Greens Update May 2022
Further to my update last month, I just wanted to put you in the picture with regard to the late spring growth we are experiencing at the minute. As I’m sure you can tell with the leaves coming out on the trees, and the lawns in our gardens growing well, growth has really kicked off now in most places, especially on the greens.
That is great in terms of us now having a full coverage again, having seen those disease scars grow through nicely, however, it is not great for greens speed. We are currently experiencing a very strong growth flush, especially after all the recent rain we’ve had. In April we only experienced 27mm of rain for the whole month, which was spread over just seven days. Therefore, it was really dry and the greens were holding on to their reserves as much as possible.
In May so far, we have had 18mm in 5 days. This rainfall, together with the relatively high humidity, has really kicked the greens on with soft, lush growth. It is as though the nutrients were just sat in the soil ready to be ignited.
Figure 1: Two stripes cut to show the excessive daily growth at the moment.
It is very difficult in such times to attain any kind of decent green speed. We are cutting at a sensible height of cut so as not to stress out the turf, but we must try and keep the growth under control.
Figure 2: If you look closely, you can see how the mower, even with sharp blades, is struggling to cut the volume of growth.
We will very shortly be spraying a growth suppressant onto the greens, tees and approaches to try and shut the growth down somewhat. A growth suppressant (or PGR Plant Growth Regulator) acts by slowing down the top growth, and actually diverts plant growth downward into the root system. This in turn produces a thicker, healthier sward that can help to cope better with temperature extremes, traffic and wear and tear, and even helps in the management of Poa annua. By focussing all its energy to root growth, rather than top growth, the growth rate will be slowed
Figure 3: Close up of Poa Annua, the seedheads causing the ball to bobble.
Poa is the more dominant grass species in our greens, with the main species flowering in the spring every year. As you can see from the pictures, it can make for bobbly surfaces, especially at this time of year. The PGR will suppress the flowering, and with some verticutting and dressing, the greens will run a lot smoother.
Figure 4: The greens are very healthy at the minute.
So, the message at the minute is stay patient, we know that pace of the greens is an issue, and we will try and carry out our maintenance tasks as quickly as possible, during this busy golf period, to improve the situation.
