Technical
Cricket and Bowls
New Developments
for Autumn
Renovations ...
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I PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016
Technical
Symbio’s Martin Ward says
that, as our understanding of
soil biology increases, autumn
renovations may be improved
and simplified by adopting
new technologies and
products to employ a more
holistic approach to grass
management.
In this article, he details new
methods for the renovation of
cricket squares and bowling
greens
C
ricket and bowls renovations have
the great advantage of up to six
months without play, and our
progressively warmer winters mean
a lot more can be achieved in the
close season, especially if we combine all three
disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics in
the soil to improve results.
phosphate, in the soil and make nutrients
available to the grass plant as and when
needed for optimum growth. The great
advantage for the plant that accesses nutrients
via mycorrhizal fungi is that fertiliser inputs are
reduced, avoiding boom and bust fertilisation,
and the plant can access the nutrients it needs
when it needs it.
CRICKET
Mycorrhizae also take up water into the plant
and form a barrier against some turf diseases.
Mycorrhizal inoculated grass grows much faster,
so mixing spores of mycorrhizal fungi with seed
when overseeding is a great way to increase the
density and root mass of your sward.
Cricket clubs have a huge variety of budgets,
machinery and management practices, so I will
limit this article to commenting on improving
the health of the rootzone and improving
perennial rye grass growth.
Irrespective of the available budget and
machinery, the aim of the autumn renovation is
constant for all clubs, and that is to remove all
the thatch that has built up over the season to
create a sound surface and rootzone by
topdressing, and to overseed and create a
dense sward with good strong roots that will
prevent moss invasion and form the foundation
of the pitch for the following season.
Thatch
The first job is to remove thatch from the top
few centimetres before topdressing. The
problems caused by burying thatch have been
well documented and discussed. Scarifying is
essential to create a key for future topdressing
and a seed bed. However, if thatch cannot be
removed by scarification, or is buried too deep
to remove mechanically, it is now possible to
add thatch degrading microbes either as a
granular or liquid or in compost teas or added
to autumn fertilisers. If the problem is deep
seated, then several applications of a liquid will
probably be needed.
Aeration is essential if thatch is to be degraded
biologically; this can usually be achieved by
using a sarel roller every two to three weeks
during the close season. The tines must reach
the bottom of the thatch layer. If the organic
material is buried too deep for tine aeration,
there are liquids on the market which release
oxygen atoms for microbial metabolism.
Growing a dense sward
Give grass the mycorrhizal advantage
Cricket square thirty
days after renovation
Martin Ward
Mycorrhizal fungi act like extra roots by
extending the root area of the grass. They
solubilise locked up nutrients, especially
Autumn nutrition
To develop a dense sward in the last two or
three months of the growing season, when
light is low and nights are cold, takes
considerable skill and a bit of luck.
Young plants need phosphate, which is made
available by the mycorrhizae or can be added in
a fertiliser, plus nitrogen and other macro and
micro elements - preferably in organic form - to
prevent salts building up in the rootzone. They
also need carbohydrates and sugars, which are
in short supply on cricket squares but are found
in fertilisers derived from sugar cane or sugar
beet, or in biostimulants derived from
molasses, seaweed and fish hydrolysate. The
biostimulant that is most effective at promoting
growth in low light, cool season conditions is
fulvic acid, which is present in some organic
fertilisers and humates or may be purchased by
itself in liquid or dissolvable granular form.
If inorganic fertilisers are used with
mycorrhizae, you should apply a fertiliser low in
phosphate and also apply carbohydrate and
protein as a biostimulant on a monthly basis
through the remaining growing season to
achieve similar results.
The combination of mycorrhizae and the
correct nutrition can promote very rapid
growth as described in the cricket case study
and illustrated left.
BOWLING GREENS
Many of the accepted practices for sports turf
maintenance and solutions to the problems of
wear, moss, thatch build up, disease and poor
drainage are not practical for many bowling
clubs due to lack of access for large coring
machinery, limited budgets and sometimes
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Technical
limited experience of the members that carry
out the tasks.
