Maintenance is essential not only for football fields but also for golf courses, rugby pitches, green parks – all sports facilities in general. Here are some excellent tips to employ in this regard.
Use An Environmental Friendly Manner
How is it possible to improve environmental sustainability with maintenance?
Eliminate the use of fungicides through the use of the right golf course maintenance equipment for the turf. As a result, the amount of water and fertilizers required for grass growth will be reduced.
Example: The Cycle Of A Soccer Field:
In May and June, the championships end, and therefore it is possible to proceed with all the agronomic operations. These operations are aimed at repairing the damages that occurred on the turf during the intense use of the winter months.
Due to a long period of exploitation, the turf faces an intense trampling that changes the substrate’s physical structure. It makes the substrate inadequate for the physiological needs of the plants.
The primary operations to be carried out in this period are fertilization, coring, sandblasting (or top-dressing), and seeding. All the procedures must be evaluated according to the conditions of the field. Consider the same for the golf course.
Different Caring Procedures
Let’s see below what are the recommended caring procedures and in what period they should be carried out:
Fertilization
It aims to give significant help to the plant, which is in the most intense period of growth.
It should be carried out in May when the climatic conditions are particularly favorable for the development of the whole plant.
Coring
It is a mechanical operation that consists of creating holes in the ground with the help of a special machine like pro golf course maintenance equipment. This operation aimed to reduce the harmful effects that compaction, caused by the trampling of the players, produces on the plant. The positive impact of puncture are :
- It improves radical development.
- Support the gaseous exchanges between soil and atmosphere by increasing the circulation of water at the radical level.
- Decrease the formation of water stagnation surface and allow deep penetration of nutrients.
- This set of factors interacts with the root development and consequently, on the resistance of the whole plant to climatic stresses such as heat and cold.
Sandblasting
The intervention that follows the coring is top-dressing or sandblasting. It consists of the distribution of sand over the entire field’s surface to fill the holes created. The top-dressing will be carried out using silica sand at variable doses according to the number and size of the holes drilled.
The sand will be applied using special sand spreading golf course equipment equipped with low-pressure tires, uniformly over the entire surface. This operation can be carried out before coring to facilitate (lubricate) the descent of the dies into the ground.
At the end of the coring and sandblasting operations, find out whether seeding is required on the entire surface or a particular area. This is highly variable depending on the use of the field during the year or the occurrence of specific events, such as strong fungal attacks or not used golf mowers promptly.
The seeding will be carried out by employing special seeders equipped with blades; which will make the seed fall by opening a small furrow in the ground.
To conclude, by considering this routine maintenance, it will be possible to keep the sports field in excellent condition throughout the year.