Sports Turf Agronomy Advice - December 2023
I look forward to writing this month's notes each year as it is a great opportunity to look back and start to reflect on the year, and it's always nice to look ahead to the festivities too.
I think most turf managers will be glad to see the end of November come and go as the weather has been terrible throughout the month. It has felt like the summer season came to an end and we have gone straight into extremely wet conditions, with many grounds at saturation point. This has meant just getting on to the turf to carry out essential works has been incredibly difficult, if not impossible at times. Furthermore, product applications have also been a challenge, in regard to both actually applying the product and also getting efficient use out of what is applied, because of the continued amount of rainfall.
The weather summary for November from across the UK shows we had an average of 38.75% growth potential (GP), this is less than last November, which was a particularly mild month, although up to the last week in November the numbers were very similar. However, the change to very cold conditions in the last week have pulled down the average GP for the month. When conditions are particularly wet, as they have been through October and November, the soft ground soft causes issues for maintaining mowing practices; whilst there is still active growth, when areas are unreachable with mowing equipment. Total base nitrogen for the month was down to only 2.7kg/N/ha showing that the requirement for nutrition was minimal, and any inputs that are due to be made should factor in how much the plant is potentially going to use.
An overview of the weather statistics for November can be found below. Click here if you want to review weather data in your region for November. To keep up to date with the weather throughout December visit https://academy.agrovista.co.uk/category/weather-2023
The start of December is forecast to be cold with temperatures below freezing, with some chance of snow showers. Following this cold period at the start of the month, temperatures are set to increase, with mild conditions (late single figures) forecast in the middle of the month. This may lead to an increase in disease pressure, therefore continued monitoring of weather systems and apps will allow for informed decisions if any action needs to be taken. Unfortunately, it appears it could possibly be a showery Christmas, but a dry end to the year should lead us nicely into the new year.
With soil temperatures dropping lower, the requirements for plant nutrition are less, unless of course you are in an environment where you can create more artificial growing conditions with extra light and soil heating. Nitrogen applied should therefore only be to encourage recovery from wear and should contain the correct nitrogen source, which will be plant available. Applications that require microbial activity for the breakdown and release of nutrition are going to provide a minimal response in low soil temperatures. Using the data above, providing around 0.6kg of Nitrogen per hectare per week would be sufficient for the requirement of the plant. These minimal applications can be particularly useful in maintaining plant health and sward strength, without over applying, which would encourage new, soft growth that is more susceptible to disease, and over applying becomes inefficient. If you are able to get the sprayer across the turf, biostimulants in the form of seaweed, fulvic acid, amino acids and elicitors may still be useful to trigger a beneficial defence and stress response from the grass plant.
Worm casts show no sign of stopping, causing major issues for managing turf surfaces. The mild and moist climatic conditions continue to favour their presence and activity. Still there are no legal controls for earthworms and, until there are new solutions available, the recommendations will remain as highlighted in previous months.
Enjoy the Christmas period, and a well-deserved break where possible. Take time to reflect on those good and bad moments from the last year and what exciting prospects are ahead in 2024.
Have a great Christmas and New Year!
Tom Wood
B.Sc (Hons) | BASIS | FACTS