October Cricket Diary 2011

As the curtain falls on yet another season, the weather for the start of October sees record temperatures around the country, reaching as high as 29.4 degrees in the south.

This is the time when your irrigation system proves its worth for the majority who are in the midst of end of season renovations, as moisture retention in the soil is vitally important for seed germination. Indeed, many Groundsmen are seeing their seed come up within seven days.

It is vitally important to get your end of season renovations completed by the end of October to give your square a chance to recover through the winter. The longer you leave your renovations, the less likely you will obtain favourable germination. Air temperatures tend to drop in October thus slowing down grass growth.

Diary Compiled by Robert Stretton
Massey Ferguson Sports Club
Coventry

All clubs have their own methods of working and renovating their squares. In most cases, the level of work will be dictated by what budgets and resources they have available at the time and what they are trying to achieve.

Make sure your machinery is up to the task with regular services. In the main, most club groundsmen are now putting on between 6-10 bags of loam per pitch. It is important not to under or over-dress your tracks.

Even in the current economic climate, it is best not to skimp on the amount of loam used. I see too many club tracks that do not perform in terms of pace and bounce because of poor end of season renovation practices. Generally, it is usually a combination of two factors that, when combined, cause problems - not getting rid of enough thatch or organic material during renovations, and not putting enough loam down to increase the bulk density of the soil profile.

However, there is a fine line between too much and too little.

Useful Information for End of Season Renovation

Articles		Products
	Outfield of dreams		Cricket Loam

If you have not had your soils tested for some time, then do so at the earliest possible chance. Soil tests commonly carried out fall into two categories: Physical & Chemical.

The physical analysis of soil reveals its texture, the amount of organic matter present, the rate of which the water passes through the soil profiles and the pore spaces within the soil.

The chemical analysis produces information on soil acidity and alkalinity, the amount of mineral nutrients available for the grass plant to take up and the amount of toxins that may be harmful to the turf.

Useful Information for Soil Analysis

Articles		Products
	Soil - biology or chemistry?		Cricket Covers

Scarification is important to remove unwanted vegetation, but also to produce a key for the new loam material to sit in. The level of scarification required will be dependent on how much of a thatch layer you have generated throughout the season.

This year has seen periods of heavy rain followed by high temperatures, and grass growth has been prolific; thatch content therefore is likely to be on the high side. The best way to identify how much you have is by taking a core sample. It will be then a case of going through a vigorous renovation programme, scarifying in at least three directions, finishing in the line of play.

Depending on how much thatch is removed, where necessary clean off all the thatch debris after each pass. The square can then be over sown using a suitable grass seed mixture; do not be frightened to try out new cultivars. Sowing rates now range between 35-50 grammes per square metre. In essence, you are aiming to establish new grasses into your square.

Useful Information for Scarification

Articles		Products
	Hanging up his boots...		Cricket Accessories

The very basic requirments of grass growth have never changed - Sunlight, Water and Air; three factors essential for good grass growth of all plant life. Whilst we have no influence over the quality and hours of sunlight, there is a single management operation that directly influences the availability of the latter two.

That is aeration. The purpose of aerating a cricket square is the key to producing the foundation upon which additional treatments can work. Aeration relieves compaction and improves water percolation through the soil profile, but also helps to create the general environment essential for healthy grass growth. Autumn and winter aeration treatments are beneficial to promoting drier surfaces for further maintenance practices to take place. Solid tining is usually the most common practice but, where saddling is a problem to your ends, then hollow coring over a period of time can help with settlement.

Cricket Square:- Aeration is also a key operation to help improve the condition of the soil after a season's play. Soil compaction is often the main contributing factor to poor grass growth; the lack of air in the soil profile inhibits many beneficial activities such as water movement and retaining Microbial Organisms. A programme of de-compacting the soil is essential, preferably using a pedestrian powered vertical aerator, to re-introduce some porosity into the profile. Solid tine, hollow coring and linear aeration are a number of methods being used to aerate soil profiles.

These operations tend to be carried out on a frequency basis depending on the type and size of the tines being used. However, there are a number of groundsmen who never aerate their cricket squares; they believe that the aeration holes formed can cause a weakness/stress line in the clay profile that could eventually break, causing problems with the pitches. They believe that the clay's ability to shrink and swell provides the necessary voids to promote root growth.

It would be interesting to find out what proportion of groundsmen follow this train of thought.

Outfields:- Ideally, on the outfields, penetration should be down to a depth around 200mm to promote deeper rooting. Some groundsmen like to carry out a programme of hollow coring, which again increases porosity, but can also help redistribute/recycle topsoil which, in turn, helps restore levels.

The frequency of aeration activities will often depend on the resources - money, machinery and time - available. In the main you should be looking to aerate throughout the winter period on a monthly basis, weather and soil conditions permitting.

Useful Information for Aeration

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

It's important not to overdress the square, as you will not only be wasting the precious loam material but you may also be smothering your sward. The last thing you want to be doing is to bury any vegetation, which will lead to future problems. The object of the renovations is revitalize the top growing zone, restore levels and to integrate new material into the soil profile. This will help build up the clay content in your square.

Irrigation should follow as soon as possible to assist in the germination of new seed. The seed should germinate between 7-10 days weather permitting; a germination sheet will aid this process.

Useful Information for Top Dressing

Articles		Products
	Top dressings explained		Cricket Loam