November Rugby Diary 2011

November can often be a challenging month, contending with a changing weather front, cooler air temperatures, frost, snow and heavy periods of rain. The demands on the pitches remain the same while the day length for doing the work is shorter with the clocks going back. Many clubs also organise bonfire events, which often leads to a lot of work for groundstaff, who are usually responsible for building the bonfire and clearing up afterwards.

Playing surfaces are more prone to damage in the winter months when ground conditions tend to remain in a wet state. Also the onset of frosty weather can affect maintenance regimes. Playing on frosted and flooded pitches will only cause damage to the playing surface. Allow for the frosts to clear and allow time for the saturated pitches to drain before use, or indeed using equipment on the pitch.

You will soon lose grass cover if you play on wet playing surfaces. Grass growth is slowing down due to the low soil and air temperatures. Grass struggles to grow when temperatures drop down below 5 Degrees C. and recovery after damage is limited.

RFU guidelines stipulate that the accepted heights of cut during the winter months should be maintained at between 30mm to 90mm.

Many junior club pitches tend to have too much grass on their pitches. I regularly see rugby pitches that are not cut on a regular basis and the grass length often exceeds 125mm - far too long, thus it becomes weak, straggly and often flattened after play or training.

Most senior clubs now maintain their pitches between 30-40mm, giving them a faster surface to play on.

Ensure your mowers have sharp, well-adjusted blades and that there are no oil leaks.

Useful Information for Mowing

Articles		Products
	Brothers in arms		Football Pitch / Rugby Pitch Grass Seed

If grass shows signs of stress (weak growth, discoloured), fertiliser treatment and turf tonics 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.

Generally, few fertiliser applications are made during the winter months, as plant growth has slowed down. However, some groundstaff may apply a dose of liquid iron to colour up and provide some strength to the grass plant during the winter months.

Useful Information for Fertilising

Articles		Products
	The future of fertilisers		Granular Turf Fertilisers

The presentation of the pitch is important. If it looks tidy and well presented, with bands and stripes, it often inspires the players to perform and, more importantly, gives them a safe, consistent surface.

Soil based pitches, generally the heavy clay and clay loam ones, will be susceptible to surface damage during wet weather, especially when the top 100mm becomes saturated.

Soils, when saturated, lose their stability and strength. Damage from scrummage and line out play are the main causes of damage on rugby pitches during wet weather periods. The severity of the damage will be dependent on the soil type and the ability of the top 100mm to drain quickly.

Useful Information for Pitch Presentation

Articles		Products
	Sports surfaces , quantifying their performance requirements.		Line Marking Machines

To help keep the top 100mm free draining, a programme of surface aeration is necessary. This is achieved by regular spiking with solid/slit tines to a depth of 150mm or more when conditions allow.

There are other specialist machines that can help with improving surface drainage, for example the Blec Ground breaker and the versatile vertidrain machines that are now available. In recent years, we have seen the introduction of linear aerators, machines that cut a slot through the soil profile, usually at 200mm centres.

Hand or machine aeration to aid surface drainage, varying depths of penetration to prevent the development of a soil pan. As last month, if there is opportunity to aerate, then do it. Regular autumn aeration provides air space for the roots to expand into and the plant to breathe. Achieving an improved root system will stand you in good stead for the coming winter months.

Inspect drainage outfalls, channels and ditches. Ensure that they are working.

Useful Information for Aeration

Articles		Products
	Why Aeration?		Machinery Spares, Blades, Cylinders & Tines

Diseases can still be prevalent in November due to the cool, wet ground conditions, and particularly with heavy dews on the playing surfaces. It is important that groundstaff remove these dews to prevent disease attack. Many stadium clubs are experiencing outbreaks of leaf spot and red thread. A dose of approved chemical fungicide will help control and prevent the spread of these diseases.

A wetting agent is sometimes used with the fungicide to help it penetrates deep enough into the soil profile. With the sun now lower in the sky, shade problems in stadium environments tend to be increased. The sun tends to cast longer shadows that often remain on the ground for long periods. Shaded areas tend to take longer to warm up and dry out, which in turn may affect maintenance operations and playability.

Brush or sweep daily to remove dew and remove surface debris. Using a brush or a SISIS quadraplay will restore levels and produce striping or banding aesthetics.

Keep and eye on fungal disease attack, and use approved fungicides to treat infected areas. Early morning dew on playing surfaces often promotes the chance of disease attack. Regular brushing off the dew will help prevent an attack of turf disease.

Useful Information for Brushing / Disease monitoring

Articles		Products
	Facts about red thread		Fungicides