“
Often in short supply
are calcium, one of
the most important
elements for healthy
plants and nutrient
availability, and
magnesium
The demand for improved surfaces has led
bowling clubs and contractors to look for new
ways to provide excellent results on a limited
budget. They have started to look at all aspects
of plant health, the soil chemistry, biology and
physical structure required to provide a better
playing surface without the need for hollow
coring and frequent disruption of the surface.
Soil Chemistry
Over twenty years of conducting soil analysis of
bowling greens has thrown up some common
problems. Very often, levels of available and
total phosphate and iron are excessive, they
have been over applied to make up for
deficiencies in other nutrients.
Often in short supply are calcium, one of the
most important elements for healthy plants and
nutrient availability, and magnesium. If pH is
Llantrisant Bowls Club eleven weeks after
the start of renovations and, below, how it
looked on 1st September before
renovations.
Photos by Absolute Grass Care
Bowling Green Case Study
Llantrisant Bowls Club,
Rhondda Cynon Taff
Supplied by Christian Page and Mark Harper
of Absolute Grass Care
“We took on the contract at Llantrisant Bowls
Club on September 1st 2015 and, as you can
see from the picture left, it was suffering
from fungal dry patch and severe wear, with
many bald patches on the ends. Drainage and
disease was made worse by a thatch layer up
to 5cm deep across the entire green.
Phase 1 of the autumn renovations
commenced by scarifying to a least 10mm to
clean the surface, we solid tined to 100mm
and sarrel rolled two ways. We conducted a
chemical soil analysis, which indicated levels
of calcium and magnesium were very low,
whilst phosphate was excessive. We brushed
150kg of greens grade gypsum CaSO4 & 50kg
of Kieserite 16% MgO into the surface and
tine holes, before topdressing and, while the
surface was open, we applied 150kg of
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I PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2016
too acidic, i.e. below 5.5, then calcium
carbonate CaCO3 may be applied to add calcium
and raise pH. If the pH is at an acceptable level,
then calcium can be applied as calcium sulphate
CaSO4 which will not significantly raise pH.
Magnesium may be applied as Kieserite 16%
MgO.
Ideally, the base saturation ratio between
Ca:K:Mg for optimum nutrient availability
should be about 7-10:2:1, with magnesium
greater than 60ppm. These elements are the
cations that form the greater part of alkaline or
base ions in the soil. On your soil analysis, the
above ions should equal more than 75% of the
total base saturation; if the figure is lower, then
the elements should be added to get the above
ratio.
Calcium and magnesium in greens grade
granular form is relatively inexpensive and can
be added at the time of autumn or spring
renovation. As a rough guide, 150kg of CaSO4
TraceOlite (zeolite) to help improve the
Cation Exchange Capacity CEC.
To degrade the thatch and clean up the
rootzone, we applied Symbio’s Fungal
Additive with compost teas to start the
process of degrading the thatch levels and
releasing the nutrients locked up in the
rootzone.
Phase 2 of renovations started two weeks
later with an overseed of fescue/bent coated
with Symbio Mycorrhizal Seed Coat and an
application of Symbio 5:0:28 MycoGro
Fertiliser, which contains mycorrhizal fungi
and phosphate solubilising bacteria to make
the locked up phosphate available to the
grass. This was followed by a light
topdressing, especially on the bare areas, to
cover the seed.
Compost teas applications and sarrel rolling
continued on a monthly basis through the
winter.
The main picture above was taken in early
December after a cut at 10mm.”
Technical
with 32% calcium will increase calcium levels in
the top 10cm of rootzone by about 200ppm
and 30Kg Kieserite 16% MgO will increase MgO
in the top 10cm by about 30ppm.
These nutrients should be added and brushed
into the tine holes before applying topdressing.
Soil biology, thatch, disease and percolation
rates
Soil biology is responsible for thatch
degradation and the friability of the soil. If you
get a good balance between soil biology and
chemistry, it is no longer necessary to hollow
core most greens to remove thatch and create
friable rootzones because the microbes do the
work for you. For more information see
www.pitchcare.com/magazine/hollow-coringand-deep-scarification-is-it-reallynecessary.html
If the thatch does not degrade and convert to
humus, even with regular aeration, it means
that the fungi and bacteria needed to break it
down are missing from the thatch layer. They
can be added with compost teas, or with
inoculants of thatch-eating fungi and bacteria.
