Products to help you prepare for winter
By Alistair
Related Articles
Winter is a tough time for turf but there are products that can make the period much easier.
The autumn and winter months bring a change in approach to turf management. The worries of managing heat and drought stress have passed and the focus has shifted to maintaining turf surface quality and playability as daylight hours, soil temperatures and light levels reduce. The popularity of golf post-Covid is seeing high levels of play continuing into autumn and consequently the pressure to retain good quality playing surfaces remains significant.
During the summer months there are sufficient levels of natural sunlight to allow grass plants to achieve the desired rates of respiration, photosynthesis and plant growth. However, when exposure to sunlight is compromised, grass plants become significantly weaker, resulting in a depleted root system and lower energy reserves. In turn this makes it more difficult for the grass plant to recover from play, mechanical stresses such as aeration or mowing and disease activity.
Shade alone can have a significant effect on sward health and typical symptoms include increased disease activity, reduced density of ground cover and reduced wear tolerance. In addition, there can be a lack of turf vigour as well as poor turf colour and reduced rooting. On golf courses we tend to associate shade with trees however other large structures such as buildings will cause the same problems and playing surfaces located on north facing slopes will also suffer in a similar manner during the autumn and winter months.
Assessing sunlight levels can be a useful way to help determine the best way forward. Where tree shade is affecting close mown greens or teeing surfaces consider thinning canopies or tree removal to open up these areas and take advantage of all available light.
Tree removal can have the added benefit of improving air movement and drying turf surfaces, resulting in healthier turf. However, sometimes tree removal is not feasible or overcast weather conditions and shorter daylight hours are compromising turfgrass quality. At this point consider employing products from the Redox TurfRx range as this offers new, research backed, proven technological solutions.
Redox TurfRx
This specialist Redox TurfRx nutritional range has been specifically designed to put turf health first and increase the grass plants’ ability to be self-sufficient, to reduce the reliance on fertiliser and pesticide programmes that may have become considered the norm and to apply nutrition in the most plant available forms possible.
TurfRx OxyCal
Within the Redox TurfRx range the product TurfRx OxyCal can be hugely advantageous in low light environments caused by shade, weather conditions or shorter day length. It is designed to increase photosynthetic efficiency and is consequently extremely useful at this time of year where low light levels start to impact turf quality and resiliency.
Turfgrass research completed at STRI in 2020 showed TurfRx OxyCal to improve turf health in areas of shade.
The trial was completed on a browntop bent and annual meadow grass sward and trial results confirmed TurfRx OxyCal improved both turf quality and sward density when the trial area was subjected to severe abiotic shade stress.
Applications of TurfRx OxyCal subsequently reduced the percentage of fungal disease attack when compared with untreated control plots.
TurfRx OxyCal works by accelerating photosynthetic activity and in addition stimulates production of a broad range of antioxidant compounds. As a result, the grass plant’s defences are better able to cope with the stresses associated with shade or low light levels.
TurfRx OxyCal boosts key plant enzymes and polyphenols which in turn enhance plant growth, even when the growing environment is not conducive for optimum plant growth.
The active oxygen along with properly complexed calcium and specific carbon compounds provides a great source to light starved plant cells, allowing them to produce enough enzyme strength and hardiness to accelerate photosynthetic activity. The complexed potassium in TurfRx OxyCal improves stomatal response time which is also key in low light situations. Photosynthesis is all about protein production in plants; the more active the photosynthetic cycle is, the more food the plant is producing for its survival.
When light is compromised, oxygen-free radicals increase within plant cells, cell wall formation is destroyed and leaf integrity is compromised. TurfRx OxyCal increases antioxidant and polyphenol levels, reduces cell decline, improves cell wall formation and retains the integrity of the leaf; the ‘solar panel’ of the plant.
TurfRx NatureCur
Within the Redox range the product TurfRx NatureCur has been designed to promote root development thereby optimising water and nutrient uptake. The foundation for healthy turf growth and surface resiliency can be achieved by increasing the relative strength and viability of root metabolism. When integrated into an appropriate turf management programme, TurfRx NatureCur allows for positive root growth under conditions of severe abiotic stress. NatureCur also contains proprietary soluble carbon compounds that improve antioxidant production and stimulate root growth and metabolism, helping to further develop root depth and density. TurfRx NatureCur:
• Optimises root quality and quantity essential for water and nutrient uptake
• Increases relative strength and viability of root metabolism
• Accelerates root development and metabolism under conditions of high stress.
Application rates
Combining TurfRx OxyCal with TurfRx NatureCur is a practical solution to address turf issues caused by the problems of low light and shade. Make monthly applications throughout autumn and winter employing:
• 4.5 Kg/Ha TurfRx OxyCal
• 5 L/Ha TurfRx NatureCur
The Aquatrols mission
Aquatrols is committed to pioneering new methods that advance conservation and health for agriculture, turf and horticulture. The Redox TurfRx range offers new technological solutions for the modern turf manager. As autumn weather conditions make the development and retention of high-quality turf surfaces progressively difficult, these two products have an increasingly important role to play in low light or shaded environments.
To find out more about these products, visit eu.aquatrols.com
By Alistair
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
