Winter 2010

Greetings from PGG Wrightson Turf

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The ‘Moon Man’ on Radio Sport has indicated that this winter will produce cooler than usual temperatures through August and September with spring late to arrive. This will produce challenges across the turf industry as planning for renovation and turf recovery is scheduled for this period.

In recent years, the spring has been arriving later than usual with summer kicking o� in January/February. If this year is anything like the last few season we should be expecting extended dry periods in autumn.

In this issue of Turf Clippings we will be looking at Onewa Domain’s success with Regal® Staygreen kikuyu, North Island drought issues in the autumn, programmed approaches to wetting agent application and a guide to maintaining your cricket pitches over winter.

We hope you enjoy this issue and we wish you all the best for the remaining winter months and the upcoming spring.

The PGG Wrightson Turf Team.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Success with a new turf kikuyu 2

Winter Management of Cricket Pitches 3

Kerikeri Golf Club 4

Phantom Core 5

Warkworth GC - Growth Regulator case study 6

Countrywide Contractors 7

Walmsley’s Word 8

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Success with a new turf kikuyuPGG Wrightson Turf’s new seeded kikuyu Regal® Staygreen, has been successfully established recently on Onewa Domain on Auckland’s North Shore. Seeding kikuyu has been rare in New Zealand – and like a number of warm season grasses, traditional establishment has been by way of spreading stolons, sanding and establishing from existing vegetation.

Bill Walmsley, Agronomist from PGG Wrightson Turf, has been overseeing a trial in Auckland run by Richard Gibbs from Sports Surface Design & Management, evaluating the establishment of Regal® against traditional cultivars and wild types of warm season grass commonly found in New Zealand. “Establishing from seed gives you two distinct advantages” Bill says, “the � rst is that you eliminate the weed grasses that often turn up when using the vegetative [stolons] for establishment and the second is you get a more even cover of seed across the pro� le – thus getting a much quicker grow-over to full cover”

Following the success of this trial in Auckland, it was decided to sow Onewa Domain’s number one � eld in Regal®. The � eld was sown by Recreational Services sta� on the 6th January, they used a walk-behind spreader and a dimple seeder to both consolidate the sand and to push the seed into the surface (about 5 – 8 mm).

On the 13th of January D.A.P. (125 kg/ha) and Potassic super (250 kg/ha) were applied and on the 29th of January Nitrophoska Blue was applied. The team from Recreational Services pushed the � eld along as much as possible, as they were all very mindful of not only achieving full cover, but also a robust stable surface as quickly as possible before the summer ran out. On the 12th of February a further 250 kg of Andersons Extend (26-0-10) was applied. To ensure that the new sand surface had su� cient CEC, 200 kg/ha Regen-R-8 (a blend of slow release fertiliser, soil wetting granules, humic acid, potassium and Sand-Aid) was applied. Other fertilisers have been applied to keep up the growth momentum. An application of Moddus was made for the � rst time on the 1st of March followed by another three weeks later on the 22nd of March.

The team overseeing the job noticed they have received additional sand stabilization assistance from Moddus. Full cover was achieved easily in nine weeks with the surface much more stable another month later. Takapuna Rugby club are now using the � eld regularly – and so far the Regal® surface is holding up against the wear.

The sowing method (here shown on Windsor Park) involved dimple seeding, then spreading by walk-behind spreader, and dimple seeding again to incorporate the kikuyu seed into the surface.

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Two photos of Onewa Domain (taken in mid May) show the tight dense surface, and the quality of Regal® just prior to the rugby season commencing.

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It’s the end of a long, hard cricket season, but there’s no rest for the turf manager. Now is the time to start preparing for next season. The renovation and maintenance activities during the o� -season will have a big in� uence on the quality of cricket pitches for the next cricket season.

Winter management is critical in ensuring that the cricket pitch comes out of winter in a condition that allows the least amount of disruption to spring renovations so early season cricket can be played.

There are two forms of management to consider over the winter period, cricket pitches with winter play and without winter play.

With winter play It is crucial to control or manage the winter play on cricket pitches exposed to winter sport. Wear damage is most severe during periods of wet weather, when the clay becomes soft and slippery.

