August Tennis Diary 2006

August Tennis Diary

By Laurence Gale MSc

The hot weather in July has certainly taken its toll on the grass courts, with many now beginning to discolour, browning off due to the heat stress on the grass plant. Compounded by the fact that many courts are continually in use, particularly Local Authority courts that are hired out daily, there is often no time or spare capacity to take them out of play, nor the time and resources to water them effectively.

Your maintenance regime will continue in much the same vein as last month's - grass cutting, grooming, brushing, aerating, feeding and watering. Particular attention should be made to your irrigation regimes, ensuring that all turf surfaces receive adequate amounts of water to maintain turf growth. Groundstaff will also be trying to maintain the sward height at between 6-10mm depending on the level of play.

Prior to mowing, the surface should be thoroughly brushed. Continue to brush courts daily to remove moisture from the grass surface, stopping the spread of disease and facilitating an improved quality of cut on the dry grass.

The mowing height on the courts should be around 6-10m for the playing season, subject to local weather conditions, but remember not to remove more than 1/3 of total grass height in each cut.

Mowing frequency will be dependant on a number of factors - grass growth, sward type, level or standard of facility, resources (staff & machinery), but in the main it will vary from three times a week to a weekly frequency.

It is important to remove any weeds from the playing surface as they can affect ball bounce and performance of the court. Weeds can be removed by hand, or controlled by an application of chemicals, usually a broadleaf selective weed killer.

Grooming and verticutting are operations that remove unwanted side grass growth and reduce the amount of debris in the sward. These operations are carried out on a regular basis often weekly or fortnightly. These operations are completed in conjunction with your mowing regimes.

Assuming you have access to water, fertiliser treatment and turf tonic can be continued in accordance with your annual programme. If you haven't got a fertiliser programme, have your soil tested; try an independent soil analysis company for an impartial set of results.

In August you would be looking to use a 12/0/9, or similar compound fertiliser blend, or apply a slow release fertiliser to see you through to September. The choice of material and how well it works will be dependant on factors such as soil type and weather, with moisture and soil temperature being the catalyst for growth.

The performance of slow release fertilisers can be influenced by the weather, often producing a flush of growth when you least expect it. Some grounds managers may use straight compound granular or liquid fertilisers which activate when in contact with moist soil conditions, effectively stimulating grass growth within days.

It is essential to have water available for fertiliser and irrigation purposes. Irrigation is required for court preparation and repairs. It is important to ensure that the water gets down into the root-zone, a minimum of 150mm to encourage deep rooting. Check with a probe. Allow to dry out and repeat the irrigation process. Allowing surfaces to remain dry can lead to problems of dry patch, a condition that prevents water infiltration into the soil and thus forming areas of non-uniform turf quality. To help overcome dry patch the use of wetting agents have now become an integral part of the maintenance regime with applications being applied on a monthly basis throughout the summer. Further information about irrigation of sports surfaces can be see on this link - Irrigation

Keep an eye on fungal disease attack, and use approved fungicides to treat infected areas.

Seeding sparse or bare areas can be continued, again assuming you have a water source. The good soil and air temperatures will help germination. Use germination sheets to aid this process but remove the sheets regularly to check for disease. Remember that without good seed to soil contact the operation is useless. Ensure you use new seed as old material may not give you the required germination rates.

It is vital to keep tennis playing surfaces clean and free from debris to avoid possible injury to players.

Many artificial, sand filled courts are not cleaned regularly, mainly due to the fact that they were sold, mistakenly, as maintenance free facilities. However, these courts require regular brushing and cleaning to keep the pile upright and prevent contamination of the sand infill materials.