Summer Turf Maintenance

Bill Riley, Technical Manager with Vitax Amenity, passes on some timely tips for keeping turf in top condition through the summer months.

As the season changes from spring to summer, playing pressure can build on greens, tees and main traffic areas and, as this happens, wear can increase. Control of wear is vital to the maintenance of a good playing surface and to the aesthetic appeal of the turf.

Good spatial wear management is the first step. Consider how you can move things around to help dissipate the effects of heavy traffic.

Next, consider how to get the best from your valuable water supplies. If there are prolonged periods of drought, there may be shortages and restrictions, so make every drop count and consider how to improve the drought resistance of your turf.

Thirdly, try to avoid turf maintenance operations that could expose the turf to extra water loss. Verticutting is fine with care, but anything more in dry conditions could exacerbate water loss with resultant browning of the turf.

Deep-rooting turf is better able to cope with drought conditions because it can capture water and nutrients from lower in the ground and from a larger volume of soil. Encourage deeper rooting by irrigating to the full depth of the turf and by using bio-stimulants to further enhance root depth and volume.

Amino-Sorb R, available from Vitax Amenity, is one such bio-stimulant. Based on amino-acid technology, it is absorbed through roots and enhances root development whilst improving water and nutrient uptake.

Amino-Sorb F is the foliar applied equivalent and is designed to stimulate the plants’ metabolism to improve stress resistance in dry periods and increase the effectiveness of fungicides and plant growth regulators.

Seaweed products such as Seaturf from Vitax have also been developed to improve root development and increase microbial activity in the soil to encourage the release organic nutrients. Application of Seaturf will also improve turf colour without any flush growth.

Phosphates also encourage strong root development, while Humic and Fulvic acids are absorbed by turf to increase stress resistance and improve nutrient availability.

Other organic components in fertilisers benefit soil biota in addition to providing nutrients and, as a result, also improve stress resistance. Some bacteria, such as Bacillus subtilis (a component in the Vitax Enhance fertiliser range), and some fungi, such as. Trichoderma asperellum, help to protect roots and foliage from pathogens.

Good plant nutrition, however, involves more than just fertilisers. Use of organic and non-organic growth promoters through spring and summer will encourage maximum root performance and help sustain turf through periods of drought stress. Zinc and salicylic acid also aid the turf’s resistance to drought damage and disease attack.

Thatch, fungal mycelium and accumulated humic and waxy substances are water repellent and can effect or prevent the infiltration and percolation of water into and through turf, thus creating dry patch.

Where dry patch is a severe problem, products such as OARS Curative from Vitax may be needed. OARS contains both an organic solvent, which weakens the bond of these waxy substances, and a surfactant that attaches to hydrophobic soil surfaces to enable uniform movement of water through the soil.

Other water management products such as Ultraflo are designed to aid the penetration of water into the soil and enable lateral and vertical percolation. As a result the soil is wetted effectively to the full rooting depth with a minimum of run-through.

Nutrients enter plants via root hairs as simple ions in solution. Good water management ensures that the maximum root area is able to take up water and nutrients.

The nutrient content of your fertiliser should reflect seasonal and local variations. When selecting fertilisers consider the ability of your soil or substrate to retain nutrients and check, via analysis, the background level of nutrients in the soil, especially phosphate, potassium and magnesium.

Other factors that can influence your choice include the time available for application, in terms of man hours and accessibility, together with the specific needs for tournaments and events. Finally, you have to consider that constant variable, the weather. Liquid fertilisers may be a good option. They provide fast response whilst leaving no playing-surface deposits.

Little and often is good fertiliser practice in stress conditions.