Winter sports pitches tasks for October/November includes post pitch repair guidance along with management of worm casts and disease prevention.
Cutting
Cylinder or rotary mow at between 25-30mm in HOC, keeping the pitches within this range will help prevent turf disease and also help keep a dense grass canopy with a good root depth.
If the pitch is much longer, take your time to get to this hoc range, avoid hacking down and the risk of stressing the plant.
Whatever mower you use, ensure the blades are sharp and cutting to their best to prevent tearing of the grass leaf and vary directions of cut to prevent a nap in the canopy forming.
Rugby-HOC range – Autumn/Winter 50- 75 mm . Hoc may vary across sites, due to standard, growth and wear management.
Nutrition
Apply autumn /winter fertiliser, a touch of Fe (iron) included will help keep a moss at bay and help hold off disease. Avoid Fe (iron) applications around young grass.
The more vigorously the grass is growing the more fertiliser inputs will be required, the grass will start to yellow which will be an indicator it’s in need of nutrients, specifically nitrogen.
Fertiliser requirements of a pitch, ideally should be based on annual soil nutrient testing results, something a 4-12-12 (autumn/winter) is common but not exclusive. Application rates are usually 35 grams per square metre.
Post Match Repairs
Post match ASAP hand repair any divots by lifting and prising back into position, any left over bare and low areas can be top dressed and seeded (if grass is growing).
Possible use of a tractor mounted/towed implement with a chain/spring tine harrow, can be used this will help sort out any minor levels and get the grass standing back upright.
The level of aggression is dependent on the plant’s ability to recover, so when it’s growing less, less aggressive settings are required.
The use of a tractor mounted multi tool such as a quadraplay once hand divotting work is complete could also be helpful in gently brushing, raking, rolling (polish roller) the pitch level back to pre match conditions.
Disease Management/ Prevention
Disease forms mostly on those damp, still, cloudy dew forming days, regular brushing off the dew with the addition of iron (Fe) contained within fertiliser applications will assist in disease prevention .
Possible use of lawn sand or iron sulphur will dry out the infected leaf and prevent further outbreak or can be used as a preventative.
Goalmouths
Regular decompaction and the addition of hand forking the high wear areas with a bit of heave, which will in turn help decompact and gently lift/level the area.
A sports sand/rootzone top dressing mix can then be gently dressed across the area to help maintain levels, any dressing that goes into the fork holes can only be of benefit.
I have noticed a huge difference after we had a pitch verti-drained which is helping oxygen get into the soil and the pitch to drain properly, making room for aeration.
The use of the quadraplay has also made a huge impact on helping the pitch recover quicker, making it cut up less during games.
And nothing beats a pitch fork though, it is hard graft when doing it on your own on a full size pitch but can always localise .
Andy Burrel (Ullswater United FC)
Aeration
Aeration of pitches if conditions allow via in-house solid tines, slit tines, linear with the possible addition of a deeper form of aeration such as verti-draining when or if required once/twice a season.
Aeration to take place when soft enough to penetration, but not soft enough to create an indent with tractor wheels or bring up mud.
Mole plough may also be suitable for sloping sites, with open ditches. Whatever form of aeration timing and the correct type of aeration for your site is key. Mole plough along with linear aeration needs to be done autumn and early winter and not past this point to prevent re-opening of lines comes spring on surface drying.
Don’t have a tractor, possible hire or borrow a pedestrian type aerator and just do high wear areas.
Autumn is prime time to decompact the soil, ahead of wetter heavier soils during the winter months .
Worm Cast Management
If the grass is growing well, castes can be managed by cultural management techniques, such as drag matting, raking or brushing when the castes are at their driest, often in the afternoon.
Weed Control/Managemnet
Weeds can be a sign of a lack of nutrients, compaction and other deficiencies, control methods include the prising out of shallow rooted weeds such as daisies and plantains . Deeper rooted established weeds such as dandelion may need chemical application by some certified to apply herbicides, between April and September.
Quite possibly too late for chemical applications, but hand weeding of those easy to prise out daisies and plantains, maybe a fruitful task.
Line Marking
Regular straightening/string line to keep the straight and weekly overmarking of lines.
Keep up stock levels of marking fluid, to ensure you don’t run short
Overseeding
Autumn and Spring are the main overseeding periods, ideally creating holes or grooves 10-15 mm deep, and then seed into, stud holes can also be helpful and contribute in creating contact between the seed and the soil. This gives the seed a safe haven to germinate and helps prevent wash off.
Avoid applications of Fe (iron) or iron contained within fertiliser around time when the plants is at it’s youngest (one leaf stage.
How to pre germinate grass seed
Top Blogs (Recommended)
–Should you roll a sports pitch
–How to manage surface drainage
–How to repair and muddy or damaged pitch
If resources are limited even just hand forking those high wear areas, adding in some sports sand all help keep on top of levels and prevent areas for water to gather. Just getting down the ground asap after games and divotting, can be helpful in helping the pitch stay in the best possible condition.
Brian
Have you heard about possible funding, if not check out- Pitch Power by the Football Foundation- https://footballfoundation.org.uk/grant/grass-pitch-maintenance-fund
