THATCH is problem on a golf course greens, fairways, tees rough, so what is thatch is an intermingled organic layer of dead & living shoots & stems. the roots of grasses that develops between the turf surface (leaf) & soil surface were grass is growing faster than the clipping can decompose. natural microbial action breaks down the organic litter, but when dead plat tissue (clippings) production exceeds microbial digestion, increased turf growth & excessive moisture can lead to the production of thatch in turf. environmental conditions in turfgrass species as well as nitrogen are some factors that impact the rate of which grass grows. excessive moisture is caused by over-irrigating, poor subsurface or surface drainage & shade.
Thatch has very little structure & when wet it results in soft playing surface, thatch is like a sponge it can absorb water & holds onto water. If it dries out the fact that it could become very difficult to re-moisten. Grass roots growing in thick layers of thatch more or less don’t penetrate into the soil (shallow rooting).this becomes a problem in the summer months as difficult to evenly irrigate in summer resulting in patchy brown spots.
The importance of deeper the roots the better due to water restriction in summer thatch turf suffered the most, & turf with less thatch & with deeper roots survived very well.
- soft spongy turf
- poor root development
- moss invasion
- poor drainage surface
- low disease resistance
- insect infestation
- decreased heat, cold & drought tolerances
so with thatch provides an ideal environment for some pathogens to develop disease in sort grass dying out/thinning out causing uneven ball roll.
soft surfaces have several effects on grass sward on greens quality.
- scalping
- uneven mowing height
- damage to grass plant
- footprint visible in green
- affecting ball roll
high levels of thatch will lead to poorer playing surface either directly through the playing surface becoming soft, or perhaps stressed the grass plant which is less able to deal with environmental factors & causes decline in grass cover.
Decline in grass cover can be address with overseeding but seedlings that develop in thatch are more prone to disease,weather,traffic conditions, producing a weak sward already in a weak sward. It is vital to realise that there is a relationship between thatch accumulation & turf surface.
Thatch can be kept under control with a good maintenance program.
mechanical methods
- scarification
- verticutting
- grooming
- brushing
then there’s aeration
- hollow coring (hollow tine)
- vertidrianing (solid tine)
- slit tining
- mole plough
- shockwave
- hydrojetting
- air injection
this aeration can disrupt playing surface to a greater or lesser extent, disruption to the playing surface will affect the playing surface, sand top-dressing after aeration for control of thatch through dilution & increased microbial degradation. through light & frequent applications to uniformly dilute thatch accumulation, which is based on turf growth rate during the growing season, heavy infrequent topdressing applications to the turf will create many layers in the soil profile, which reduces the benefits of the program these operation should be carried out when conditions are suitable. we may find ourselves in a no win situation, were the club don’t want the work carry out, due to disruption to play whether its members or visiting parties.
thatch will continue to get worse & putting surface will decline, if thatch is a problem then there needs to be action.
No comments:
Post a Comment