August Tennis Diary 2010

After watching another exciting Wimbledon tournament, it's back to reality with clubs facing the need too apply some much needed water onto their playing surfaces to keep the grass plant alive.

Grass playing surfaces have been suffering, becoming very dry, especially at clubs who do not have adequate watering systems. As fast as you water, the heat was evaporating any moisture from the soil profile.

Once the soils dry out it can lead to a number of other problems. Soils, when dry, can be hard to re-wet. Also, you cannot feed, apply weed killers or fungicides during dry periods. However, if you have a good effective watering system you must insure you water uniformly, and to depth to encourage deep rooting.

Having said all that, we are also prone to heavy rain storms in August, which may lead to the playing surface becoming waterlogged. Clay soils are difficult to manage when wet or indeed saturated.

Clay soils drain very slowly, so surface water can be a problem, these soils will take longer to dry out. However, if you can get on with a sarrel roller and complete some surface aeration, you will help the situation.

The more free draining sandy soils will also be suffering, soil nutrients are quickly leached out during spells of heavy rain. Rye grasses will quickly turn yellow and require feeding. Also, once the plant is in stress it is more likely to come under attack from diseases.

We have seen a significant rise in red thread this month; the combination of wet weather and changing soil and air temperatures are ideal for inducing disease.

A dose of feed or, in some severe cases, an application of fungicide will help treat the problem.

Your maintenance regime will continue in much the same vein as last month's - grass cutting, grooming, brushing, aerating, feeding, watering and marking out for matches.

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

Useful Information for Mowing

Articles		Products
	Facts about mowing		Grass seed

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 dependent 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 applications, court preparation and repairs. Ensure that the water gets down into the rootzone, 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.

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

Useful Information for Feeding

Articles		Products
	Plant Nutrition - food for thought		Fertilisers

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.

Useful Information for Seeding

Articles		Products
	Overseeding		Grass seed

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.