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I'm afraid to say it's that TINE of year again... apologies for the early maintenance, however because of the good dry weather we decided to bring it forward a week to hopefully achieve better results. There are 3 steps to our greens maintenance :
I know how frustrating it is when coming to putt on a hollow tined green, especially after hitting the green in regulation ;). You're probably thinking, the greens were in mint condition..... why would they do that? Step 1 : Hollow tine and clean up Here's why It relieves surface compaction, encourages new root growth, increases rooting depth, improves nutrient uptake, reduces the build up of thatch and black layer below the surface, improves the infiltration rate of water into the soil, improves drainage, improve gaseous exchange between the soil and atmosphere. Effects of Black Layer One of our main aims this year is to reduce the amount black layer. Once development occurs drainage dramatically decreases in the soil. As the layer increases,the pores in the soil become filled with the hydrogen sulphide gas which is poisonous to the grass plant roots. Summary: it causes bad drainage, is toxic to our greens and settles in the soil structure from 2-3 inches deep... We've gone down 4 inches, hello fresh drainage and bye bye black layer.... Hollow Tining is a pain to the golfer, I know, however our greens are fantastic at the moment and to keep them up there with Paul Woodham's (STRI Turfgrass Agronomist) quote "Those that would grace even the most prestigious venues " this important prep has to take place. 'There's no gain without pain', as they say. Step 2.. Top dress when its dry to help the brushing in stage What are the benefits of using Top Dressing?
Step 3.. Brushing in Our new brush. This demonstrates how effective it actually is, if you look at the picture on the left you will notice that the brushes are spinning in the opposite direction thus making the sand flick up giving it more chance of dropping in the holes. The objective is to fill all the holes as well as we can. All tine holes aren't completely filled up yet which you might notice, which is why we'll keep topping them up little and often over the next couple of days to insure the best possible playing surface during this green maintenance period. A little tip for those who didn't know. If you go on the blog whilst on a iPhone or any other form of android, it will take you straight to the mobile version by default..... This can be annoying as the web version layout is so much better. To enjoy the web version instead this all you have to do is........ Ta Raaaa! Now that looks better !
This week we have a lot of spraying work to complete. The first thing we need to do in preparation is to remove the dew from the greens. The picture below is of Ethan showing off his skills on the Torro Triflex, whilst cutting the 10th green. What is the purpose of our spraying this week? Fusarium patch This disease is caused by the fungus Monographella Nivalis (formally known as Fusarium nivale). Unfortunately, it is one of the most damaging diseases of turf grasses and can be difficult to control. It is found most frequently during autumn, winter and early spring, but attacks can occur at any time of the year. The disease is sometimes very noticeable after thaws of snow, when it is given the common name of snow mould. Picture above is taken on the 7th green. The pitch mark fork is to give a comparison in size to the fusarium patch. Symptoms What to look out for;
Chemical control The fungicide we are using is Headway. My view this morning with Dave aka Shave on the 6th and 7th greens. This week we are also spraying all fairways, tees and approaches to prevent worm cast. Earthworms are much less abundant in acidic soils, so in theory reducing the soil Ph should help to reduce a worm cast problem. The products we use do not kill worms but deter them from moving through treated areas. They often need repeated application to remain effective. If the soil is alkaline, i.e. above pH7, it would be difficult to make the soil sufficiently acidic to deter earthworms. If the soil is already acidic, i.e. below pH7, there is a possibility that repeated applications of sulphur might make the soil too acidic and adversely affect grass growth
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I've worked at RGC for 10 years and I'm deputy head of a team of 7 members led by Karl our Head Greenkeeper |