Compost teas add a lot more soil biology than
inoculants which helps create friable rootzones.
The best time to start applying is after
scarification and before overseeding. If liquid
inoculants and/or compost teas are used, apply
just before or after overseeding then monthly
whilst the soil temperature is above 5OC
When thatch degrades, it forms humus which
acts as a substrate for soil microbes, increases
the nutrient holding capacity of the rootzone,
improves water retention when dry and
increases percolation rates in times of heavy
rain, because the combination of humus and
soil microbiology create the correct air and
water spaces between soil particles for
optimum root and shoot growth.
As a general rule, it is better for the sward and
less expensive to degrade thatch and convert it
to plant nutrient and humus than dilute it with
sand. Topdressing only needs to be applied to
provide an even surface and substrate for the
newly sown seed.
Again, aeration is essential because thatch
degradation is an aerobic process. A mixture of
solid tining and sarrel rolling - at least monthly
through the close season - will pay dividends
next summer.
Overseeding and nutrition
With the correct chemical balance and the
rootzones’ physical structure sorted out, we can
now look at overseeding and nutrition. By the
end of the season, most bowling greens will
have a variety of bare patches - the after effects
of heavy use, dry patch and fairy rings and
possibly some disease scars - all of which will
allow moss to invade which, if not treated, will
carry over to next year as an uneven sward.
Filling in these bare patches with new seed is
the main aim for October and November
Where the grass has worn away, there is
unlikely to be any mycorrhizal fungi in the soil
so, to encourage rapid growth of new seedlings
on bare patches, seed should be coated with
mycorrhizae for maximum effect.
If you are breaking down thatch, the organic
matter released will act as the main
biostimulant, so inorganic or organic fertilisers
may be used. If, however, there is limited
thatch, then best results are usually obtained
by using organic fertilisers rich in proteins and
carbohydrate, or by applying complex
carbohydrates as a biostimulant.
The NPK value of the fertiliser will be
determined by the soil analysis; usually, more
potassium than nitrogen is needed in autumn,
and, if applying mycorrhizal fungi, little or no
phosphate is required, except on very new
constructions.
If the soil analysis shows that Cation Exchange
Capacity is low, i.e. below 7 meq/100cm, it will
be increased over time by converting thatch to
humus; but, if budget allows, a quick fix can be
obtained by brushing zeolites into the tine
holes. This will help prevent nutrients from
leaching and make fertilisers last longer.
Fulvic acid is not only a good, low light and cool
season biostimulant but, when applied as a
liquid, is an excellent chelating agent and can
be mixed with most fungicides and liquid
fertilisers to get them more effectively into the
plant.
Climate change is giving us a much extended
growing season so, in some years, it is possible
to apply an additional feed in November or
even December. At this time of year, when
fusarium is rife, it is usually prudent to apply an
inorganic turf hardener to prevent fusarium or
snow mould from utilising any excess organic
matter for its own growth.
The renovation programme may be different
from that usually recommended, but the
combination of the three disciplines of biology,
chemistry and physics, as nature intended, will
get natural processes working for you to reduce
inputs and improve results.
Cricket case study
Managed by Daniel Ratling BSc
The square was physically prepared in
the usual way, before overseeding with
ryegrass coated with Mycorrhizal Seed
Coat, followed by topdressing. Symbio
Caviar 10:0:4 (containing fulvic and
amino acids and complex carbohydrates)
was applied at 50gms per square metre
in mid-September. The photograph was
taken on 22nd October showing
complete regrowth on all worn areas.
Daniel comments of the success of
combining biology with traditional
practices; “I have successfully used
Symbio Caviar 10:0:4 fertiliser and
mycorrhizal seed coat or inoculant on my
cricket square renovations for the last
four years. Rapid and healthy seedling
development, prodigious rooting and
mycorrhizal infection of the roots have all
been witnessed post renovation. For
loam soils with adequate levels of
phosphorus, I have not found a better
combination of products for establishing
seedlings.”
Symbio is dedicated to
researching solutions to
restoring the natural biological
activity in soils and growing
media essential to ensure the
long term sustainability of food
production and amenity plant
resources for the world’s increasing population.
E: [email protected]
T: 01428 685762
W: www.symbio.co.uk
- Treat Your Turf
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