whilst this may seem like a return to normal, maximising recovery from a position behind where we would normally expect to be at this time of the year requires consideration and thought if surface quality is to be maximised ahead of oncoming reduced growth over the autumn and winter. A situation made all the more challenging due to the impact of recent legislative changes in the plant Protection Product market.
It is then, not an over exaggeration to state that September 2018, more than any other September in recent memory, is the month which will define the turf management year, with the three R’s of recovery, renovation and repair.
Soil Water Management
With increasing rainfall levels in many areas of the country, moisture is returning to the soil. However, aiding the penetration of that water away from the surface and into the soil profile via the combination of aeration and wetting agents with a high percentage of penetrant activity. This enables the perennial grasses, with their deeper root systems, to access water in good time and helps to stem the encroachment of emerging algae and moss, along with germinating weeds and Poa annua seeds closer to and at the surface. This is particularly important on surfaces which contain a greater percentage of thatch than is desirable, as these will be the most hydrophobic surfaces, actively repelling water absorption.
Nutrition
Once soil moisture levels have returned to optimum, then granular fertilisers will provide the optimum means of introducing nutrition into the profile by which to induce recovery. Try to avoid feeds which are heavy on ammonium as the nitrogen source, as this will produce a flush of growth which is then susceptible to fungal disease. Rather lower ammonium values, accompanied by urea and methylene urea, will provide a steady feed and consistent controllable growth.
Be aware that in optimum moisture and temperature conditions, granular fertilisers (which are made available to the roots via the soil water solution) will in the case of ammonium take between 5-7 days to induce a noticeable response in the plant, with urea coming online after 10-14 days. Methylene will then slowly become available over a period as long as 10-12 weeks dependent upon the ratio of short, medium and long chain molecules in the product.
Weeds
Due to the traditional June spraying window being unsuitable for the application of herbicides, many areas will have gone untreated. Turf weeds such as Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) are adapted to persist longer in a surface during drought conditions, in the case of this plant due to the deep tap root. Additionally, weed seeds on the surface of thin swards will germinate with the moisture provided by rainfall.
Consequently, September provides the last opportunity of 2018 for controlling weeds at a time when strong growing conditions persist, thus aiding the uptake, translocation and efficacy of selective herbicides. Undertaking this operation now will prevent weeds taking a firm foothold into next spring.
Pests
Now is the time to apply nematodes to areas for the control of leatherjackets and chafer grubs. This time of year represents the period when young juvenile larvae are hatching out and moving through the soil surface. Consequently, this is the time nature intended for the nematodes to predate upon the small juvenile grubs. Soil water levels need to be good before and for two weeks after application to allow the nematodes to swim to their prey and be effective. Facilitating their passage into the soil with a penetrant wetting agent is a useful strategy, as is sarel tine aeration immediately prior to application.
The newly approved chemical control Acelepryn is on an Emergency Authorisation which expires on the 20th September 2018. Releases of stock are dictated by strict Stewardship conditions which require each situation to have been assessed and authorised by a BASIS qualified advisor. The only authorised application areas are; airfields, race courses, golf greens and golf tees.
September heralds the arrival of worm season. There are no authorised chemical controls for worms. The only acceptable means of managing the issue are cultural ones such as brushing casts when dry or temporarily amending the surface pH via the application of substances such as sulphur. At a time of change which places new demands on turf managers to produce results and maintain standards, a raft of control options can become available, often these options are not labelled for the control of a particular issue however any substance applied with the intention of directly effecting, harming or deterring a pest is done so as a pesticide, and consequently is being done illegally if it is not registered with a MAPP number (Ministry Approved Pesticide Product) by the Chemicals Regulation Division.
Users should also consider the associated risks to the wider environment and ecosystem of any product which has not been subjected to the rigorous, scientific, independent testing standards.
Disease
Once moisture returns so does relative humidity; when humidity combines with stressed turf and warm temperatures, conditions are conducive to the growth of fungi. Consequently, a host of turf diseases can expect to be witnessed through into September.
However, 2018 is the first year without the curative activity of the fungicide iprodione, the active ingredient in Chipco and Interface. The only chemical options for turf disease are preventative systemic substances. Application prior to the observation of symptoms is vital in ensuring their success.
It is worth consulting the Turf Disease Triangle below and giving due consideration to what circumstances, conditions, maintenance practices and inputs on your site may influence each of the three factors.
Away from Plant Protection Products, such as fungicides, which directly target a virulent pathogen, thriving in a favourable environment, one of the most effective tactics available to the turf manager is to reduce the susceptibility of the host. In this regard, adequate water availability combined with appropriate and balanced base nutrition are further bolstered by the benefits of cell wall boosting and plant system enhancing calcium, phosphite and silicon.
- Keep machines overhauled and clean.
- Inspect and repair any watering or irrigation systems.
- Continue to check and service your floodlighting systems.
- Replace any worn tines on your aeration equipment.
Our Lantra Accredited Bowls Green Maintenance Course is now available as an online course.
Now you can learn about maintaining a bowls green in the comfort of your own home and in your own time. This newly developed course consists of a number of videos with assessment questions, and an accompanying hard copy Course Manual. The Online Course is Lantra accredited and provides you with all the basic knowledge required to maintain a green over a 12 month period. There is also the option of attending a one day practical course.
Pitchcare is the only provider of LANTRA accredited training courses in the maintenance of Bowls Greens.
We can also arrange Lantra accredited training on site to groups of 6 – 10 people. Email Carol Smith for information.
The Course Manual is available for purchase separately.