The key factors to minimise surface damage:

• Training is an issue due to the increase of traffi c during or after rain. It is important to have a good level of communication with winter users and if possible, to get them to stay o� the centre area during training. This can be achieved by roping the area o� during the week. The bene� t to the pitch users is that the centre area will be in better condition for games as it will not turn into a mud heap during the week. Also, if training is postponed after mid-week rain, there is a chance of it drying to an acceptable condition by the weekend.

• Keep the surface as dry as possible without causing over-compacted soil conditions that may cause injury to players. Light watering may be required on occasions to soften the top 5 mm of the surface. This is so studs can penetrate the surface without causing surface disruption and produce a surface dry enough so it is not slippery, but still soft enough for studs to penetrate and grip.

• Retain grass cover to reduce the impact of soil erosion or disruption to surface levels from winter wear.

• It is important to fertilise with a high rate of nitrogen (0.5 kg N/100 m2) prior to grass going dormant to promote growth and obtain a good density of grass cover before and during winter. Continue mowing at 15-25 mm to encourage growth and good turf density. Mowing also repairs wear damage by smoothing out divots and depressions.

• When the winter rains arrive and the wicket block is damaged, it is very important to keep up regular repairs. After games, do not let the clay dry with footprint depressions and divots because the surface will become dangerous.

Winter play over cricket pitches, if in a controlled manner, can actually be bene� cial to the cricket pitch. Stud movement over the cricket pitch from winter play can assist in removing excessive organic material from the surface and the upper 25 mm of the pitch pro� le. Organic matter can be regularly assessed by taking a core from a pitch. Ideally you will see a clean cigar-like pro� le, void of any organic material. This is the perfect pro� le preparing quality cricket pitches.

Without winter playCricket pitches without winter play can often be worse o� than pitches with winter play due to excessive organic matter build up over the years in the top 25 mm of the rootzone. These thatch layers and cleavage plains that can form in the top 25 mm of the pro� le will reduce rolling e� ectiveness and even soil compaction often leading to variable bounce and excessive seam movement. This problem can only be resolved by intense mechanical renovation to remove the underlying thatch accumulation or stripping of the surface.

Pitches should not be left unattended during the winter period.

Pitches without play over winter should have had a thorough autumn renovation. Autumn renovation aims to remove organic matter, re-establish the pitch levels, and reinstate grass cover.

Winter Management of Cricket Pitches

Without winter play

Soil core of pitch with winter play - showing clean pro� le void of thatch accumulation.

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Winter Management of Cricket Pitches continued

The key over the winter period is management of the grass cover to ensure growth is controlled and thatch build up is kept to a minimum.

Treatments over winter should include:

• Light verti mowing to remove lateral growth and maintain consistent sward density.

• Fertilise with light, but frequent amounts of a balanced NPK fertiliser to maintain grass in a healthy holding pattern.

• Mow at a maintenance height of 15-25 mm.

• Control weeds, insects and disease as required.

• Roll surface with a light roller to retain a fl at even surface.

The key goal over winter is to get a healthy grass cover across the entire pitch. Improved grass and soil conditions leading out of winter will help set your pitch up for a successful summer.

Pitches with winter play will require renovation in spring. The level of renovation will be determined by your winter management of the cricket pitch. During winter, organise the requirements for spring and prepare well in advance with materials such as dry screened soils, scari� cation machinery (for example, Graden), Duraturf® Howzat, Colosseum or Nine-O-One perennial ryegrass, fertilisers like Andersons Starter, and contractors if required to assist in a speedy renovation turnaround.

This summer the drought in Northland has provided many challenges to Kerikeri Golf Course Superintendant

Colin Smith. “These have been the most trying conditions with drought here in Kerikeri in over 50 years” Colin

says. Colin was facing summer stress from November through to March this year and was � ghting the constant

battle to keep the greens alive and healthy and provide a quality putting surface. Fortunately Colin was armed

for this battle with a programme of wetting agents and cultural practices. The use of Breakthru Gold, Restore and

Terracare combined with vertidraining and hand watering helped move moisture through the pro� le evenly and

also helped with moisture retention around the root zone. As a result Colin has received many complimentary

comments from members, visitors and committee members around the quality of the surface.

Pitch with Nine-O-One grass cover managed well over the winter and in good condition ready for early season play.

Graden scari� er used to remove thatch in the top 25 mm of the pitch pro� le.

