How to speed up the aeration process

By Alistair June 5, 2021 07:43 Updated

Compaction related problems are common place on golf courses. Dry patch, black layer and excessive thatch and lack of root depth and density all lead to an inconsistent course surface.

Compaction reduces the air spaces between the soil particles; restricting the passage of air, water, nutrients and root growth through the rootzone. The SISIS Javelin Aer-Aid 1500 machine greatly increases the speed of the aeration process by directly injecting air into the rootzone at a fast-working rate, creating thousands of fissures.

The Javelin Aer-Aid also took part in an independent trial led by Dr Christian Spring of the STRI. Over a three-month period, extensive trials were carried out, which examined the effect that the machine had on the hardness of the turf, the root depth, water infiltration and disease.

Christian reported that: “It became obvious that the Aer-Aid improved maximum root and depth within the soil profile and also had the benefit of increasing the depth of the average rooting mass.”

The cam trigger mechanism ensures that the air is always expelled at the bottom of the tine penetration. “The overall result is reduced compaction and a healthier root growth. The reason for this improvement was likely to be of a result of the increased air space within the soil profile created by the air injection and the fracturing that resulted from that,” said Christian.

One of the things that was tested during the research was to look at the benefit of air injection on water movement into the surface. It was found that water infiltration was significantly higher with air injection compared to plots that were left untreated, as Christian reports.

“From the research work that we carried out, the Aer-Aid proved to be a very effective tool within a greenkeepers arsenal at helping to manage the soil profile – creating better rooting, a better air/water balance water movement through the soil profile and helping to reduce compaction. As a tool to be used within an integrated turf management programme, the Aer-Aid would be useful and have significant benefits in improving the overall long-term agronomic sustainability of the surface.”

The 10mm diameter ‘tipped’ tines are spaced at 75mm (3ins) with depth of penetration infinitely variable to a maximum of 127mm (5ins). The air injection tines are designed to use the maximum air available from the compressor and produce clean, fresh air. Surface disturbance is also kept to a minimum.

The STRI trial also reported benefits in reducing disease, as Christian explains: “The use of the SISIS Javelin Aer-Aid proved beneficial in helping to reduce the conditions in which Microdochium Patch significantly damages turf within golf greens occurred on the trial plots. Plots that were treated with the Aer-Aid with air injection switched on appeared to have significantly less disease than the untreated control during a significant period of disease pressure during the autumn period.”

One club that has seen excellent results using the Javelin Aer-Aid is St Ives Golf Club. Rob Duff, Course Manager commented: “To start with we used the Aer-Aid twice a month. Now, we normally use it monthly from March until the start of November.

“We had a problem with thatch in our greens because of the nature of the grass. It consists of velvet bent, which is naturally thatch grass and in some places we had approximately 3 inches of thick thatch. Therefore, I decided that an aggressive solution was needed and this is why I started using the SISIS Aer-Aid.

“It’s always going to be an ongoing battle because of the grass species on the greens, so it is important that we continue to use the Aer-Aid as a preventative. It has been really good at getting the air into the surface and creating chambers for the roots. Root development has massively improved since we’ve been using it on a regular basis as has the density of the sward.”

“I’ve been impressed with its versatility; I can use it as a spiker, I can change the depths of the tines, I can use solid tines or pencil tines, I can hollow core with it and I can inject air into the profile. It can do pretty much whatever you want it to do.