Why you should do turf soil improvement for the golf course?

Why you should do turf soil improvement for the golf course?

Turf?soil improvement is mainly a series of maintenance operations for soil compaction and adverse climatic conditions. Such operations include punching, cutting, piercing, and vertical cutting.?

Moisture, nutrients,?sunlight, temperature and oxygen are important living conditions for maintaining high-quality lawns. However, in practice, it is often found that golf course turf grows poorly under sufficient moisture and nutrients.

Experience has shown that this is mainly caused by soil compaction. Soil compaction often leads to the emergence of a series of complications in the lawn:

First,?the root system is superficial. Because the root system requires oxygen, the pores in the lower layer of the soil are severely damaged as the soil is compacted. At this time, in order to meet the demand for oxygen, turfgrass develops to the upper layer of the soil.

Second,?due to the respiration of turfgrass and the oxidative decomposition of microorganisms, the production of toxic gases such as CO2, biogas and ammonia. When these gases accumulate in the soil too much, it will have a toxic effect on turfgrass, and the accumulation of harmful gases in compacted soil is faster, the accumulation amount is greater, and the toxic effect is more intense.

Third,?poor penetration of air, nutrients, and pesticides will turn into mud after rainfall or irrigation, and form potholes on the soil surface, leaving this part of the lawn in a bad state.

Fourth,?playing matches on a hard court may cause accidental injuries to players and equipment, and at the same time increase the difficulty of hitting the ball.

In short, a series of phenomena that are not conducive to the growth of turfgrass caused by the oxygen deficiency of turfgrass caused by soil compaction is obvious. In order to meet the growth conditions of turfgrass-the unblocked oxygen, a series of turf soil aeration operations?must be implemented.

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So this comes to another question: Why the turf soil would compact?

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The reasons for the compaction of the turf soil of golf courses mainly come from three factors: trampling by players and turf managers; mechanical suppression?and irrigation or natural rainfall. Excessive foot traffic is the main reason for the compaction of lawn soil, and the other two factors account for a relatively small proportion.

1.?Staff trampling

The main reason for the compaction of soil on golf courses and greens is caused by excessive trampling by personnel. Such personnel include players and caddies who serve players and lawn employees who work.

For a golf course with 1,000 members, the daily flow of people passing through the green is very large. Regular soil loosening operations can not only ensure unobstructed air in the soil, but also reduce the accumulation of harmful gases.

2.?Mechanical suppression

Turfgrass machinery is easy to cause the compaction of turf soil. Reducing this compaction can only be mitigated by the skilled skills of the lawn staff, the scientific tires and the rationalization of the operating system.

In the case of golf course greens, during the growing season of the lawn, it must be trimmed every day. Therefore, in addition to the foot traffic on the green ground, the compaction effect of the green lawn mower on the soil is serious.

In the rainy season, the compaction process of wet ground becomes more obvious after mechanical walking, and it is often seen that the wheel prints exist for a long time.

Another phenomenon of mechanical operation on soil compaction is the suppression of greens by aerator,?sand topdresser,?grass?verticutters,?etc. Although these mechanical operations are not as frequent as green lawn mowers, they have a compaction effect. It is also obvious. Although punches and grass cutters belong to the category of loosening machinery, they also have a pressing effect while loosening on one side, so the effect of loosening is somewhat reduced.

3.?Watering and rainfall

According to research, rainfall can obviously promote soil compaction, especially after several days of continuous rainfall make lawn soil compaction faster. The firming effect of artificial watering on the green depends on the size of the sprayed water mist. The compaction effect of large fog beads is similar to that of rainfall. Since each time of watering is not long, this compaction effect is generally a gradual accumulation process, and only a certain time will restrict the lawn.

The compacting effect of rainfall or watering on lawn soil comes from two aspects. One is the direct impact of rainwater on the lawn soil; the other is that the soil is wet after rainfall or watering, which makes it easier to compact the soil during normal mechanical walking. Therefore, the number of lawn operations in the rainy season should be controlled as much as possible. Watering and cutting grass should be kept at an appropriate interval to avoid artificially aggravating the compaction of the lawn soil.

So is there any benefit?to turf soil improvement for the golf course?

Once the lawn is built and used, it cannot be maintained in the same way as the soil conservation method of crops. Because its use is not like the annual calculation of crops, it is often used for several years according to the level of management. However, turfgrass needs to meet some necessary living conditions during the growth period, just like crops, and lawns must often withstand external adversities, especially human activities are more likely to accelerate the shortening of turf living conditions, which can easily cause restrictive living factors. If these living conditions are not updated in time, the service life will be greatly shortened.

After a series of special operations, the turf soil has not only improved aeration and water permeability but also has the following effects:

grass thinning, preventing premature aging caused by over-density; toxic gases in the soil such as CO2, biogas and ammonia air can be released;

shorten the drying process of moist soil;

increase soil permeability;

promote the growth of lawn and ground branches around the worksite or under the surface;

accelerate the decomposition of the turnip layer on the lawn surface;

increase the effect of fertilization and improve the growth layer of lawn soil structure improves fertilizer and water retention capacity.