Kerikeri Golf Club

Phantom CorePhantom Core™ has made a big impression in New Zealand and Australia. It has been developed by turf managers Gavin Darby (who manages Etihad stadium in Melbourne) and Richard Winter (who manages Geelongs stadium and formerly from Eden park, WACA and MCG). The guys teamed up as they saw the need for a machine that can renovate without causing any disruption to the playing surface. Most major stadiums in Australia and the likes of Eden Park, Westpac Stadium and AMI Stadium in New Zealand now use Phantom Core™ as a key tool in turfgrass management programmes. Phantom Core™ is suitable for all turf surfaces such as golf fairways, racetracks and general sporting venues. Phantom Core™ is unique in its integration of aeration, removal of organic matter and improved player/surface interface in one machine, all in a single pass.

This innovative product utilises a drum core chassis with over three hundred 12 mm hollow tines to core and harvest over one hectare per hour, creating new, highly e� cient standards in coring and harvesting practices.

The tine spacing is designed to allow implementation of the overriding turf maintenance principle of ‘light and frequent’. This also allows you to aerate year round, when your turf needs it, not when your schedule dictates it. No need to wait for a break in play or favorable weather patterns. The tumble action of the drums ensures only organic matter is removed with root zone material � ltering back through the drum as an invisible dusting.

Bene� ts• All the benefi ts of hollow tine aeration without the

loss of play

• Aerate and Harvest - one pass - one machine - one hectare per hour

• Removes only organic matter with sand being sifted back as a light top dressing

• Based on the overriding turf maintenance principle of ‘light and frequent’

• Improves the player / surface interaction characteristics of your sports � eld

• Reconnects your surface and root zone, breaks through any layering, sealing or organic matter accumulation issues. Ideal for sand carpet constructions.

FeaturesDesigned and engineered under instruction from people involved in the industry colleagues to meet the demands and high expectations of the modern turf facility. Made from precision laser cut mild steel and hand fabricated. Tines and saddles speci� cally engineered to provide a perpendicular entry and exit angle of the hollow tine. This allows the process of surface penetration, core capture and harvest to leave an undisturbed playing surface behind. The drum design collects and retains all cores in one process, avoiding the need for a secondary machine or process. Saves time, money and stress on your turf while providing a superior � nish.

The unique features of PhantomCore™ enable your facility ready for instant play, allowing you to renovate when your surface demands it year round.

Core holes with no damage to the surface.

Phantom drum core chassis.

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Warkworth GC - Growth Regulator case study Will Harris, the Course Superintendent at Warkworth Golf Club started his greens renovations in September 2009 with the goal to encourage strong lateral growth and browntop oversowing.

Will applied Moddus growth regulator prior to renovating and had a nervous wait. He was concerned that the Moddus would slow up the growth too much so there would not be enough recovery in time. However this was not the case, Will noticed a slow response for the � rst two days after renovations but then noticed strong lateral growth and the � rst cut one week after renovations at 5 mm had no sand pick up. This quick recovery, strong lateral growth with no � ush and less sand waste would hopefully encourage a larger percentage of browntop germination. Will commented “Perfect results, great recovery and very happy with the lack of sand pick up at � rst cut”.

Spring Renovation Programme

➔ 1st week -Applied 250ml Moddus /hectare

➔ 2nd week -Scari� ed and cored

➔ Seeded and with Egmont browntopand sand topdressed.

➔ Nutri DG 12-3-12 applied day after the � rst cut

Warkworth GCHaving experienced severe dry patch in the past Will Harris of Warkworth GC started a programmed approach towards preventing localised dry patch. Will faced the challenge of successfully implementing a wetting programme and then strictly adhering to it. The process Will utilised is summarised below:

30th September 200920 lt/ha AquaForce 400lt water plus 2 lt Breakthrough Gold, 6 mins irrigation (until ponding)

4th November 200910 lt/ha AquaForce 400lt water, 6 mins irrigation

19th November 200910 lt AquaForce 400lt water, 6 mins irrigation

2 December 200910 lt AquaForce 400 lt water, 6 mins irrigation (100 mm rain 4th/5th Dec)

17 December 200920 lt AquaForce plus 3 lt Breakthru Gold, 400 lt water, 6 mins irrigation

12 January 2010 10 lt AquaForce plus 2.5 lt BreakthruGold 400 lt water, 6 mins irrigation

27 January 201010 lt AquaForce, 400 lt water, 5 mins irrigation (35 mm rain)

09 February 201010 lt AquaForce plus 2.5 lt BreakthruGold 400 lt water, 6 mins irrigation

24 February 201010 lt AquaForce plus 3 lt Breakthru Gold 400 lt water, 6 mins irrigation

One week after fertiliser application.

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Mike Wilson, Managing Director of Countrywide Contractors worked closely with Gardens and Mores’ Michelle Young on landscaping the garden pictured above in the Waikato. Together they were able to complete the architectural design, structural work and plantings however they did not have the specialist skills required for the high-spec requirements of the turf on the lawn. Mike and Michelle wanted to leave the homeowners with a lasting impression so they contacted their local PGG Wrightson Technical Turf Representative Julian Holden. Mike and Julian walked through the conceptual ideas of the outdoor space and developed a plan to achieve Mike’s goals of having a high-end turf grass blend that would perform in Rotorua’s varied climate. After assessing the suitability of other grasses the decision was made to use Duraturf® Sports Oval, particularly as its breeding includes Mediterranean genetics which provides growth through the winter months.

Mike has been happy with the results as Sports Oval has germinated quickly and has a great growth pattern with a beautiful medium-green colour.

“I am new to the turf industry and this product has done everything promised to me so I am very impressed with the results.” Mike commented. Sports Oval was partnered with the fertiliser Andersons 32-3-10 30% Polymer Coated Sulphur Coated Urea with great results. Mike said the immediate colour response after application was particularly noticeable after the cold winters and he also commented that the product was easy to spread as it was a granule formulation and not a powder.

The initial response from the fertiliser was to push the growth into spring and due to its slow release feature it maintained growth steadily for up to 6 weeks. Due to this ongoing growth Mike could do an early summer application and would still have some nitrogen release going into early summer when the plant stress will start to increase, providing better plant health.

“I was impressed with Julian’s support” Mike says, “They listened to what Countrywide Contractors wanted to achieve and matched professional products to suit our needs”.

Duraturf® Sports Oval is suited to lawns with wear and tear.

Countrywide Contractors

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© PGG Wrightson Seeds 2010This information has been checked for accuracy and published in good faith. However PGG Wrightson Turf accepts no responsibility expressed or implied for misuse of information in this publication. This information is not to be reproduced without the expressed written permission of PGG Wrightson Turf.

PGG Wrightson Turf Stores and Sta� Contacts Christchurch 03 372 8719, Auckland 09 570 2570, Palmerston North 027 487 4002

Auckland Auckland Auckland Coromandel/Waikato/TaurangaBrian Gri� ths Mark Stidwill George Tothill Julian Holden027 430 2992 027 344 6439 027 430 2972 027 289 2244Palmerston North Christchurch Christchurch Southland/West CoastMatt Kidby Mark Shaw Jason Weller Brandon Parker027 487 4002 027 499 8327 027 596 3974 027 596 3565

Fruitfed Supplies – Turf Champions Hawke’s Bay Taranaki GisbornePeter Roberts Trichel Stark William Heggarty027 244 4163 027 477 0138 027 443 9061

Contact info@pggwrightsonturf.co.nzor visit our website www.pggwrightsonturf.co.nz

A recent trial, run by Bill Walmsley agronomist for PGG Wrightson Turf, concluded that winter applications of nitrogen greatly assisted ryegrass winter wear.

Nitrogen applied as a single application of PCSCU (polymer coated sulphur coated urea) gave similar ryegrass wear resistance as multiple applications of urea and superior to a single application of urea at the same rate.

The trial found that applications of 120 kg N/ha gave better wear resistance results than lesser applications (30 and 60 kgs N/ha), resulting in between 20% and 30% more ground cover than no winter applications. In other words, wear resistance of ryegrass sports turf responds to winter nitrogen despite cold winter temperatures.

PGG Wrightson Turf have many options of slow release nitrogen fertilisers for winter sports � elds such as:

Andersons 26-0-10 (extend) 75% PCU N slow release (25% up front N, along with 3% Fe for initial colour-up) applied at 200 – 300 kg/ha – will last 8 – 12 weeks.

Andersons 28-3-10 (96% PCSCU – slow release nitrogen) applied at 200 – 300 kg/ha will last 8 – 10 weeks.Bill Walmsley

Turf AgronomistCeres Research Centre

Walmsley’s Word

Turf grass condition of plot with 120 Kg N/ha applied in winter.